Econo Lodge
Encyclopedia
Motel
A motor hotel, or motel for short, is a hotel designed for motorists, and usually has a parking area for motor vehicles...
chain based in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Econo Lodge is the second largest brand in the Choice Hotels
Choice Hotels
Choice Hotels International is a hospitality holding corporation which is affiliated with several hotel brands and is based in Silver Spring, Maryland...
system. It is one of the best known brands in its category and aims to provide affordable rooms to budget travelers. Econo Lodge properties contain a minimum of 40 guest rooms and are often located near highways or highway access. All hotels provide a free breakfast. While most of the properties are conversions, Choice Hotels
Choice Hotels
Choice Hotels International is a hospitality holding corporation which is affiliated with several hotel brands and is based in Silver Spring, Maryland...
plans to add more new-construction properties to the Econo Lodge brand.
As of August 2006, there are 823 Econo Lodge hotels open in the United States and 46 under development. Internationally, there are a further 42 hotels open and 4 under development.
History
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
developer Vernon Myers and his son, Vernon Jr. in 1969 as Econo-Travel. They were intent on creating a new business category - the discount business hotel. They worked in the same office building as Lloyd Tarbutton, a Norfolk businessman, who was also investigating the idea. Myers Jr. had drawn up a prototype for the motel, and was intent on selling the plans for $2,000. The initial motel had 48 rooms, a small lobby and a small manager’s apartment. Myers had been trying to get investors interested in this, to no avail.
Tarbutton still took on the project, finding investors and money, and doing extensive market research
Market research
Market research is any organized effort to gather information about markets or customers. It is a very important component of business strategy...
to see if the concept would work. The company simplified the costs of a hotel room and created many innovations now standard in the industry. For instance, most hotels at the time had beds on legs. They put the mattresses on boxes, so maids would not have to clean underneath and customers wouldn’t lose belongings. Telephone switchboards were automatic, maid closets were close to rooms and managers could shut off electricity to empty rooms. Later, Tarbutton even dared to try out an extreme innovation
Innovation
Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society...
—an early non-smoking room. The chain’s mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
in the early days was “Sandy,” a girl in a short Scotch skirt and tam
Tam o'shanter (hat)
A Tam o' Shanter is a Scottish style hat originally worn by men. The hat is named after a character in a poem written by Robert Burns in 1790...
.
The initial hotel, still operating at 865 Military Highway
Military Highway
Military Highway is a four-lane roadway built in the South Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia, USA during World War II.- Original construction :...
in Norfolk, was built for $275,000, and was profitable within 21 days. It sold rooms for $7 single, $9 double and $11 for four. Today, that hotel is owned by Hampton, Virginia
Hampton, Virginia
Hampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...
based Allen Management, which owns 13 Econo Lodges across Virginia. Investor Lou Allen got involved in the Econo-Travel business early on as one of the first franchisees, building a motel on Mercury Boulevard
Mercury Boulevard
Mercury Boulevard in the cities of Hampton and Newport News in the Peninsula region of southeastern Virginia carries U.S. Highway 258 approximately south from Fort Monroe at Old Point Comfort on Hampton Roads to the north end of the James River Bridge...
in Hampton and later acquiring the original.
Tarbutton sold the chain in 1983 for $36,000,000. He had 309 locations. He had begun to change the name on all locations to Econo Lodge in the latter 1970s. The brand went through ups and downs and a number of owners after the initial founders sold out, including a Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
investor, Ben Douglas. Between its founding and growth, tensions grew between the company and franchisees. It fell into the hands of investor Paul Wallace, whose fund bought the brand, refurbished it, mended relations with franchisees and then sold it to what is now Choice Hotels
Choice Hotels
Choice Hotels International is a hospitality holding corporation which is affiliated with several hotel brands and is based in Silver Spring, Maryland...
International in 1990. It is Choice's lowest-priced offering, as its sister brand, Rodeway Inn
Rodeway Inn
Rodeway Inn is a chain of economy-priced motels in the United States and Canada. Rodeway Inn is a brand of the Choice Hotels group. There are over 150 locations in North America. The hotels are often located in or near popular tourist destinations and are known for providing guests with attractive...
, typically has a few more amenities and features at its properties.
A new Econo Lodge logo was unveiled at the 2007 Choice Hotels International Convention.