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[[File:Bjerka Motel B.JPG|thumb|right|A motel in [[Bjerka]], Norway]]
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 vehicle]]s 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]]
As large highway systems began to be developed in the 1920s, long-distance road journeys became more common, and the need for inexpensive, easily accessible overnight accommodation sites close to the main routes led to the growth of the motel concept.<ref name="Seattle Times"/> Motels peaked in popularity in the 1960s with rising car travel, only to decline in response to competition from the newer chain hotels that became commonplace at highway interchanges as traffic was bypassed onto newly constructed [[freeways]]. Several historic motels are listed on the US [[National Register of Historic Places]].
==Architecture==
[[File:Star Lite Motel in Dilworth, Minnesota, USA. Winter view.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Star Lite Motel]] in [[Dilworth, Minnesota]] is a typical American 1950s L-shaped motel.]]
[[File:SWIMMING POOL OF THUNDERBIRD MOTEL ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER WITHIN YARDS OF THE INTERSTATE BRIDGE CONNECTING WASHINGTON... - NARA - 548083.jpg|thumb|right|Motels frequently have large pools, such as the Thunderbird Motel on the Columbia River in [[Portland, Oregon]] (1973).]]
[[File:Motel lobby in Custer, South Dakota.jpg|thumb|right|A typical motel lobby at the Rocket Motel in [[Custer, South Dakota]]]]
Motels differ from hotels in their location along highways, as opposed to the urban cores favored by hotels, and their orientation to the outside (in contrast to hotels, whose doors typically face an interior hallway). Motels almost by definition include a parking lot, while older hotels were not usually built with automobile parking in mind.
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===Layout===
Motels are typically constructed in an
The [[post-war]] motels, especially in the early 1950s to late 1960s, sought more visual distinction, often featuring eye-catching colorful [[neon sign]]s which employed themes from popular culture, ranging from [[Western (genre)|Western]] imagery of cowboys and Indians to contemporary images of spaceships and [[Atomic Age|atomic era]] iconography. [[U.S. Route 66]] is the most popular example of the "neon era". Many of these signs remain in use to this day.
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===Early motels===
[[Image:MotelInnObispo.jpg|thumb|right|[[Arthur Heineman]]'s [[Motel Inn of San Luis Obispo]]]]
The term "motel" originated
Combining the individual cabins of the tourist court under a single roof yielded the motor court or motor hotel. A handful of motor courts were beginning to call themselves motels, a term coined in 1926. Many of these early motels are still popular and are in operation, as in the case of the 3V Tourist Court<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.themagnoliacafe.net/magnolia3vtouristcourts.html|title=3V Tourist Court}}</ref> in [[St. Francisville, Louisiana]], built in 1938.
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In 1954 a 60-room motor hotel in [[Flagstaff, Arizona]], opened as the first [[Ramada]] ([[Spanish language|Spanish]] for "[[ramada (shelter)|a shaded resting place]]"). The [[Twin Bridges Motor Hotel]], established in 1957 near [[Washington, D.C.]] as a member of Quality Courts, became the first [[Marriott International|Marriott]] in 1959, expanding from motel to hotel in 1962.
For individual motel owners, a franchise chain provided an automated central reservation system and a nationally recognized brand which assured consumers that rooms and amenities met a consistent minimum standard. This came at a cost; franchise fees, marketing fees, reservation fees, and royalty fees were not reduced during times of economic recession, leaving most of the business risk with the franchisee while franchise corporations profited. Some franchise contracts restricted the franchisee's ability to sell the business as a going concern or leave the franchise group without penalty.<ref name="google1">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r_nxcSS1TfUC&pg=PA92 |title=Life Behind the Lobby: Indian American Motel Owners and the American Dream |author=Pawan Dhingra |page=92 |date=April 25, 2012 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=9780804782029 |access-date=August 15, 2012}}</ref>
For the chain, the franchise model allowed a higher level of product standardization and quality control than was possible as a referral chain model while allowing expansion beyond the maximum practical size of a tightly held ownership chain.
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===Decline===
[[File:Grand West Courts, Chicago.jpg|thumb|Abandoned Grand West Courts in Chicago, demolished in September 2013]]
In many once-prime locations, independent motels which thrived in the 1950s and 1960s were being squeezed out by the 1980s as they were forced to compete with growing chains with a much larger number of rooms at each property. Many were left stranded on former two-lane main highways which had been bypassed by motorways or declined as original owners retired and subsequent proprietors neglected the maintenance of buildings and rooms. As these were low-end properties even in their heyday, most are now showing their age.
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[[Image:Abandoned motel room - 3206 Ontario Highway 2 - Pittsburgh Township.jpg|thumb|left|An abandoned room]]
In declining urban areas (like [[Kingston Road (Toronto)|Kingston Road]] in [[Toronto]], or some of the districts along [[Van Buren Street (Arizona)|Van Buren Street]] in [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]], largely bypassed as a through route to California by [[Interstate 10 in Arizona|Interstate 10]]), the remaining low-end motels from the two-lane highway era are often seen as seedy places for the homeless, prostitution, and drugs<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/real-estate/article1282406.ece| title=It's check-out time for Scarborough's storied motel strip | author=Dave LeBlanc | newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]] | date=September 10, 2009}}</ref> as vacant rooms in now-bypassed areas are often rented (and in some cases acquired outright) by social-service agencies to house refugees, abuse victims, and families awaiting [[social housing]]. Conversely, some areas which were merely roadside suburbs in the 1950s are now valuable urban land on which original structures are being removed through [[gentrification]] and the land used for other purposes. Toronto's [[Lake Shore Boulevard]] strip in [[Etobicoke]] was bulldozed to make way for [[Condominium (living space)|condominium]]s.
In some cases, historic properties have been allowed to slowly decay. The Motel Inn of San Luis Obispo, which (as the Milestone Motor Hotel) was the first to use the "motel" name, sits incomplete with what is still standing left boarded up and fenced off at the side of [[U.S. Route 101]]; a 2002 restoration proposal<ref>{{cite web | title=Motel Inn restoration proposal (2002, never implemented) | year=2002 | publisher=King Ventures (Apple Farm Inn) | url=http://www.kingventures.net/applfrm_motinn/restore_rehab.htm | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305002516/http://www.kingventures.net/applfrm_motinn/restore_rehab.htm | archive-date=March 5, 2016 }}</ref> never came to fruition.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2006-08-15/news/0608150234_1_motel-inn-arthur-heineman-milestone-mo-tel | title=World's first motel a sight worth saving | publisher=[[Chicago Tribune]] | date=August 15, 2006 | author=Eric Zorn }}</ref>
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===Modernization===
In the late 20th century, a majority of motels in the United States came under the ownership of people of Indian descent, particularly [[Gujarati people|Gujaratis]]<ref name="NYT1">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/04/magazine/a-patel-motel-cartel.html?pagewanted=all | title=A Patel Motel Cartel?| author=Tunku Varadarajan | date=July 4, 1999 | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | access-date=September 1, 2010}}</ref><ref name="BBC1">{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3177054.stm | title=America's Patel Motels| author=Chhavi Dublish | date=October 10, 2003 | work=[[BBC News]] | access-date=February 16, 2012}}</ref> as the original "mom and pop" owners retired from the motel industry and sold their properties. However, some families still kept their motels, and to this day, one can find a motel owned by the same family who built and ran it originally (
Amenities offered have also changed, with motels that once touted color television as a luxury now emphasizing wireless Internet, flatscreen television, pay-per-view or in-room movies, microwave ovens, and minibar fridges in rooms which may be reserved online using [[credit card]]s and secured against intruders with [[key card]]s which expire as soon as a client checks out.<ref group="Note">Traditionally, motels used a {{cite web|title=metal key on a preprinted plastic tag|date=June 6, 2008|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/25373834@N08/2559442515/in/photostream/}} with the motel's address, room number, and "return postage guaranteed — drop in any mailbox". Anyone finding a lost or stolen key had full access to the room, a security issue.</ref> Many independent motels add amenities simply to remain competitive with franchise chains, which are taking an increasing market share. Long-time independent motels which join existing low-end chains to remain viable are known as "conversion" franchises; these do not use the standardized architecture which originally defined many franchise brands.
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===Revitalization and preservation===
[[File:4 Seasons Motel.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The 4 Seasons Motel sign in [[Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin]] is an excellent example of [[googie architecture]].]]
[[Image:Lorraine Motel 02 15 MAR 2012.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Lorraine Motel]], site of the 1968 [[assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.]], is part of the [[National Civil Rights Museum]].]]
In the early to mid 2000s, much original 1950s roadside infrastructure on now-bypassed U.S. highways had fallen into decline or was being razed for development. The [[National Trust for Historic Preservation]] named the [[Wildwoods Shore Resort Historic District|Wildwoods Shore motel district in New Jersey]] in its 2006 list of [[America's Most Endangered Places|America's Most Endangered Historic Places]] and included the Historic Route 66 Motels from Illinois to California on its 2007 list.<ref>{{cite web | title=National Trust Names Historic Route 66 Motels One of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places: Treasured "Mother Road" Motels Meet the Wrecking Ball or are Forgotten and Abandoned | date=June 14, 2007 | url=http://www.preservationnation.org/about-us/press-center/press-releases/2007/national-trust-names-historic-1.html | publisher=[[National Trust for Historic Preservation]]}}</ref>
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The Oakleigh Motel in [[Oakleigh, Victoria]], [[Australia]], constructed using [[Googie architecture]] during the [[1956 Summer Olympics]] as one of the first motels in the state, was added to the [[Victorian Heritage Register]] in 2009.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/47280/Oakleigh_Motel_Report_final.pdf | title=Oakleigh Motel, final report | publisher=Heritage Council, [[Victoria, Australia]] | access-date=April 12, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708181953/http://www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/47280/Oakleigh_Motel_Report_final.pdf | archive-date=July 8, 2012 | url-status=dead }}</ref> The building was gutted by developers in 2010 for a [[townhouse|row house]] development; only the outer shell remains original.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.adonline.id.au/buildings/oakleigh-motel | title=Oakleigh Motel| publisher=Melbourne Buildings (blog) | author=Adam Dimech | date=November 19, 2011}}</ref>
The [[Aztec Motel]] in [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]] (built in 1932) was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/route66/aztec_auto_court_albuquerque.html | title=Aztec Auto Court--Route 66: A Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary | publisher=[[National Park Service]]}} indicates that, in 2003, the Aztec Motel received a cost-share grant from the NPS Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program to restore neon signage. The motel was demolished eight years later; only the sign remains.</ref> and listed on the [[New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties]] as the oldest continuously operating U.S. Route 66 motel in New Mexico. It was demolished in 2011.<ref name=linthicum>{{cite news | author=Leslie Linthicum | title=History Takes a Lick on Route 66 | newspaper=Albuquerque Journal | date=June 16, 2011 | page=A1 |url=http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2011/06/16/upfront/history-takes-a-lick-on-route-66.html }}</ref><ref name=tomlin>{{cite news | author=Alex Tomlin | title=Historic Route 66 motel demolished | url=http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/historic-route-66-motel-demolished | access-date=August 16, 2011 | newspaper=KRQE News | date=June 10, 2011 }}</ref> While listing the [[Coral Court Motel]] near [[St. Louis, Missouri]], on the National Register of Historic Places failed to prevent a 1995 demolition, one of the cabins survives as part of an exhibit at the [[National Museum of Transportation]] after being painstakingly dismantled by volunteers for relocation.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5zpVF9hwF1cC&pg=PA10 |title=Missouri Off the Beaten Path: A Guide to Unique Places |author=Patti DeLano |page=10 |date=October 14, 2008 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=9780762748747 |access-date=April 29, 2012}}</ref>
====U.S. Route 66====
[[File:Wigwam motel 3.jpg|thumb|[[Wigwam Motel]] No. 6, a unique motel/motor court on [[historic Route 66]] in [[Holbrook, Arizona]]]]
The plight of [[U.S. Route 66|Route 66]], whose [[Decommissioned highway|removal]] from the United States Highway System in 1985 turned places like [[Glenrio, Texas]] and [[Amboy, California]] into overnight ghost towns, has captured public attention. [[Route 66 association]]s, built on the model of [[Angel Delgadillo]]'s first 1987 association in [[Seligman, Arizona]], have advocated preservation and restoration of the motels, businesses, and roadside infrastructure of the neon era. In 1999, the National Route 66 Preservation Bill allocated $10 million in matching fund grants for private restoration and preservation of historic properties along the route. The road popularized through [[John Steinbeck]]'s ''[[The Grapes of Wrath]]'' and [[Bobby Troup]]'s "[[(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66]]" was marketed not as transportation infrastructure but as a tourism destination in its own right.<ref>{{
To many small towns bypassed by Interstate highways, embracing 1950s nostalgia and historic restoration brings in badly needed tourism dollars to restore sagging local economies. Many vintage motels, some dating to the cabin court era of the 1930s, have been renovated, restored, and added to the U.S. [[National Register of Historic Places]] or to local and state listings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/route66/listofsites66.html |title=Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary: Route 66 |work=[[U.S. National Park Service]] |publisher=[[U.S. Department of the Interior]] |access-date=August 21, 2018}}</ref> While a handful were repurposed as either low-income housing, [[boutique hotel]]s, [[apartment]]s, or commercial/office space,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://renaissancecenters.com/virtual-office/ |title=The most prestigious addresses in Louisville, KY |work=Renaissance Business Centers |first=John |last=Cassidy |access-date=August 21, 2018 |year=2016}}</ref> many were simply restored as motels.
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===Latin America===
In Latin America, a "motel" (in Mexico, "Motel de paso") is an establishment often associated with extramarital encounters and rented typically for a few hours (15 minutes to 12 hours). In Ecuador, any establishment with the title "Motel" is related to extramarital encounters; in Argentina and Peru these hotels for couples are called "
In the Dominican Republic, "cabins" (named for their cabin-like shape) have all these amenities (such as a whirlpool bath, oversize bed and HDTV) but generally do not have windows, and have private parking for each room individually. Registration is handled not in a conventional manner but, upon entering the room, by delivering a bill with the registration through a small window that does not allow eye contact to ensure greater discretion.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.motelesRD.com |title=Moteles RD |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120908030048/http://www.motelesrd.com/ |archive-date=September 8, 2012 |quote=A directory of motels from the Dominican Republic; these appear to be mostly love hotels |access-date=August 21, 2018 |publisher=Marketeam.com.do |url-status=live }}</ref>
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The scenario of an isolated motel being operated by a serial killer, whose guests subsequently become victims, has been exploited in a number of other horror films, notably ''[[Motel Hell]]'' (1980) and ''[[Mountaintop Motel Massacre]]'' (1986). More recently, the genre has been revived with such films as ''Mayhem Motel'' (2001), ''Murder Inn'' (2005), [[Vacancy (film)|''Vacancy'']] (2007), and its direct-to-video [[prequel]], ''[[Vacancy 2: The First Cut]]'' (2009).
Several of these horror films also incorporate the sub-theme of voyeurism, whereby the motel owner spies on (or even films) the sexual exploits of the guests. This plays on the long-established connotations of motels and illicit sexual activity, which has itself formed the basis for numerous other films, variously representing the thriller, comedy, teen film, and [[sexploitation]] genres. [[Stephen C. Apostolof]]'s ''Motel Confidential'' (1967) and the porn film ''Motel for Lovers'' (1970) were two notable early examples. More recent manifestations include ''Paradise Motel'' (1985), ''Talking Walls'' (1987), ''[[Desire and Hell at Sunset Motel]]'' (1991), and the Korean films ''Motel Cactus'' (1997) and ''[[The Motel (film)|The Motel]]'' (2005).
In countless other films and TV series, the motel—invariably depicted as an isolated, run-down, and seedy establishment—has served as the setting for sordid events often involving equally sordid characters. Examples include ''[[Pink Motel]]'' (1982), ''Motel Blue 19'' (1993), ''Backroad Motel'' (2001), ''Stateline Motel'' (2003), ''[[Niagara Motel]]'' (2006), and ''Motel 5150'' (2008).
In the film ''Sparkle Lite Motel'' (2006) and the TV miniseries ''[[The Lost Room]]'' (2006), the motel made forays into the realms of science fiction. In the [[Pixar]] animation [[Cars (film)#Route 66|''Cars'']] (2006), a clientele of solely [[anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic vehicles]] requires all hotels be motels where clients drive directly to their rooms; allusions to real Route 66 motels on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places abound in the film. The Cozy Cone Motel design is the [[Wigwam Motel]] on [[U.S. Route 66 in Arizona]]<ref>{{cite web |title=About the Wigwam |url=http://www.wigwammotel.com/about |work=[[Wigwam Motel]] |year=2010 |access-date=August 21, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wigwamvillage.com/ |title=Teepee Village |work=[[Wigwam Village No. 2]] |access-date=August 21, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.galerie-kokopelli.com/wigwam/ |title=Welcome to the Wigwam Motel |work=Wigwam Motel Holbrook |access-date=August 21, 2018}}</ref> with the neon "100% Refrigerated Air" slogan of [[Tucumcari, New Mexico]]'s [[Blue Swallow Motel]];<ref>{{cite web |work=Blue Swallow Motel |title=History |url=https://www.blueswallowmotel.com/history-2/ |year=2015 |access-date=August 21, 2018 |publisher=New Mexico Digital}}</ref> the Wheel Well Motel's name alludes to the restored stone-cabin [[Wagon Wheel Motel, Café and Station|Wagon Wheel Motel]] in [[Cuba, Missouri]]. A long-defunct "Glenn Rio Motel" recalls Route 66 ghost town [[Glenrio, New Mexico and Texas]], now a national historic district on the state line. Glenrio once boasted the "First Motel in Texas" (as seen when arriving from New Mexico) or "Last Motel in Texas" (the same motel, its signage viewed from the opposite side).<ref>{{cite news |first=Josh |last=Burton |url=http://amarillo.com/stories/040107/new_7204588.shtml |title=Glenrio resurrected |newspaper=[[Amarillo Globe-News]] |date=April 1, 2007 |access-date=June 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160525212653/http://amarillo.com/stories/040107/new_7204588.shtml |archive-date=May 25, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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In computer gaming, ''Murder Motel'' was an online text game by Sean D. Wagle, hosted on various dial-up bulletin board systems (1980s, originally [[Color64]], ported to various other platforms). The object was for each player to attempt to brutally kill all fellow guests in each room of a motel using a variety of weapons.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.r2games.com/gameinfo/editorial/murder-motel/ |title=Murder Motel (BBS door game) |work=[[R2games]] |year=2014 |access-date=August 21, 2018}}</ref>
In theatre, the seedy motel room has been the setting for [[two-hander]] plays such as ''[[Same Time, Next Year (play)|Same Time, Next Year]]'' (1975) and [[Bug (play)|''Bug'']] (2006). Both were later adapted as films. Broadway musicals have also paid homage to the lowbrow reputation of motel culture, demonstrated by songs such as "The No-Tel Motel" from ''[[Prettybelle]]'' and "At the Bed-D-by Motel" from ''[[Lolita, My Love]]''.
The British [[soap opera]] ''[[Crossroads (soap opera)|Crossroads]]'' was set in a motel in the English Midlands which was originally based on American-style motels with chalets but later was transformed into a luxury country hotel.
A run-down motel was used as the relocated residence of the unfortunate Rose family in the Emmy
==See also==
{{Portal|Hotels}}
* [[List of motels]]
* [[List of defunct hotel chains]]
==Notes==
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