EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — A downtown Eau Claire hotel will be auctioned off next week.

S.B. Hotel Management owns the downtown Ramada Hotel and Convention Center and owes more than $1.6 million to both their lender and Ramada.

The court has appointed another hotel operator to run the hotel until it's sold. Ramada Worldwide sent a letter to the temporary operator, saying it doesn't want the hotel in their chain anymore.

WQOW-TV (http://bit.ly/14xbE5G ) says the new operators told attorneys they're gathering information on the cost of relaunching the hotel under a new name.

S.B. Hotel Management filed an appeal requesting postponement of the sheriff's auction on Tuesday. But a judge ruled the company would have to pay off its debt to avoid the sheriff's sale.