As newcomers to Iola, Manish Sahdev and wife Karisma have already felt welcomed into the community.
Now, the new owners of Iola’s Regency Inn are intent on extending that same hospitality to their customers.
The Sahdevs acquired Regency Inn about two months ago, and have immediately made efforts to ensure their motel is the preferred destination for anyone staying in Iola on a short- or long-term basis.
“We want to be very prompt with everything,” Manish said. “We want to make sure everything is clean, hygienic. We love to hear feedback.”
In their short time in charge, the Sahdevs have increased staffing, with four housekeepers and two maintenance workers.
On top of their overnight business, they’ve also instituted long-term room rentals, starting at $650 a month.
“It’s about helping people in the community,” Manish said, including senior citizens, workers needing housing for extended periods, or simply folks simply down on their luck and unable to find a rental property.
The move has been well-received, the Sahdevs noted, with the long-term customers occupying one of Regency’s three main buildings.
“They enjoy knowing their neighbors,” Karisma said. “It’s like we have our own community.”
The efforts are different from a decade or so ago, when the motel’s former owners — it was the Crossroads Motel back then — allowed long-term indigent clients to stay there, often for a fraction of what long-term motel guests would pay.
But that courtesy came at a cost, as the building began to deteriorate because revenues couldn’t keep up with expenses.
A change of ownership in 2014 led to a new name — Regency Inn — and a full renovation of the 60-year-old facility.
Now, the Sahdevs are eager to keep that forward momentum going. They’ve helped with repairs, with an added emphasis on cleanliness and hygiene.
And with a nod to the last time the hotel allowed long-term tenants, Karisma notes guests seeking such accommodations must first provide proof of income before they’re booked.
“We’ve had people coming form Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming,” Manish said. “We want to have the best rooms in town.”
COMING to Iola was a bit of culture shock, the Sahdevs noted. They came to Kansas from Queens, N.Y.
