Motels are roadside lodgings often privately owned, with an internal parking lot and convenient access to highways. They offer easy access and reasonable rates, ideal for travelers on less traveled roads. Hotels, on the other hand, are located in or near towns or major resort towns, offer more luxurious amenities, and have separate parking lots. Motels emerged in the mid-20th century with the rise of the automobile and reached their peak in the 1960s, but have since declined due to the construction of highways and the low standard of some establishments.
Urban sprawl, cross-country conferences, and Las Vegas extravaganzas are all associated with hotels, but a motel is where someone might stay if traveling with his or her family through Sequoia National Forest, the vast countryside of the Montana or the rolling woods of Virginia. Motels are roadside lodgings that are often quaint and privately owned, although chains of these establishments also exist. They first appeared along American highways not long after Henry Ford began rolling Model Ts off the assembly line, from 1908 to 1930. The Tin Lizzy, as it was called, was the first economy car offered to the masses. Once people got a set of wheels, they wanted to use them, and the humble motel sprang up to help motorists get from point A to point B.
Purpose and characteristics of Motels
One of the distinguishing characteristics of a motel is that it is usually L-shaped, U-shaped or square, with an internal courtyard that serves as a parking lot. Doors look out onto the lot, with ground doors opening directly onto their own parking spaces just a few yards away. This is extremely convenient for unloading suitcases. It is also reassuring for residents to have their vehicles parked right outside the door where they can keep an eye on them, especially if they contain any valuables. Motels, especially those that are part of a chain, are often located just off a major highway or highway for convenience, but many are found in mountain towns and along smaller, more picturesque roadways.
While the average motel may not have the facilities found in hotels, it does offer easy access, reasonable rates, and a less complicated experience. This makes it ideal for a night’s sleep as travelers make their way through a country’s less traveled roads to a final destination. Some even feature individual cabins nestled among picturesque woodlands, perfect for a longer stay to get away from it all.
Purpose and characteristics of hotels
Hotels serve a different purpose than motels, and as such they tend to be located in or near towns or major resort towns. The basic design of a hotel is significantly different, for example, rooms normally face inward with doors opening onto interior corridors. A guest might stay in a hotel for a week or more for business or pleasure and “extras” are expected. Hotels commonly offer hot tubs, gyms, swimming pools, restaurants, room service, cable television, Internet connectivity, and other luxuries. The hotel’s parking lots are separate, and in many cases, the walk from the parking lot to the lobby can be a challenge; however, staff are usually available to carry luggage and sometimes a shuttle service is also provided.
History
While the hotel has a long history, dating back to antiquity, in the form of travellers’ inns, the motel is an early to mid-20th century development and is closely connected to the rise of the automobile. The need for an overnight stopover on a long road trip has led to the emergence of “autocamps” in the US, designed to allow travelers to stop overnight in cabins or tents, and often provide breakfast. With the construction of major new highways, in the second half of the 20th century, ad hoc accommodation facilities for motorized travelers began to appear, with large parking lots next to the rooms, designed for easy access by car. These motels, as they came to be called, quickly became popular and appeared in convenient locations along all major routes.
Motels reached their peak in the 1960s, but have been on the decline ever since. The construction of highways offering fast, uninterrupted routes has deprived many rural establishments of commercial activity, and due to the low standard of accommodation afforded by some locals, the term has become associated in some minds with roaches and poor establishments. As hotels diversified, they took over many motel businesses and the term was considered somewhat obsolete.
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