Why are inexpensive Motel 6 Motels so popular?

Many of us are probably familiar with the folksy twang of the Motel 6 spokesman and his commercial sign-off, “I’m Tom Bodett and we’ll leave the light on for ya.” For more than thirteen years commercials featuring Mr. Bodett’s gentle humor have invited people on the road to visit Motel 6 the acknowledged leader in the low cost motel field. However, other than a memorable tagline, what are the features that make Motel 6 such a popular place for the weary traveler to lay his/her head?

Accor North America owns or operates more than 850 Motel 6 locations in the United States and Canada. When the first Motel 6 opened in 1962 in Santa Barbara, California the nightly cost of a room was six dollars, hence, the name of the chain. Although the average room rental is now $41, Motel 6 remains one of the lowest cost national motel chains.

Cheap rooms are not the only reason Motel 6 has continued to thrive while other low cost motel chains have disappeared. Motel 6 has an easily navigated website for motel information and reservations. Booking on the internet may yield even lower room rates. They even have a budding podcast featuring Mr. Bodett. A branded Motel 6 calling card is available at the front desk. Corporate billing has also opened up the lucrative arena of business travel. However, the ongoing success of Motel 6 has been rooted in not losing its identity as a low cost place to stay with consistent standards for its motels and the services they offer.

There is no room service at Motel 6, there are no refrigerators stocked with expensive gourmet goodies, some motels don’t have swimming pools; but a guest of Motel 6 can be sure of a safe, clean room and a free cup of hot, fresh coffee in the morning. Kids under seventeen stay free in their parents’ room and well behaved pets are accepted. Local telephone calls are free and there is no access fee charged by the motel for long distance calls. Rooms come equipped with data ports. Cable television channels include both HBO and ESPN. Motel 6 has also made sure their lodges are located in the areas their clientele most wants to visit. No inexpensive motel chain has more locations in California. Seniors over the age of sixty receive a ten percent discount and rooms for the disabled are available at every Motel 6. Many motels even have roll-in shower facilities.

So the core of Motel 6 remains its knowledge of its customers. Over the last 43 years Motel 6 has upgraded its facilities and its technology but it has never forgotten that the Motel 6 guest is looking for convenient, clean budget accommodations and when a person chooses to stop at a Motel 6 that is exactly what he/she will find.

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