The roots of Hotel Development Services, LLC are on the architecturally renowned campus of Miami University in Southwestern Ohio. That’s where Jim Clawson, Brian Kelly and Bob Ciampa formed a construction company as Miami students. From the early 1980s, the three began building apartments and homes near campus as CKC, Inc., and later, after graduation, moved into commercial projects that included hotels and restaurants.

In 1997 CKC formed an alliance with hotelier David Wespiser, seeking to expand upon his experience in hotel development, finance and franchising, and created Hotel Development Services. The company continues to be based in Oxford, Ohio, near the Miami campus where all four partners grew up and are now raising their families. 

Although it has developed a national platform for hotel, commercial and mixed-use urban development, HDS considers its partnership with the City of Oxford, Ohio, and its community redevelopment efforts there, as a continuing source of pride. In 2002 and again in 2013, the company was honored as “Business of the Year” from the City, which specifically cited its municipal garage The Elms Hotel and the Hampton Inn projects in Oxford, as transformative. HDS values its relationships with its community partners, working to ensure the highest level of trust through collaborative action.