— BUSINESS LIQUIDATIONS —

CASE STUDY #1:
DAYS INN, Louisville, Kentucky

SITUATION:  In 2001, “Babies R Us” approached the owner of a parcel of land to buy and build a store.  At that time, an 80-room DAYS INN had a lease-hold on the property.  After negotiations between the landowner and motel owner, it was determined that the motel would be demolished. Prior to demolition, the motel owner elected to sell all furniture, fixtures, and landscaping and miscellaneous items.  He contacted our office and signed a contract for us to auction anything and everything less the actual buildings.

GOAL:  In preparation for this auction, brochures were sent to previous attendees and to any and all lodging facilities in a 200-mile radius informing them of the pending auction.  Our preparations included renting a large heated tent for seating as well as specific furniture items TV sets, upholstered furniture, miscellaneous tables and chairs that were used in the motel operation.  We also hired a food service to allow our attendees to purchase food as we knew this auction would last the entire day and possibly into the evening.

Our strategy was to sell items in the tent first and then proceed to areas within the motel complex where groups of items un-related to the sleeping environment were gathered, i.e., laundry equipment/supplies, and maintenance equipment/supplies.  Then we literally physically went to specific rooms where we sold the “entire room” as one price, i.e., beds, lighting, window treatments, furniture and all bathroom fixtures.  The final auction process was to sell all trees, shrubbery and any lawn furniture or ornamental pieces that were not otherwise attached to the structures.

OUTCOME:  The auction was a tremendous success because we contacted the people who were interested in upgrading or adding on to their lodging facilities.  These people were able to do this very economically because the items were numerous and in very good condition.

The bottom line was, a motel lost its leasehold due to new construction and the owner was able to profit from the buy-out by the landholder and also the sale of all items associated with the motel.

Personal Property - $44,374.21

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