Meyers become new owners of Motel 89

Shawn and Stacie Meyer never pictured themselves owning the hotel and managing six buildings a year ago today. “We definitely wanted to have or work at a business in Grygla, though,” Stacie said in an interview with the Grygla Eagle. Although they are enjoying their time managing, it is a lot of work. “One perk would be being your own boss,” offered Shawn.

When the owners of MarBel Homes, who had wanted someone local to manage the buildings, approached Shawn and Stacie to manage, they decided to take on the task. Previously Shawn had worked at Nelson Ink in Middle River and Stacie had been self-employed. On November 1st 2014, they became the official managers of the five buildings included in MarBel Homes. On July 1st 2015, they became the official owners of Motel 89, a motel that has been local to Grygla for as long as most people can remember! 

Currently at the motel, the couple is working on redecorating all of the rooms to attract more guests; they are also remodeling the house portion of the motel. They plan on remodeling to accommodate continental breakfast for travelers on the go, and also putting in two tanning beds for public use. They have also been working on remodeling the Soil and Water Conservation office into two living suites. With all of the new changes, the only thing that they are planning on keeping the same is the name of the motel; they want to keep it easy to find and remember! 

With owning the Motel, and managing five other buildings, come duties and responsibilities. Stacie does all of the financial and paperwork for the apartments and does the tenant leases also. Shawn does most of the maintenance and cleaning that comes with managing and owning the building, which can add up to a lot with all of the buildings they manage. Although the couple doesn’t have any employees yet, except for some help here and there from Stacie’s three daughters, they do plan on maybe a few employees a little later down the road.

Future plans for the MarBel Homes would be to re-shingle the two duplexes and to go apartment to apartment and update all the old appliances. They would like to get newer appliances in Independence Hall and the Blair House. They also plan on fixing minor issues like chipped paint or broken utilities. A long-term plan for the MarBel homes would be to get some two-bedroom apartments for families and make it more family friendly; although it will be awhile, but it is still a thought! Regarding the motel, they are trying to modernize and update all the rooms to increase business a little bit, even if it is a small town!

When Stacie and Shawn had first taken over Motel 89, it had been very busy but things have slowed down a little bit, giving them time to redecorate rooms and start remodeling the house part of the building. They are taking the projects room by room trying not to overwhelm themselves. Although they have no official office hours yet they are there everyday for most of the day working on improving each room. 

They believe it takes many qualities to be a good manager of the local apartment buildings and Motel 89. One of the qualities would have to be pride, to be proud of what you manage and own is a big thing to them. You also have to be willing to work hard and stay very organized so you’re careful not to lose anything. They are greatly enjoying it and love how supportive the community is and are very glad that they made the change!