Motels
Motels are a type of lodging that emerged in the United States, particularly gaining popularity in the mid-20th century as automobile travel became more common. Initially, motels offered a convenient and affordable option for travelers, especially with the development of the interstate highway system. However, during their early years, the quality and cleanliness of these establishments varied significantly, and many did not cater effectively to families. The landscape changed dramatically in the early 1950s with the founding of national motel chains, most notably Holiday Inn, created by Kemmons Wilson. This chain focused on providing standard amenities and family-friendly policies, such as free stays for children. The success of Holiday Inn encouraged other chains, like Ramada Inn and Howard Johnson's, to emerge, leading to a decline in independently operated motels. These changes reflected a shift in the motel industry, driven by the need for consistency and quality in traveler accommodations. Today, motels continue to offer affordable lodging options, adapting to the evolving needs of travelers while maintaining their original purpose of providing convenient overnight stays.
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Motels
Public lodging establishments, usually on or near busy thoroughfares, catering primarily to automobile travelers
Economic prosperity, improvements in the automobile, and new highway construction created a boom in interstate travel during the 1950’s, resulting in increased demand for inexpensive, standardized roadside lodging.
At the beginning of the 1950’s, the American motel industry was still in its infancy. The development of highway systems during the early twentieth century brought about demand for overnight lodging to accommodate long-distance automobile travelers; however, by mid-century, finding suitable lodging was still a difficult task for motorists. Many urban hotels had deteriorated or were located in neighborhoods that were dangerous or inconvenient to travelers on the new highway systems, while the motor courts and motels that dotted the landscape around the new roads often varied in cleanliness, room size, and amenities offered as a result of a lack of industry standards. Motel patronage also posed special problems for families; motels typically charged extra for children and often were located inconveniently to restaurants and family-friendly recreational facilities. Some loose federations of motels, such as Travelodge and Best Western, existed prior to the 1950’s, but they were primarily referral networks with no control over the quality of their member motels.
Birth of Motel Chains
In the summer of 1951, real estate developer Kemmons Wilson and his family embarked on a vacation from their hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, to Washington, D.C. Astonished by the inconsistent quality of the motels he encountered and annoyed at surcharges that often doubled the price of a stay, Wilson resolved to establish his own chain of motels. Each of these “Holiday Inns” (named for a popular 1942 movie) would offer standard-sized rooms with air conditioning and television, restaurants, and swimming pools. The motels would be designed and operated with families in mind; children, he insisted, would stay for free.
The first Holiday Inn opened in Memphis on August 1, 1952. Although the motel was an instant success, Wilson initially struggled in his efforts to sell Holiday Inn franchises. However, business boomed during the late 1950’s as the growth of the interstate highway system created even greater demand for construction of new motels. Having incorporated his business, Wilson was able to secure enough capital to purchase prime locations adjacent to the newly constructed highways for his Holiday Inns. He developed a reputation for his ability to choose sites for new motels; he insisted that each site be highly visible and located on the side of the highway heading into a city, so that incoming motorists would not have to make left turns. His system was so effective that many of his competitors simply opened new motels next to freshly constructed Holiday Inns. By the end of the decade, Wilson had nearly attained his initial goal of opening four hundred Holiday Inns nationwide.
Impact
The success of Holiday Inns inspired a number of competitors to enter the burgeoning motel industry during the 1950’s. In 1954, the first Ramada Inn opened in Flagstaff, Arizona, and the first Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodge began operation in Savannah, Georgia. These chains and others enjoyed tremendous advantages over private motel owners, many of whom lacked the capital to move their operations to the new highways. As a result, business steadily dwindled for the old colorful roadside motels, forcing many to close. It was, perhaps, symbolic of the decline of independent motels that the off-highway Bates Motel was the setting of the 1960 horror classic Psycho.
Bibliography
Halberstam, David. The Fifties. New York: Villard Books, 1993. Discusses in detail the economic and cultural trends that led to the development of motel chains during the 1950’s, including an entire chapter on Kemmons Wilson and the creation of Holiday Inns.
Jakle, J. A., et al. The Motel in America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. A comprehensive history of the motel industry, with emphasis upon the impact of motels on American popular culture.
Witzel, Michael K. The American Motel. Osceola, Wis.: Motorbooks International, 2000. A popular history of the American motel. Contains numerous photos and illustrations as well as detailed narrative of the early history of the motel industry.