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1. Stratford Inn – Sycamore, Illinois
Perfectly matched buyer and property
Hotel for Sale: Stratford Inn
Market: Sycamore (DeKalb), Illinois
The historic Stratford Inn was originally built in 1926 in the heart of downtown
Sycamore, Illinois. Located 65 miles west of Chicago, and within one hour of three
other largest cities in Illinois, the boutique hotel also benefits from its close
proximity to Northern Illinois University. The Stratford Inn was completely
redeveloped in the late 1980’s but was then allowed to decline twenty years later
before it was foreclosed by its lender.
Challenge
The Stratford Inn contains 39 rooms, a restaurant, lounge and banquet facility.
Based on the limited number of guestrooms and full-service nature of the operation,
few buyers surfaced who had the skills to run such a hotel.
Hotel Sales/Marketing Process
Through an aggressive sales and marketing process, prospective buyers were
identified who owned independent hotels, historic properties as well as had a
specialty of operating full-service hotels. Alterative use buyers were also targeted.
Results
The buyer who eventually closed on the purchase of the property had a true passion
for the industry. Although this group had no hotel ownership experience, they

2. assembled a team of professionals to oversee a repositioning strategy of the
Stratford Inn. The new ownership group spent considerable time listening to the
business and social communities to determine what they wanted in a hotel. The
hotel will again be operated as a full-service operation serving the needs of the
community.