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Econo Lodge

North American motel chain

Econo Lodge
Summary

North American motel chain

FieldValue
nameEcono Lodge
logo[[File:Econo_Lodge_Logo_(2007-present).svg200px]]
typeEconomy motel
industryHotel franchising
foundation(as Econo-Travel)
Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
founders
locations698 (as of December 31, 2024)
area_servedU.S. and Canada
parentChoice Hotels
homepage

Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.

Econo Lodge is an economy motel chain based in the United States and Canada. It is one of the larger franchises of Choice Hotels operating in the Americas. 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. , there are 698 Econo Lodge hotels open with 40,088 rooms. There are Econo Lodge motels in every U.S. state and Canadian province.

History

Fort Lauderdale

The company began in Norfolk, Virginia by developer Vernon Myers and his son, Vernon Jr. in 1969 as Econo-Travel and they were joined by Lloyd Tarbutton, a local businessman. Tarbutton took on the project, finding investors and money, as well as doing extensive market research, to see if the concept would work. The chain's slogan in the early days was "Spend a night, not a fortune" and its mascot was "Sandy", a girl in a short Scotch skirt and tam.

The first hotel, still operating at 865 North Military Highway in Norfolk, was built for $275,000. Its daily rate for rooms was $7 single, $9 double, and $11 for four. The original two-story plan for Econo Lodge had 48 two-bed rooms, designed for rapid cleaning and repair.

In the 1980s, Econo Lodge adopted its current name, underwent a financial reorganization, and acquired the now-defunct Friendship Inn brand. Lloyd Tarbutton sold the chain, which had 306 locations, in 1983 to real estate investor Ben Douglas for $836 million. The company continued to change hands over the next few years, passing to New Image Realty, Inc in 1986 and finally to Choice Hotels International in 1990. Econo Lodge is the more upscale of the group's economy brands; its sister brand, Rodeway Inn, usually has fewer amenities.

References

References

  1. "10-Q for 1Q2025".
  2. (July 5, 2018). "The brands and rooms of Choice Hotels, by the numbers".
  3. "SEC: Choice Hotels International 10-K".
  4. "Hotel Franchise Opportunity, Development, Motel Franchises For Sale - Choice Hotels International - Accommodations, Inns, Lodgings, Suites". choicehotelsfranchise.com.
  5. Pollard, Garland. (February 12, 2009). "Birthplace of Budget". Issuu.
  6. Jakle, John A.. (1996). "The Motel in America". The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

1969-establishments-in-virginia american-companies-established-in-1969 choice-hotels-brands companies-based-in-norfolk,-virginia franchises hotels-established-in-1969 motels-in-canada motels-in-the-united-states
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