Travelers were wandering into the front door of Texas Township’s new Microtel Inn & Suites as Janice Ibershoff and her staff were putting the final touches on the property for its early May grand opening.
"I was so pleasantly surprised," says Ibershoff, Vice President of Operations for Lodgco Management LLC, the hotel’s Mount-Pleasant-based parent company. "They all said they would be back!"
In Ibershoff’s opinion, Kalamazoo is the perfect location for a new hotel, which now is open on Ninth Street just south of I-94.
"Kalamazoo is a very special community," she says "We have been welcomed with open arms."
Lodgco purchased the building early this year for $1.8 million according to Ibershoff, and, after a $300,000 renovation, brought 75 guest rooms -- and 16 jobs -- to the city this month.
"This is the most excited, dedicated staff that I’ve ever opened a hotel with," Ibershoff says of her front desk, housekeeping, maintenance, management and restaurant associates. "They are all just wonderful."
The Kalamazoo location is among 14 of Lodgco’s Microtel hotels in Michigan, and booking began immediately after opening.
"We’ve been getting a lot of walk-ins, but we’ve also got lots of sports teams booked for tournaments this summer and people who are planning their vacations right now, too," Ibershoff says. "We are booking through the summer months and even into early fall."
The hotel has complimentary laundry facilities for its guests, a free daily breakfast and free Wi-Fi as well.
"It’s a budget hotel, but it’s very reminiscent of a townhome community," she says. "The neighbors told me they were happy to see the building occupied."
Writer: Kelle Barr, Second Wave Media
Source: Janice Ibershoff, Vice President of Operations, Lodgco Management
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