Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
MOTEL 6
MOTEL 6. Motel 6 was founded in Santa Barbara, California, in 1962, by two local building contractors, William Becker and Paul Greene. The partners developed a plan to build motels with rooms at bargain rates. They decided on a $6.00 room rate per night (equivalent to $49 in 2017) that would cover building costs, land leases, and janitorial supplies; the company adopted the name "Motel 6".
As the 1960s progressed, the Motel 6 idea became very popular in the lodging industry and other chains began to imitate the concept. Becker and Greene sold the chain to an investment group in 1968. In the early 1970s, Motel 6 opened its largest location, Motel 6 Tropicana, in Las Vegas, Nevada. By 1980 Motel 6 had reached 300 locations. It was sold to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in 1985, who moved the chain away from its "no frills" approach and began including amenities such as telephones and color television.
Market share declined throughout the 1980s because of increased competition from other budget hotels. During this time, it bought out the Sixpence Inn chain in the western U.S., and Envoy Inn in the Midwestern United States and Pennsylvania. Regal 8 Motels were acquired in 1991. In 1990, the company was bought by the French-based Accor. In 1993, it opened its first high-rise location — Motel 6 LAX in Los Angeles, California.
Unlike the majority of hotel chains, Motel 6 directly owns and operates most of its locations. However, in order to expand more rapidly outside of its traditional Western United States base, the chain started franchising in 1994. Accor management also took over motels that had been franchised by other chains. Motel 6 began to renovate all bedrooms, sold under-performing locations, and upgraded door locks and other security measures. Newer properties, as well as acquisitions, have interior corridors.
In 2000 Motel 6 went international by opening its first location outside the U.S. in Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
The 1993 Dubuque City Directory listed 2670 Dodge.
The motel after several different managements was still in business in 2021.
---
Source:
"Motel 6," Wikipedia. Online: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motel_6
