Motel

"Motels" redirects here. For the band, see The Motels.

For other uses, see Motel (disambiguation).

A motel in Kulim, Kedah, Malaysia

A motel (also known as motor inn, motor court, motor hotel, motor lodge, or even a auto court) is a hotel designed for motorists, and usually has a parking area for motor vehicles. In the United States, the term is considered somewhat outdated; few motel chains still exist, such as Econo Lodge, Family Inns of America, and Wigwam Motel (Motel 6 and Super 8 Hotels are two of the most popular still in existence).^{[citation needed]} Motels peaked in popularity in the 1960s with rising car travel. In the year 2000, the American Hotel-Motel Association removed 'motel' from its name after considerable market research, and is now the American Hotel and Lodging Association. The association felt that the term 'lodging' more accurately reflects the large variety of different style hotels, including luxury and boutique hotels, suites, inns, budget, and extended stay hotels.

Entering dictionaries after World War II, the word motel, a portmanteau of motor and hotel or motorists' hotel, referred initially 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. As the United States highway system began to develop in the 1920s, long distance road journeys became more common and the need for inexpensive, easily accessible overnight accommodation sited close to the main routes, led to the growth of the motel concept.^[1]

History

Wigwam Motel No. 6, a unique motel/motor court on historic Route 66 in Holbrook, Arizona

Auto camps predated motels by a few years.^[2] Unlike motels, auto camps and tourist courts typically provided bed and breakfast or hotel-style service, usually with stand-alone cabins. After the introduction of the motel, auto camps continued in popularity through the Depression years and after World War II, their popularity finally starting to diminish with the construction of freeways and changes in consumer demands. Examples include the Rising Sun Auto Camp in Glacier National Park and Blue Bonnet Court in Texas. Such facilities were "mom-and-pop" facilities, on the outskirts of a town, that were as quirky as their owners. The 1935 City Directory for San Diego, CA lists "motel" type accommodations under Tourist Camps.

Arthur Heineman's Motel Inn of San Luis Obispo

In contrast, though they remained "Mom and Pop" operations, motels quickly adopted a more homogenized appearance and were designed from the start to cater purely to motorists.^[3] The motel concept originated with the Motel Inn of San Luis Obispo, originally called the Milestone Mo-Tel, which was constructed in 1925 by Arthur Heineman. In conceiving of a name for his hotel Heineman abbreviated motor hotel to mo-tel.^[1] Many other businesses followed in its footsteps and started building their own auto camps. However, due to the fact that many auto camps was a haven for many crimminals of the 1920s, especially Bonnie and Clyde, who had a shootout in a tourist camp,to hide out in. In 1940, J. Edgar Hoover waged what he called "a war against motels." He called motels "camps of crime"

Layout

Motels are typically constructed in an 'I'- or 'L'- or 'U'-shaped layout that includes guest rooms, an attached manager's office, a small reception and, in most motels, a swimming pool, some cases, a small diner. A motel could range a small single story to a 6 floor high rise. formThe Post-war motels, especially in the early 1950s, sought more visual distinction, often featuring eye-catching colorful neon signs which employed themes from popular culture, ranging from Western imagery of cowboys and Indians to contemporary images of spaceships and atomic era iconography. Route 66 is the most popular example of the "neon era". Many of these signs remain fully intact to this day.

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.

Decline

With the 1952 introduction of Kemmons Wilson's Holiday Inn of America , the mom-and-pop motels of that era started to decline. The emergence of the interstate highway system, along with other factors, such as the development of the motel chain, led to a blurring of the motel and the hotel, though family-owned motels with as few as five rooms may still be found, especially along older highways. Another important note is that, with the emergence of the interstate, many older motels further away from the interstate became abandoned due to lost clientele.

In the late 20th century, a majority of motels in the United States came under the ownership of people of Indian descent, particularly Gujaratis.^[4]

Typical American 1950s-style Star Lite Motel, in Dilworth, Minnesota.

Comeback

From the 1980s to the 1990s, many motels in the United States dating before and the 1950s and 1960s were razed for development, especially along many older highways. It was then that concern over preservation of the old lodging establishments came into view. Many motels that were abandoned were then renovated and reopened to customers as either a boutique hotel or a motel. Along the Lincoln Highway and also US Route 66, many historic motels were restored to their former glory. Many of these renovated vintage motels have been successful to being added on the National Register of Historic Places listings. The process of renovating and reopening continues to the present, as more motels are being discovered and renovated. Since 1998, over 1200 formerly abandoned motels were restored and reopened, some of which were on the brink of demolition.

Long-term

Motels/hotels with low rates sometimes serve as housing for people who are not able to afford an apartment or have recently lost their home and need somewhere to stay until further arrangements are made. Motels catering to long-term stays often have kitchenettes or efficienies, or a motel room with a kitchen. However, even though most of these establishments that were previously called motels may still look like motels, most are now called hotels, inns, lodges, etc.

Film, TV and stage depictions

The Bates Motel set at Universal Studios

The Bates Motel is an important part of Psycho, a 1959 novel by Robert Bloch and Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film, Psycho. Film sequels, Psycho II and Psycho III, also feature the motel as does the 1987 television movie, Bates Motel. The motel makes appearances in Psycho IV: The Beginning, but is not featured as much as in previous films. The Bates Motel returned to prominence in the 1998 remake of the original film.

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 (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 (2005).

In countless other movies and TV series, the motel - invariably depicted as an isolated, rundown 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 theatre, the seedy motel room has been the setting for two-hander plays, Same Time, Next Year (1975) and 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.

Legal problems

Motels have also served as a haven for fugitives from the law. In the past, the anonymity and a simple registration process helped fugitives to remain ahead of the law. However, several changes have reduced the capacity of motels to serve this purpose. Credit card transactions, which in the past were more easily approved and took days to report, are now approved or declined on the spot and are instantly recorded in a database, thereby allowing law enforcement access to this information. Some motels that are located in low-income areas may be places of high crime rates, such as drugs, prostitution, or other serious crimes. These motels would have daily to monthly rates.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Jackson, Kristin (25 April 1993). "The World's First Motel Rests Upon Its Memories". Seattle Times. http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=1697701&date=19930425. Retrieved 2008-04-02. 
2. ^ Los Angeles Times, "Hanlon before the Council is favoring a site just outside the city limits for an auto tourist camp.," February 8, 1923
3. ^ Bryson, Bill (1996), Made in America, Harper Perennial, ISBN 978-0380713813 
4. ^ Varadarajan, Tunku (July 4, 1999). "A Patel Motel Cartel?". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/04/magazine/a-patel-motel-cartel.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2010-09-01. 

External links

• Motel Americana - a page devoted to history, narratives, and design of postwar motels
• "Motel Memories" - from the Oct. 9 - Oct. 15, 1997 issue of Tucson Weekly
• Motel Signs - A collection of motel signs from around the US
• Motel Directory - A directory of motels from around the US
• WIGWAM Motel - Classic Route 66 Roadside attraction motel built in 1949 and operates as a motel 'til this day.
• USA Today Article: Old Style Motels Phasing Out