A new start for Marshall motel
Formerly vacant Super 8 reopens under new owners
MARSHALL — The motel had been closed down for over a year. But the new owners of the Super 8 in Marshall are working to breathe some life back into the business.
“We just opened about two weeks ago. We had been doing work for about six months before that,” said Keith Pospisil, one of the hotel’s new owners.
And so far, it looked like customers in the area were ready for the doors to re-open, he said.
“Even when we were renovating, we would get people calling in. I think this is a great location.”
Pospisil and his business partner Sam Haque have been updating the Super 8, with the goal of giving the hotel a fresh look and making all of its guest rooms available to book again.
“It’s been a challenge, and it’s been fun doing it,” Pospisil said.
The Super 8 in Marshall had gone into foreclosure in 2020, and was later sold to a property management company. The company had then put the hotel up for sale again.
Buying the Super 8 was a new project for both Haque and Pospisil. Haque owns five extended-stay hotels in Minnesota, but this would be his first franchise hotel, Pospisil said. For Pospisil, managing a hotel is a new career path. After the isolation of the COVID pandemic, Pospisil said he was looking for a change from his independent consulting business.
“I’m a people person,” he said.
Haque and Pospisil started out by making some changes to the guest rooms at the Super 8, with guidance from the hotel chain. Pospisil said there was “a good base” to work with at the hotel building, including some Minnesota-themed décor that they decided to keep.
Adding touches like new curtains and bedspreads helped give rooms a new look. Getting rid of some of the existing furniture also helped rooms feel less dated, Pospisil said.
“There was definitely a lot of addition by subtraction,” he said.
Pospisil and Haque also worked to replace the air conditioners and some of the appliances in the guest rooms. New water heaters and water softeners have been installed for the hotel, too.
One important goal for the new Super 8 owners was to make all of the hotel’s guest rooms available to customers again, Pospisil said.
Over the years, some guest rooms had been turned into storage areas. During renovations, Pospisil worked to help clear the rooms out and refurbish them.
“Our plan is that every room should be rentable, and every room should be nice,” he said.
In the future, Pospisil said they would also like to build a breakfast room at the Super 8. First, however, it was time to build up some business again for the hotel.
“We’re trying to get the word out” about the re-opening, he said.
