A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries after World War II, the word motel, coined as a portmanteau of "motor hotel", originates from the defunct motel named Milestone Mo-Tel in San Luis Obispo, California, which was built in 1925. The term referred to a type of hotel consisting of a single building of connected rooms whose doors faced a parking lot and in some circumstances, a common area or a series of small cabins with common parking. Motels are often individually owned, though motel chains do exist.
Howard Johnson by Wyndham, or more commonly Howard Johnson's and legally Howard Johnson International, Inc., is an American hotel brand as well as a former restaurant chain. Since 2006, all hotels and company trademarks have been owned by Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. As of 2024, there are 280 hotels in 15 countries.
Best Western International, Inc. owns the Best Western Hotels & Resorts brand, which it licenses to over 4,700 hotels worldwide. The franchise, with its corporate headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, includes more than 2,000 hotels in North America. The brand was founded by M. K. Guertin in 1946. As of December 2021, Larry Cuculic is the president and CEO of Best Western. As of 2018, it was nonprofit owned by its franchisee members.
Holiday Inn is a chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee. The chain was a division of Bass Brewery from 1988-2000, Six Continents from 2000-03, and IHG Hotels & Resorts since 2003. It operates hotels under the names Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, and Holiday Inn Resorts. As of 2018, Holiday Inn has hotels at over 1,100 locations.
Motel 6 is a privately owned hospitality company with a chain of budget motels in the United States and Canada. Motel 6 also operates Studio 6, a chain of extended-stay hotels. The hotel brand is owned by The Blackstone Group's real estate business. Blackstone purchased the business in 2012 from Accor Hotels, and established G6 Hospitality as the management company for Motel 6 and Studio 6.
Days Inn is a hotel chain headquartered in the United States. It was founded in 1970 by Cecil B. Day, who opened the first location in Tybee Island, Georgia. The brand is now a part of the Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, which used to be a part of Cendant. As of December 31, 2018, Days Inn includes 1,728 locations worldwide with 137,678 rooms.
Red Roof Inn is an American economy hotel chain based in the United States with over 600 properties globally, primarily in the Midwest, Southern, and Eastern United States. Red Roof Inn is a pet-friendly hotel chain.
Ramada is a large American multinational hotel chain owned by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. As of December 31, 2022, it operates 851 hotels with 120,344 rooms across 63 countries under the Ramada brand.
Choice Hotels International, Inc. is an American multinational hospitality company based in North Bethesda, Maryland. The company, which is one of the largest hotel chains in the world, owns several hotel brands ranging from upscale to economy. As of the third quarter 2023, Choice Hotels franchised nearly 7,500 hotels, representing nearly 630,000 rooms, in 46 countries and territories.
Travelodge or Travelodge by Wyndham refers to several hotel chains around the world. Current operations include the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and several countries in Asia. As of December 31, 2018, it had 435 properties with 31,005 rooms.
Econo Lodge is an budget motel chain based in the United States and Canada and one of the larger subsidiaries of Choice Hotels. The properties contain a minimum of 40 guest rooms and are often located near highways or highway access. All hotels provide a free breakfast. As of December 31, 2022, there are 759 Econo Lodge hotels open with 44,697 rooms. There are Econo Lodge motels in every US state and Canadian province.
Knights Inn is an American full-limited service hotel chain owned by Red Lion Hotels Corporation and based in Denver, Colorado. Knights Inn used to be built with all-exterior corridors and medieval-inspired architecture, but the chain now has updated options for all Knights Inn properties.
Rodeway Inn is a chain of economy-priced hotels in the United States and Canada. Founded by Michael Robinson in 1962, the franchise is now led by Choice Hotels corporation.
Baymont by Wyndham, formerly branded as Baymont Inn & Suites, is a hotel franchise owned by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts and based in the United States. As of December 31, 2018, it has 513 properties with 40,541 rooms.
Quality Inn is an American multinational chain of hotels based in Rockville, Maryland. It is a subsidiary of Choice Hotels which has operations in more than 40 countries. Quality Inn is the founding brand of Choice Hotels International with more than 1,800 hotels worldwide, as of 2018.
A referral hotel chain is a type of hotel franchise. It is a type of hotel that operates independently but maintains affiliation with a given chain. To stay within the chain, the hotel must meet certain minimum criteria.
The Susse Chalet brand was a chain of franchise hotels with all locations in the United States in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states. Hotels featured free local calls, dataports, expanded cable television, and continental breakfast. Most properties offered meeting facilities and swimming pool. The chain was sold in 2000 and the brand phased out shortly after.
Westmont Hospitality Group is a company nominally based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada which owns and manages hotels. It was founded by the Mangalji family. It is one of the biggest hospitality management companies. It currently is managed by Majid Mangalji. The total revenue for this company is $700 million.
Scottish Inns is a motel chain in the United States. It is a brand of Hospitality International.
The Alamo Plaza Hotel Courts brand was the first motel chain in the United States, founded by Edgar Lee Torrance in Waco, Texas, in 1929. By 1955, there were more than twenty Alamo Plazas across the southeastern U.S., most controlled by a loosely knit group of a half-dozen investors and operating using common branding or architecture.
