Reflecting on Work and Voluntarism

July 21, 2026 | Careers

Kevin DeMark has spent the past two decades designing, developing, building, and maintaining OTO’s growing portfolio of hotels — but his tenure with The Johnson Group goes back even further, to the company’s Extended Stay America days.

While celebrating his 20th OTO Workiversary, we asked Kevin to reflect on his long career and dedicated community service. Here's what our Senior National Director of Facilities said:

Looking back on my nearly three decades in hospitality, it’s remarkable to see how the path led here.

It started at Extended Stay America, where I managed the facilities department and led capital renovations across the portfolio — my first real exposure to The Johnson Group of companies, though I had no idea then how far that connection would go.

From there I moved to Advance America, building and renovating retail stores nationwide. One project I'm still proud of: designing a modular bulletproof glass store format for high-risk locations. Overall, we built and renovated 250 stores, including 30 bulletproof locations. It taught me a lot about designing for real-world conditions, not just ideal ones.

A brief return to The Blackstone Group/Extended Stay America followed, then I rejoined The Johnson Group in 2006 as part of OTO, first leading the architecture group designing our growing limited-service hotel portfolio, and over the years since, helping design, develop, build, and maintain what has become a rapidly expanding footprint.

Across my career, I've now touched more than 600 hotels. But what I'm proudest of isn't a property count — it's the team I've built along the way: a group of facility leaders who understand our guests, who understand the real impact facilities have on the guest experience, and who understand why capital planning and predictive maintenance aren't back-office tasks — they’re strategy.

Outside of work, service matters to me. I'm active in my church — including fundraising and leading a team to bring fresh drinking water to a church in Cuba — and I've had the privilege of serving my community here in Spartanburg: six years on the Downtown Design Review Board, three of them as chairman, and now a four-year term as a City Planning Commissioner.

Building good hotels and building a good community come from the same place, I think.

Twenty years in, I think often about the people who came before me, who mentored me, who were patient enough to teach me the lessons that actually mattered. I hope to keep passing that forward.

Grateful for the past, energized about what's next. Go, OTO!

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