Oct. 13, 2002 - Wandering through the lobby of the Embassy Suites at Kingston Plantation, Tom Corcoran seemed more like the tourists mingling around him than the hotel's owner. 

He was looking forward to playing golf the next day and getting through a quick business meeting, much like the conventioneers gathering in the lobby. 

But unlike other visitors, Corcoran has a stake in whether tourists have fun and come back. 

So far, he's had plenty to be pleased about. Kingston Plantation is the star property in FelCor's 184-hotel lineup, with the complex's Embassy Suites having its best year ever in 2001 despite the terrorist attacks and lagging economy. 

Corcoran has been so impressed with the beach business that he's investing even more here. 

Earlier this year, FelCor bought the oceanfront Wyndham Myrtle Beach Resort, which is next door to the 145-acre Kingston Plantation. 

Plans are to renovate the hotel and convert it to a Hilton. 

Last month, crews started building the 251-unit Margate condominium tower at Kingston Plantation and should finish the $100 million project in 2004. 

FelCor -- a combination of Corcoran's and his partner Hervey Feldman's last names -- has 50,000 rooms across the country and is the owner of the largest number of hotels with the Embassy Suites, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Doubletree brands. 

FelCor's speciality -- high-end, luxury hotels -- brings a new standard to the Grand Strand, which has a reputation as an affordable vacation destination. 

But Kingston Plantation is getting some high-end company in the coming months as the Radisson Plaza Hotel at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center prepares for its January opening and crews work on the Marriott at Grande Dunes. 

He likes Myrtle Beach not just for its profitability, but for its vacation offerings. Every year he turns into a tourist, bringing his family from their home in Dallas for a getaway. 

QUESTION: How did FelCor find Myrtle Beach and why did the company buy a hotel here? 

ANSWER: A friend called me and said there was a great hotel for sale in Myrtle Beach, if we moved quickly. 

I didn't know where Myrtle Beach was. I had no idea. And there was almost no way to get there from Dallas. 

But then I saw that it was an all-suite hotel; that's what got me because that makes it easier to adapt to our plan. 

We spent $10 million on renovations to the hotel [originally a Radisson, then an Embassy Suites]. The Brighton Condominiums, a 200-unit residential development that opened in 2000 [at Kingston Plantation], has been a good success for us. We also built a water attraction to add more resort-type activities. 

The hotel and Kingston Plantation in general have been one of FelCor's better properties. 

Q: What are your plans for the newly acquired Wyndham Myrtle Beach Resort? 

A: The Wyndham, which will take the Hilton name after renovations, is right next door, so I always thought it made sense for it to be co-managed along with Kingston Plantation. But it needs money. It hasn't had a lot spent on it. We are going to work on mainly the interior, with new painting and other improvements. 

Q: How's business? 

A: Overall, we were down 12 percent, but Kingston Plantation was up 16 percent -- it had its best year ever. This year, year to date, Kingston Plantation has been up 4 percent while the company overall is down 9 percent. 

This is my star. This is the one that stands out to me. It's the second- or third-highest grossing revenue hotel we have, and it is the biggest project the company has. 

Q: What makes this property so successful? 

A: Look out the window. It's the ocean, the sand, the sun. 

It gets the families. All those together is what makes it work. 

Q: Do you think Myrtle Beach is ready for the high-end market? 

A: People are willing to pay for quality. We rode by the [convention center's] Radisson and where the new Marriott is going to be. I think it is good in a way and bad in another way. It may lift the overall image, but they are certainly competitors at the same time. It will elevate the quality of the experience for the guests. It's evolving. 

Q: What do you think of Myrtle Beach? 

A: A story about Myrtle Beach's signs recently showed up on the front page of The New York Times. It is a difficult market to describe to people sometimes. It has its own life to it. Maybe the signs are a little tacky, but it is what it is. It's not a Hilton Head Island. 

There are a lot of entrepreneurs who made this whole thing happen. A lot of independent hotel owners. It's really a neat part of Americana when you think about it. Some have moved here, built a business and now call it home. 

Q: What are your predictions for the economy? 

A: Right now, leisure travel is holding up pretty well, but clearly there are economic issues with unemployment, fear of terrorism. There is a lot of stuff going on. This is a very unusual time. But I've been through those before. The 1973-75 oil embargo, when people were lined up for blocks just to buy gas. In 1981, it was a horrible time for the economy. 

Right now, there is a weak economy and new risks in the world. But we will get through this. You just don't see it until it's over. 

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(c) 2002, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. FCH, HLT, WYN, SXC, MAR,