New budget hotel chain coming to north Kalispell

A new hotel is likely destined for the rapidly growing north end of Kalispell.

My Place, an Aberdeen, South Dakota-based budget hotel chain, is working to open a location on a piece of land at 755 Treeline Road. The proposed site is directly north of Lowe’s and between the Holiday Inn Express and U.S. 93 near Mackenzie River Pizza.

Kalispell City Planner P.J. Sorenson said the company had submitted paperwork for a building permit earlier in the week. While it had yet to be reviewed, projects that make it this far in the process usually come to fruition, Sorenson said.

As proposed, the hotel would be four stories tall, cover 37,529 square feet and hold about 85 rooms. The project was valued at about $4 million.

The company was co-founded by Ron Rivett, who also co-founded the Super 8 motel chain. In 1993 he sold the Super 8 chain when it had around 1,000 locations and worked as a franchisee until after the recession, when he thought he had an idea for a new budget hotel chain.

Thus, My Place was born.

Each My Place room has a refrigerator, microwave, two-burner stove and sink. The chain is also pet-friendly.

The hotel chain has been carving a niche in the industry by trying to take advantage of both the extended and short-term stay market, according to their public relations director, Ngoc Thach.

She said that rather than simply focus on one group of people, My Place works to appeal to both people who are there for weeks or months and also those who are only staying for a night or two. She also said her company has an “unrelenting commitment to excellence.”

Each hotel the company builds is brand new, and Thach said that a quarterly inspection the company performs at each location ensures the guest experience is consistent when compared to other hotel chains.

The company currently has 49 locations operating in 20 states, mostly in the western U.S. Thach said the franchise agreement for the Kalispell location had recently been signed.

My Place already has locations in Montana in Billings, Bozeman and Missoula. More information about the company can be found at www.myplacehotels.com.

Reporter Peregrine Frissell can be reached at (406) 758-4438 or pfrissell@dailyinterlake.com.