Budget Lodging Leader Motel 6 Celebrates 40th Anniversary

In 1962, the first Motel 6 opened its doors in Santa Barbara, CA, as the first budget motel for the no-frills traveler. Forty years later, Motel 6 remains one of the most recognizable brands in the country.

Growing from a $6 a night motel, to an American classic, Motel 6 celebrates its 40th Anniversary as the leader in budget lodging -- the category it invented in 1962. Motel 6 has evolved from a series of small properties built along highways to the largest company owned and operated budget hotel chain in North America with more than 800 locations (over 85,000 rooms) in the United States and Canada.

"For 40 years, the basic philosophy of Motel 6 has been to provide quality lodging, clean rooms and a pleasant environment at the best price of any national chain," said Carol Kirby, Group Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing. "We have never lost sight of our customers' needs and have continued to strengthen the strong tradition of economy lodging started in 1962."

Proof that a strong brand can stand the test of time, Motel 6 has remained one of the most recognizable American icons through changes in ownership and new acquisitions. In 1990, Accor, the third largest hotel company in the world with more than 3,600 hotels in 90 countries, purchased Motel 6 and launched a $600 million chain wide renovation project.

Motel 6 has also become known for its successful 15-year advertising campaign featuring Tom Bodett and the tagline, "We'll Leave the Light On For You." The tagline was created in 1986 when Bodett ad-libbed the phrase after the original radio spot ran short. In 2000, AdWeek named the campaign one of the top advertising campaigns in the last 100 years.

About Motel 6

Motel 6 features free local phone calls with no long distance access charges, free morning coffee, 24-hour-a-day faxing service, free HBO and ESPN, phones with data ports and remote-controlled television sets. Most properties also have swimming pools, guest laundry facilities and electronic door locks. With more than 800 locations in the U.S. and Canada, Motel 6 offers the lowest price of any national lodging chain.

About Accor North America

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Accor North America operates more than 1,200 upscale and economy properties including the nationwide economy leaders Motel 6, Studio 6, and Red Roof Inns and the upscale Sofitel, Novotel and Ibis hotel locations in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

With 147,000 associates in 140 countries, Accor is the European leader and one of the world's largest groups in travel, tourism and corporate services, with two major international activities:

• hotels: more than 3,700 hotels (423,000 rooms) in 90 countries, casinos, travel agencies, and restaurants;
• services to corporate clients and public institutions: each day, 13 million people in 32 countries use a broad range of services (food vouchers, people care and services, incentive, loyalty programs, events) engineered and managed by Accor.

Motel 6 Timeline

1962 - First Motel 6 opens in Santa Barbara, CA; Rooms start at $6

1967 - Manager Training School established to train husband and wife teams

1968 - Purchased by City Investing Company

Prior to 1972 Televisions in rooms -- 25 cents for 6 hours

1972 - Motel 6 celebrates 10th Anniversary and 100th property opening

1979 - GDV Inc. acquires Motel 6 from City Investing

1980 - Average room rate $13.84

1983 - Motel 6 grows to 350 properties

1984 - Motel 6 accepts credit cards

1985 - Occupancies exceed one million rooms sold

1986 - Tom Bodett and "We'll Leave the Light On" campaign begins Phones in rooms: Motel 6 signs $40 million contract with AT&T to install phones in 45,000 rooms at 425 locations

1987 - Motel 6 celebrates 25th Anniversary Motel 6 headquarters moves to Dallas from Santa Barbara Free local calls; TV at no charge

1990 - Accor acquires Motel 6 with 522 motels, representing a total of 62,000 rooms

1992 - Georges Le Mener becomes CEO and President

1993 - Free HBO/ESPN $600 million renovation project begins

1994 - Free morning coffee

1995 - Opens new interior corridor "Motel 6 of the Future" prototype

1996 - Motel 6 begins Franchising Introduces prepaid phones at all properties

1997 - Motel 6 unveils new logo

1999 - First Studio 6 opened in El Paso Motel6.com introduces online booking

2000 - Motel 6 opens first location in Canada "Accor hotels" added to Motel 6 logo

2002 - Motel 6 celebrates 40th Anniversary Introduces Click 6 online web bargains