How Two Best Friends Became the Motel Queens of Canada
Photo by Netflix
April Brown and Sarah Sklash had never intended to co-own a motel, nor did they dream of becoming designers. In fact, they didn’t even know where Sauble Beach, Ontario, was. “When we found this rundown motel, we didn’t have the budget to hire a big team, so we had no choice but to roll up our sleeves and learn,” Sarah says.
As best friends with a nearly 20-year history, April and Sarah have the type of relationship where mutual support could potentially mean creating a life that was never anticipated. They met in college and lived in Toronto for years before they made plans to purchase a dilapidated motel together, because honestly, that’s the sort of pipe dream that’s said but never done. “I was working in public relations and Sarah was working for the government,” April remembers. And yet, April redesigned her condo, and Sarah had done the same for a cottage. By 2016, both confessed that their careers were not what they’d hoped. There had to be a way to be happy, and they were willing to take a few risks as long as they had each other.
