THE ROADSIDE MOTEL RENAISSANCE
THE ROADSIDE MOTEL RENAISSANCE
Once-trendy bastions of the automobile age, the roadside motel has equally garnered ire and intrigue from the new generation of traveler. Now on the heels of the global pandemic these unique properties are on the precipice of their most exciting rebirth yet.
The 1940s saw the peak of America’s love affair with the automobile and the canonization of the summer road trip as an annual right of passage. And with it, the ubiquity of the motor hotel—or motel.
Evolved from no-frills, roadside camping sites, motels offered weary travelers front-row parking and direct access their rooms, by-passing a formal lobby, and lengthy interactions with staff and other guests. Over time, shifting consumer preferences for interior-access rooms, elaborate common spaces, and high-touch guest services from larger chains gained favor, and the demand for roadside motels dwindled.
But now, in a pandemic-driven world, the equation that contributed to the motel’s decline, has sparked a renewed appeal, nearly 50 years after their peak.
AN UNEXPECTED REVIVAL
In the early summer of 2020, as COVID-19 cases spiked, a whopping 72 percent of Americans indicated they’d be opting for a road trip for their vacation plans, versus other methods of travel. Many national parks like Yellow Stone and other driver-friendly destinations clocked their busiest summer and fall months ever.
As the fervor to take to the roads in search of safe, outdoor escapes peaked, the drive-up access and open-air nature of motels produced an unexpected spike in occupancy. While larger hospitality properties sat nearly empty, motels were in high demand, catching many properties, battered by months of closures, off-guard with the influx.
Today, as vaccinations inch forward, and new virus strains emerge, COVID-wary consumers are poised to maintain many of their new habits into the foreseeable future, including taking more road trips—with the motel stays that ensue.
However, no longer pandemic-navigating novices, this next season of travel will see an evolved, younger consumer who has a more discerning point of view, and higher expectation for their experience.
“After 2020, we predict the rise of the conscious traveler,” Jenny Southan, founder of Globetrender, says. “This is someone who is far more discerning about the journeys they go on, willing and able to be away from home for longer, thanks to remote working, more appreciative of their surroundings and local people, and less reckless in their spending.”
The question now is whether hospitality properties will adapt to this new reality. Now that much of the dust has settled, the anticipated up-tick in demand—and demands—means hospitality properties that want to capitalize on the motel renaissance need to execute a strategic plan aimed at the discerning traveler’s experience.
As a part of our on-going work to tackle design challenges, we envisioned a common roadside motel—The Charlie—and then redesigned it, updating and adapting the property for consumer expectations in the new renaissance. As an added flex, we did it three ways for three vibes: desert getaway, woodland retreat, and coastal whimsy.
Here are five insight-based take-aways, illustrated by The Charlie, that hospitality properties can implement to get ahead in 2021 and beyond.
1. BRAND STORYTELLING
Brand storytelling is at the foundation of creating an attractive experience for today’s consumer. No longer desperate for anywhere that’s open and clean to stay, travelers are choosing their destinations wisely and will expect their accommodations to amplify the experience with some personality.
“A carefully crafted identity—connecting branding, digital, physical and even on-site staff, all telling the same story—is a must,” says David Brady, creative director at Studio Butch. “And knocking that out of the park is harder than it may seem.”
This “storytelling,” which may start as a well-designed logo, a few brand colors, or even some inspiration images, must come to life digitally through the web and social media to hook consumers, and physically through the space and personnel to solidify their experience.
Upping a hospitality brand's identity game, and pulling it visually throughout the consumer journey is key to standing out from the crowd. Here are three ways our team envisioned The Charlie brand identity creating a different mood for each geographic scenario.
For The Charlie exercise, we designed three distinct brand identities, one suited for each setting where the motel might be located. Beginning with the overall mood we wanted to evoke, our team then iterated on logos, brand color palettes and other visual cues, which were carried into the architecture, interior design and branded hotel merchandise. The outcome is a complementary visual experience, which would be translated across all touch points for the property.
Creating a consistent brand story frames the rest of the hospitality experience. It’s the first step in a larger strategy to stand out from competition, without which, properties will blend into background noise.
2. ELEVATED LOCALIZATION
Now more than ever, travelers want to feel a sense intentionality in the spaces they inhabit. While hospitality is not stranger to locally-themed decor, the vital challenge is to update and elevate the spaces so they feel boutique, and not just local.
“I love tying in local materials, elements, and subtle details to the designs we create.” says Brady. “They add a whole new level of connection, conversation and storytelling for those who experience the space”.
This sense of elevated localization pays off not only the intentional traveler’s mindset that their stay will be special, it also instills a sense of confidence that thought and effort go into all aspects of the property—including pandemic-centric details such as cleaning and upkeep.
The successfully updated property will leverage interior colors, artwork, material choices, and other details that integrate with the brand and communicate local flavor. But unless part of the brand story is “local kitsch,” there’s no need to go overboard.
As a studio, we ascribe to what we call the 60:30:10 rule in organizing the total visual balance of a space. Under that guide, local details might best make up about 30 percent of the overall design—perhaps only 10 percent if they are particularly loud.
From poppy colors, breeze blocks and mid-century mod furniture for Palm Springs, to muted tones, wood paneling and hand-crafted furniture for the Catskills, each of The Charlie Motel concepts was designed with its local market in mind, and the nearly identical base takes on a completely different feeling for each.
Combining the brand identity with elevated localized design attracts the discerning consumer and sets the stage to communicate property features that would-be guests are expecting, especially now.
3. CONTACTLESS EVERYTHING
From check-in to check-out, consumers are looking for seamless ways to incorporate a more contactless experiences when they stay away from home. In a recent survey our studio conducted, nearly 30 percent of US consumers ranked contactless transactions among the most important features that would influence their selection of hotels/motels for the near future, making it their second highest priority (more about their first priority later).
For the fad-resistant, it’s important to note this trend is not solely pandemic-related—though certainly pandemic-fueled. With the rise of smart home technologies, and app-based shopping, the savvy, younger traveler is expecting their stay to mirror their life—and that will only continue.
A rendering of the reception area for The Charlie Motel conceived in Upstate New York shows the renovated reception area where guests can check-in and out, order and pick-up food, sundries or customized kits from lockers, as as well as interact with on-site staff, all contactless, yet welcoming.
From re-thinking reception through 24-hour check-in kiosks and mobile purchases, to designing rooms with bluetooth and voice-command features, savvy updates versus clunky tech will prove a valuable investment. While some of these features may seem to remove the hospitality side of hospitality, it’s actually a streamlining the consumer’s experience toward carefully branded touch(less)-points.
As one example of this approach, The Charlie Motel features a contactless concierge retrofitted from the former reception area, and shifting the small lobby space into an open air, self-service alcove. Among other things, the space includes a wall of lockers where guests can shop, purchase, and pick-up items such as packaged food and beverages, sundries, activity kits, or branded merchandise.
Incorporating seamless technology across the guest experience is on key to attracting the new, discerning traveler. Evolving accommodations for more dynamic use is another.
4. RE-THINKING SPACE
With a dramatic increase in would-be guests having the ability to work from virtually anywhere, in-demand accommodations are no longer just a place to sleep. Hospitality properties must be updated to accommodate for the rise of the “flexcation,” or time away from home that balances work and leisure.
In a recent trend report from VRBO, 67 percent of travelers who took a flexcation in 2020 said they’d do it again in 2021. What’s more, the sharp increase in vacation home rentals compared to low hotel occupancy rates means motels especially have an opportunity leverage and design space that resembles small homes to compete.
This means re-thinking layout, design, and even weighing the ROI for renovations. According to our recent poll, more than 36 percent of US consumers reported an in-room kitchenette as one of the most important features to influence their selection of hotels/motels in the near future, the top ranking priority.
For The Charlie Motel, our team took a typical motel room, and reimagined the layout to incorporate distinct activity-centric vignette areas where guests could cook, dine, work, relax and sleep, all in one space. This included installing a small kitchenette in every room leveraging plumbing and wall space from the adjoining restroom.
“Daily activities like working, dining and exercising are seeing a lot of overlap,” says Brady. “As designers, we need to solve for flexility in small spaces, while also maintaining some separation to prevent burnout.”
A rendering of a guest room in The Charlie Motel conceived for Palm Springs shows a kitchenette and small dining area adjacent to the sleeping area. A lounge area and workspace are out of view, positioned near the exterior windows, creating a variety of zones of “vignettes” within the space.
Re-thinking space goes beyond just rooms and lobbies, all available real estate needs to be assessed—and among it under-utilized outdoor space. One quarter of consumers in our poll indicated that covered, outdoor common space was one of the most important features to influence their property selection, the third highest priority.
Opting outside is a trend that will continue long after the pandemic. Whether it’s converting excess parking into parklets, or transforming green space to be more functional, it’s all part of better leveraging existing space to attract today’s travelers.
5. AUTHORING ADD-ON EXPERIENCES
The COVID-weary traveler is already looking for an escape, but beyond that, they are looking for distractions they can safely participate in with their small pod or travel party. Properties that supply a ready menu of add-on activities—or experiences—as a part of their offering will cement their attractiveness, and capture added revenue. It’s like the icing on the cake for the consumer and property alike.
A rendering of the reception area for the beach-side Charlie Motel includes an idealized surfboard rental display. On-site rentals, packages and kits can be created for any market, and allow the hospitality property to offer a suite of add-on experiences that help reinforce guest affinity for the brand.
From rentable gear or beach packages, to s’mores kits and firewood, guests can purchase a range of experiences—for use on and off property—that are authored directly by the brand. What’s more, properties can use these offerings to spotlight upgraded outdoor spaces, online purchases, and a contactless concierge, while creating an added level of personalization without a great deal of effort or investment.
These add-on experiences bring brand storytelling full circle from the initial hook to a complete suite of services and merchandise catered to today’s unique consumer landscape.
“We talk a lot about creating memorable experiences as the core to building customer affinity,” says Brady. “And as we re-design these properties with that focus, it will propel their performance for years to come.”
The global pandemic has turned the tides on the iconic roadside motel, providing an opportunity for reinvention and rebirth. Evolving now to meet the discerning traveler’s expectations will allow hospitality properties in any locale to fill a void, capture marketshare, and forge their own new renaissance.
xoxo
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Chris Giovarelli is an experienced creative, strategist and communicator who believes in the power of synergizing left-brain and right-brain thinking to solve problems and produce magical outcomes. He has presented, taught and spoken in dozens of venues on a variety of topics. As co-founder and director of creative strategy at Studio Butch, he and the team work with global and boutique brands to help grow customer affinity through experiences, spaces and content. You can connect with him on LinkedIn, or send him an email.
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