News

Aug 22, 2023

'Nothing less than deplorable': Travelers Motel shut down after city inspection

Evan Thiel had only been living at Travelers Motel for two weeks when he was forced out. The 18-year-old had made the motel his home after struggling to find a rental with very little credit. He was

Evan Thiel had only been living at Travelers Motel for two weeks when he was forced out.

The 18-year-old had made the motel his home after struggling to find a rental with very little credit. He was one of a few tenants remaining at the motel Monday afternoon after the Boise Fire Department shut it down after a recent inspection found “deplorable” and “unsafe” living conditions.”

Thiel told BoiseDev his experience at the motel has been fine and the closure was “super annoying,” but he’s heard other rooms were in worse condition than his. The inspection summary documents state his room didn’t have hot water, but city inspectors found it was in better condition than nearly every other room available. Thiel was paying $400 a week for his room.

“I will have to try and find another motel, I guess,” he said, standing in the nearly empty motel courtyard.

The Travelers Motel is located at 5620 Fairview Avenue in Boise. While there, inspectors found black mold, rotting floors, electrical issues, insect infestations, no water, feces, vomit, and a myriad of other conditions which led to the inspectors classifying the motel as “unfit for habitation,” according to the July 25 inspection report obtained by BoiseDev.

Inspectors noted approximately 30 people would be displaced as a result of the shutdown. As rents rose and housing became more scarce nationwide, sometimes those with low incomes, criminal records, drug addictions, evictions, mental illnesses and other barriers to housing live in motels long term. The report summary mentioned multiple minors living at the property and BoiseDev also heard reports of at least one family residing at Travelers as well. Signs at the property explicitly stated the business was a motel — not apartments.

When BoiseDev visited the motel on Monday afternoon, a man and a woman working in the motel office declined to answer questions about the shutdown. Neither identified themselves, but the man told BoiseDev staff that new windows had been ordered and paid for to replace the multiple broken-out windows visible throughout the property.

The motel is owned by Titli Honey LLC, which has Honey Patel as a registered agent — however, the LLC is currently listed as inactive or dissolved according to the latest filings with the Idaho Secretary of State.

Photos in the inspection summary showed portions of floors with extensive floor rot. One unit’s bathroom did not have a floor — just some planks over the exposed plumbing and rotting ground. Inspectors observed hoarder conditions in certain rooms, unsanitary bathrooms covered in mold, rust and grime, and walls swelled with moisture. Some units did not have showers, or were missing showerheads. Multiple toilets were stated to be broken — some full of feces. Some units did not have plumbing.

One unit’s sewer main was broken at the elbow and was leaking sewage and toilet paper outside. There were also many units with electrical issues and exposed wiring. One appeared to have a burned outlet and many of the rooms did not have smoke detectors.

The summary states that motel management stated it didn’t rent certain rooms that had issues, but the inspector had received reports from neighboring businesses stating otherwise.

“The conditions found during this latest inspection were such that the buildings are not approved for occupancy,” BFD Fire Marshal Mike Bisagno told BoiseDev in an interview. “This is not normal for motels housing people long-term or short-term.”

According to city documents, the motel was listed as having 16 rooms total. But, there were 23 rooms inspected. The report noted that several of these units were likely added after the motel opened and city records do not show any building permits for them. Of the 23 units inspected, 20 had issues — and about half of those had serious issues, city inspectors found.

The laundry room also had work done without permits and had open electrical panels and makeshift wiring throughout.

Fire inspections at hotels and motels are required to occur every two years. During inspections, fire inspectors look for violations of the city’s fire code. If they find anything that is not up to code, they will issue corrections that the property owner will need to fix either immediately or over a short period of time depending on the violation.

Bisagno said in his five years with BFD’s Fire Prevention Division, he has never heard of or seen another motel shut down due to fire code violations.

“There have been some that have had to make quite a few corrections in order to stay in business, but the owners ended up making the corrections expediently so as to not lose business,” Bisagno said. “None of these, however, had the conditions like those found at the Travelers Motel.”

Bisagno said the conditions found at Travelers were so severe that occupancy of the property could not be approved. He said the inspection was prompted because a complaint against the property was filed. Bisago said an inspection of the motel is required every two years, the last time Travelers was inspected was in 2022. Bisagno said he did not know how much worse the property was than last year.

BoiseDev filed a public records request for Travelers Motel’s 2022 inspection, but it had not been issued prior to the publication of this story.

Representatives from Terry Reilly Health Services, CATCH and Interfaith Sanctuary visited the motel Monday.

Interfaith Sanctuary Executive Director Jodi Peterson-Stigers said when Our Path Home, the city’s network of public and private partners that manages homelessness services in Ada County, received word of the closure, it mobilized. Peterson-Stigers said representatives went to the motel to determine what the needs were of the people who were about to be displaced. They weren’t able to contact everyone, but the people they did reach out to had living arrangements arranged already.

“It was pretty upsetting to see the conditions that families with children, medical fragile, and other people were living in,” Peterson-Stigers said. “It was really heartbreaking and I feel like they believe that’s what they deserve and they didn’t know there were other options out there. … It was very eye-opening seeing the way people who are trying to manage their own shelter housing live and I think they’re very preyed upon. They are very vulnerable and they are being taken advantage of.”

Signage posted around the motel stated that all occupants had to be out by 11 p.m. on Monday.

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