Ribbon Cut

Locally owned, newly remodeled and renamed Lincoln Comfort Inn & Suites celebrates with ribbon cut

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[October 18, 2019]  A small but fun group gathered on a chilly Wednesday morning to celebrate a big change in the community.

After 24 years as a Holiday Inn in Lincoln, the well-known and locally owned motel is now a Comfort Inn and Suites. Located on the west side of town, right off the interstate the motel has been a landmark in its own right for many years, and will continue to be so, only with a new name.

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held to celebrate the many changes that come with the new name. All the rooms have been newly remodeled. A large breakfast room has been established with lots of tasty foods served including a waffle station, sweet pastries and bagels, and other hot breakfast items.

Gathering together for the cut were owners Lynn Paulus and Jenna Beyers, General Manager Damon Priddy, Assistant Manager Tina Simpson, a large number of the daytime staff of the Comfort Inn, Lincoln Mayor Seth Goodman, Alderwoman Kathy Horn, Don Peasley, and the LDN ribbon cutting crew of Karen Hargis, Roy Logan and Nila Smith.

 

The owners of Hotel Ventures Management Illinois, Paulus and Beyers spoke briefly about their transition from Holiday to Comfort. They both spent the majority of their speaking time acknowledging their staff who worked so hard to assist with the remodel and now serve so well to make sure that guests have a very positive experience at Comfort Inn.


Jenna Beyers (right in white) Lynn Paulus (left in gray) Damon Priddy (behind Paulus) Jean Bruner-Jachino (far right in gold)

Beyers noted that they as owners were happy to be a part of Logan County and they loved their new remodel and knew it had been a lot of hard work on the part of the staff.


Lynn Paulus (center) Tina Simpson (left) Damon Priddy (right)

Paulus noted the same thing complimenting all the staff for their hard work. She also noted the local artwork throughout the hotel in the rooms, lobby area and other places. She said that Comfort Inn was big on supporting local culture and attractions so the photo art throughout the building featured Lincoln College, Creekside Outdoor Center for Environmental Learning and other sites around the area.

Simpson and Priddy were the next to be introduced. Priddy said that like the owners, he was very proud of his staff and the work they do every day.



Bruner-Jachino was the next to speak and talked about getting first-hand experience in what the staff does. She noted that she had come and helped with some of the clean-up and got the ‘vacuum award’ on her days.

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Tina Simpson (holding left corner of banner) Mayor Seth Goodman (behind Simpson)

Lincoln Mayor Seth Goodman also addressed the group. In addition to offering his congratulations he spoke about the good experience he had with the motel at the ‘Balloons Over 66’ weekend in August. He said that the pilots had enjoyed their experience at the motel and that the service had been very good. He noted that he had put staff and management through the paces with all the last minute additions and deletions, but they had handled it all very well and everyone had been very pleased. Simpson chimed in that it had been a true test for all of them and they had enjoyed the challenge and look forward to doing it again.

With speeches concluded, the group posed for a pre-cut photo then everyone participated in the count down to the snip of the ribbon.

With the ribbon cut guests were encouraged to enjoy breakfast with the owners and management. Two rooms had been set aside and opened for tours. As the tour was conducted, Bruner-Jachino noted that they had one special room set aside for the tour, but that someone bought it, so the staff had to make some quick changes and room maintenance to add a different room to the tour.

Priddy said that the two rooms toured were just two of about seven room combinations that are offered. He shared that they have special needs rooms including ADA accessible rooms and a room for the hearing impaired. He noted that particular room features strobe lights that will go off in certain situations such as someone knocking on the room door. This is done so that guests who do have hearing issues can rest comfortably and secure in the knowledge that they are safe and being looked after as needed.

Priddy also noted there are still some small touches that will be added along the way, such as larger televisions in the rooms.

Congratulations to the owners and staff at the new Comfort Inn and Suites. The motel is a great asset to the community and the investment in the community is greatly appreciated.

[Nila Smith]

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