The Difference Between Motels & Hotels

Hotels and motels share many similarities such as providing temporary lodging for travelers and tourists. Although traditionally the differences between hotels and motels used to be pretty universal , today they are more similar than ever, especially if you stay at a national chain motel. Many national chain motels are multilevel complexes with motel rooms on more than one floor. Older style motels that you may find in many small towns are still one level and fit very well in the traditional definition of what a motel is, “then and now”. Because hotels and motels were designed with travelers in mind, you will almost always find restaurants or cafes nearby. Some hotels will have a restaurant right in the hotel, or share the same parking lot. Extended stay motels and hotels will often include a kitchenette so you can cook meals in your room, and will often be located near a grocery store. They may even include things like pots and pans, coffee cups, dishes and silverware for your meals.

Here we will explain some key difference as well as some similarities between hotels and motels. Probably one of the first similarities that comes to mind now is that you can easily book reservations for hotels and motels online at travel websites. There are literally thousands of lodging choices including hotels, motels, resorts, luxury hotels and Las Vegas Motels that can be booked online with lowest price guarantees. You will see customer reviews that analyze many different aspects about each hotel and motel such as how they are rated for cleanliness, customer service, price, safety and amenities. Photos of the actual hotel and motel rooms are also included for many of the properties as well as photos of the accommodations such as the swimming pool, work out room and jacuzzi, if they have them. It doesn’t matter if you need to make hotel reservations or motel reservations, you can do it online with ease and learn more information before you travel, than ever before. You don’t have to be in the dark when you arrive at your vacation destination.

Interesting fact: The definition of a motel is actually “a roadside hotel designed for people traveling by car”. Often times motels will have all of their rooms on one level with a door that opens to the outside, closer to your car. Motels began showing up in the early 20th century as cars became available to more families and made traveling long distances much easier.

Motel History: In the early 20th century, very few lodging choices were available for travelers, especially west of the Mississippi. Before motels started to spring up across the country, lodging choices were very limited and did not offer many of the amenities that we have become accustomed to today. Hotels that catered to the upper class of society were not only out of the price range of many early 20th century travelers, but were not a good match for people arriving with little more than the worn clothes on their back. Tourist camps were often the only lodging choice available, where these early travelers literally “camped out”. As the century wore on, “Tourist Camps” evolved in to what was referred to as “Cabin Camps” or “Cottage Courts”. Spurred on by locals complaining about the messes and low moral character often displayed in the tourist camps, “Cabin Camps & Cottage Courts” started the path towards a more “structured” environment such as a central office and actual lodging facilities. Many of these early “motels” were nothing more than shacks. Over time these facilities began offering more amenities for the traveler and offered nicer accommodations such as cottages or cabins.

Probably one of the best known differences between a hotel and motel is the price. Typically motels will be less expensive than hotels and offer less amenities. Motel rooms will often be a little bit smaller than hotel rooms too. Although hotels were also booked for a single night stay, customers would often stay longer in a hotel, particularly business travelers. Traditionally hotels were located in the city (”City Hotels”) where as motels could be located just about anywhere along the early interstate highway system, usually between popular travel destinations. That is why motels and hotels were often designed differently. Hotels located in the city had to be designed to use limited space in the city. Just like today’s modern skyscraper, hotels had to be built upwards to accommodate their many rooms and conserve on valuable real estate.

Motels were often located in the country or small towns along the interstate where land was cheap and almost unlimited. Building a motel where all of the rooms were located on a single level was less expensive for the motel owner, and made more sense for their type of travel customers. Early motels could also be built to accommodate fewer rooms than city hotels because they just did not have as many customers to cater to.

Whether staying at a motel or a hotel, today’s modern day traveler has is pretty good. Gone are the days of the “Tourist Camp” as the only option for lodging. Although camping with the family can certainly be fun, most travelers would not like that as their only option, especially for business travel. And it certainly wouldn’t work for a family vacation to Disney World. Just as time changed tourist camps into cottage camps, time is also changing the definition of hotels and motels, making them more similar everyday.