The former Super 8 Motel in Lawrence now is living by the Golden Rule.

Golden Rule Motel, 515 McDonald Drive, is the new name attached to the 49-room motel that had been a Super 8 since its development 18 years ago.

The 49-room Golden Rule Motel, 515 McDonald Drive, now occupies the space built in 1986 as a Super 8 Motel.

New signs went up last week, marking the final steps in a brand conversion that began last month. The change will have little effect on travelers, the motel’s management or its employees, said Teresa Sanders, president of Innworks, which manages the motel.

Golden Rule is a new independent brand created by Innworks, a St. Paul, Minn.-based chain of 21 value-priced motels owned by the K. Mason Sanders family.

Innworks has managed the motel since 1989. The property’s affiliation with Super 8 had been up for renewal at the end of November, but Teresa Sanders said Innworks could not afford the “six-figure” expense of adding rooms or parking lot features required to retain the Super 8 affiliation.

Some of the Lawrence motel’s savings from no longer paying fees to Super 8 will be dedicated to improvements, Sanders said, such as adding high-speed Internet access in every room.

Innworks has five other properties in Kansas: Best Value Inns in Emporia, McPherson and Newton; and Super 8 Motels in Hutchinson and Great Bend. The Hutchinson motel will be converted to a Best Value Inn early next month, Sanders said. A final decision about converting the Great Bend property has not been made.