The Unconventional Wisdom Behind One Independent Hotel’s Surprising Redesign
MARSHFIELD, Wis. (January 2014) – There’s a reason creative types are attracted to the ranks of independent hotels – it’s because they get to be creative and strategic, break the rules, and execute design and operations ideas that many of the brands and franchises just can’t pull off. On top of that, they get to see firsthand what good hotel design emanating from rock-solid market research can do to improve the psyche of a community.
Case in point: Hotel Marshfield, a surprisingly distinctive independent hotel in a quaint community smack dab in the middle of Wisconsin.
The Before Story: The hotel, built in the mid-1960s with several additions cobbled on over the years, was first an independent then a franchise then back to an independent when it succumbed to foreclosure, shuttering its doors in early 2012. The property went on the selling block at a sheriff’s auction in May of that same year and was purchased by local businessman Rick Roehl, president of Roehl Transport, who did not want to see the building stand vacant or worse. The owner brought on hotel development and management firm IDM Group, LLC, headquartered in Madison, Wis., to help transform the long-tired hotel into something everyone could be proud of – residents, employees and visitors.
The During Story: Two words – gut everything. The property was taken down to the studs, the floor plan was significantly reconfigured, and new furniture and fixtures were installed. The only things remaining entirely original to the building are the footprint, exterior walls and roofline. The renovation took a full year from start-to-finish to complete.
The After Story: The hotel opened in early fall 2013 to oohhs and aahhs and instant bookings, thanks to the completely unexpected nature of the design. Word travels fast in a tight-knit community like Marshfield and in a friendly state like Wisconsin. Here’s the photo gallery.
The Facts:
Cosmopolitan Aesthetic Actually Works in Small Town America
Lesson learned: Just because you live in a small community in the Midwest doesn’t mean you don’t deserve a proper urban-chic hotel. Residents are immensely proud of this property. In turn, that sentiment helped attract employees, the vast majority of whom are locals, who are very proud to work at Hotel Marshfield.
Hotel Marshfield · 2700 S. Central Avenue · Marshfield, WI 54449 · 855.583.2700 · HotelMarshfield.com
The Design and Construction Team
-Architect: Dimension IV Madison Design Group, Madison (www.dimensionivmadison.com)
-Interior Design: Innvision Design, Atlanta, Georgia (www.invisiondesigngroup.net
-General Contractor: Don Nikolai Construction, Inc., Marshfield
-Pool Contractor: Poolblu, Lake Geneva (www.poolblu.com)
About IDM Group, LLC
IDM Group manages more than 1,200 guest rooms at 14 independent properties around the Midwest and employs just over 500 people. The firm was founded in 1999 and has never strayed from its niche of developing and managing independent hotels, many of them boutique properties. Current clients include the ultra-modern HotelRED in Madison, Wis.; historic Hotel Julien Dubuque in downtown Dubuque, Iowa, which underwent a $33 million renovation; and the Hotel Vandivort in Springfield, Missouri, a former Masonic temple set to open as a high-end property in 2014. IDM Group is headquartered in Madison, Wis. and may be found on the web at www.inndevmgmt.com. The phone number is 608.819.3063.