Mar 6, 2019 By The 2 min read

The owners of the Cobblestone Hotel & Suites in Connellsville asked a bankruptcy judge to approve a motion to take initial steps toward potentially selling the business.

Trailside Lodging, through attorney Michael J. Roeschenthaler, asked a judge to sign off on an agreement with MBA Hotel Brokers, Inc. to list and sell the three-story, 54-room hotel.

An attached listing agreement for the hotel did not specify an asking price.

The request came less than a month after Trailside filed for bankruptcy, citing difficulty sustaining the business due to the wax and wane of visitors.

“As visitors frequent the Connellsville area more often in the warmer months, the occupancy rate at the hotel increases and conversely, decreases during the colder months,” Roeschenthaler wrote in the motion to start the process to sell the property on North Street in the city.

Maryland-based MBA Hotel Brokers has no stake in the company, according to court filings.

The hotel in Connellsville is one of several across the country in the Cobblestone Hotel & Suites franchise. Trailside bought into the franchise and opened the city’s $4.5 million Cobblestone in February 2017.

The hotel is located near the Great Allegheny Passage biking and hiking trail.

In the initial bankruptcy filing made last month, the hotel’s owners said the Cobblestone company had cut off its ability to accept reservations on the phone or online after Trailside defaulted on $20,595 in fees owed the company.

The ability to accept reservations has since been restored.

The motion to employ MBA Hotel Brokers stated the company would act as a real estate broker to “market and potentially sell” all or most of the hotel’s assets.

An attached listing agreement notes the broker will receive a 5 percent commission fee on the sale.

A judge has set an April 4 hearing in the matter.