For a time, after the Columbia Hotel closed, the Powers was the only hotel in town, and "there was no night train leaving Columbia so visitors in the city were obliged to spend the night" (Missourian 2-12-1927). The hotel catered to the transient population of the town. People visited Columbia for commencement at the universities as well as state conferences and meetings. Families would sometimes move to Columbia temporarily for the public schools or the universities. Some professors at the universities preferred renting over buying. The hotel was also a rest stop for traveling businessmen who arrived at the Wabash raildraod station, which was one block north. 

 

The hotel guests included politicians such as William Jennings Bryan, and the football staff for the University of Missouri team. According to the Missourian's March 3, 1910 issue, "The coaches of the team stayed there...it was the headquarters for all student meetings and activities. Besides it was the meeting place for the Board of Curators and State Board of Agriculture."

 

When Mrs. Powers died, the hotel was run by Mr. Henry C. Wells, who was an unpopular proprieter. The hotel closed for a year before reopening April 1, 1910. It burned in June 1913.