Sam and Kristy met in Denver in 2010. Kristy was working the front desk at a chain hotel and Sam was in business-to-business sales. It was soon clear that their destinies were linked and they went on to form a great bond, marrying and moving to Kristy’s hometown of Grand Junction, Colorado. 

Kristy worked in and around hotels throughout the 2000s, gaining 20 years of experience. She often found that the way she wanted to operate a property was not the way the owners would allow.

One day during the pandemic restrictions, Kristy started browsing Commercial Real Estate sites and noticed there were quite a few distressed motels that would fit within their real estate budget. So the couple sold their current home, bought a motor home, packed up their three dogs and went on the road searching for the right fit. They got as far as Oklahoma before they realized they had fallen in love with one of the first properties they viewed, and they backtracked to the charming town of Canadian, Texas.

That was in April 2022. We started with only half of the units open and several units in disrepair. It has been a mad scramble to get the motel up to a standard of quality that will make us proud to run the place. It is a work-in-progress. The task has been formidable: website creation, learning new property management software, enrolling with the major booking sites, all while checking in and servicing guests! We’ve made sure to keep the dogs walked and fed, often forgetting to keep ourselves fed in the spare minutes, but if any couple is prepared for this journey, it’s us.

The Canadian Inn has a rich history going back to 1960. Ask many long-time residents in the area and they’ll tell you how they used to clean rooms as a teenager, back when it was called Canadian Motel. In the summer, children were welcome to hang out in the pool (which has since been filled in).

We are eager to restore the charm and former glory to this motel. Canadian Inn is one of the first landmarks visible on the drive into town. We would like the community to be proud that our motel welcomes visitors to the town dubbed The Oasis of the Plains.