Motel 6 is changing hands again. Indian hospitality giant Oyo will acquire the budget chain from Blackstone in a $525m deal.
Blackstone, which purchased Motel 6 in 2012 for $1.9B and has since improved and sold off hundreds of motels, will also sell its Studio 6 extended-stay brand, per NPR.
Motel 6…
… was founded in 1962 by contractors William Becker and Paul Greene in Santa Barbara, California. Santa Barbara’s not exactly a place you associate with budget motels, but that was the point — the pair, both road-trip fans, wanted a no-frills option for budget travelers.
They:
- Bought materials in bulk, using similar blueprints designed for quick, efficient cleaning across locations.
- Equipped rooms with only necessities. Early rooms had coin-operated, black-and-white TVs and no phones, with a payphone in the office.
- Charged $6 per night (~$69 today).
The company changed hands several times, but largely maintained its affordable pricing, despite expansion and the addition of modern amenities.
It also enjoyed brand recognition thanks to spokesperson Tom Bodett’s reassuring, “We’ll leave the light on for you,” tagline.
Will Oyo maintain Motel 6’s affordable charms?
Oyo, founded in 2012, is no stranger to economy stays, finding and rebranding underperforming budget hotels.
Once valued at $10B, the pandemic and several controversies haven’t done it any favors; it’s now valued at $2.4B. That said, it manages 10k+ properties in India, where it intends to go public, per Forbes.
Motel 6, with ~1.5k locations across the US and Canada, will allow Oyo to quickly scale in the US, where its current footprint sits at 320 properties.
Notably, it has no immediate plans to ditch the familiar name. Oyo CEO Gautam Swaroop said Motel 6 will continue to operate as a separate entity..
Fun fact: As of 2018, ~50% of US motel owners were Indian-American, part of a trend kicked off by an immigrant who purchased a California motel in the 1940s, inspiring generations of others.
