Motel 6 , the name says it all! Not now, but back then in 1962 when it started operating as one of the most affordable hospitality chains, their name explained it all. How? Let’s find out.

At that time initially, the owners of this motel chain decided to keep the price per room just $4. A cup of coffee would cost more than that today, but it was also very cheap for a motel room even back then compared with other hotels and motels in the same class. When their own market survey concluded the fact that they are charging too less and it would be hard to sustain in the business with that kind of rate, they made it $5. However, after some days, the rate increased a bit further and finally “Motel 6” charged $6 from its first customer. Hence, their name was seemingly strange, but it was a very unique name with a smart approach. As I said before, their name said it all – from what they offer to what’s the price. Clever indeed!

2012 was a big year for this motel chain. That year it had its ownership changed from the Accor Hotel group to the Blackstone group. And this incident proved to be beneficial for both of the groups. Accor Hotel group wanted to wash their hand by selling off the motel brand, and Blackstone was looking for a similar opportunity. Blackstone group, with their big pocket, was able to revive the group by investing huge dollars and at the end of the day, the brand has become a significant earner again under its new owner’s leadership. Blackstone’s decision of not merging this brand with any of their existing brands was proven to be perfect as the motel brand had its popularity and demand deep-rooted in the mind of regular budget-conscious American people. It just needed the right leadership and adequate supply of resources to gain back its golden days, and Blackstone just did that.

Motel 6 in India: Biggest Foreign Investment of the 2018 in the Indian Hospitality Sector

Now, once known as a USA based brand only, Motel 6 going to step out from its home turf to the international corporate jungle. It’s first going to step into the fierce market of India it seems. Recently they announced a tie-up with the Indian domestic company AuroMatrix, and together they announced their first property at Punjab under another popular brand “Hotel 6” owned by the “Motel 6”. The “Hotel 6” brand itself is listed as one of the top 10 hospitality brands in North America. Senior executives from both of the companies were present in India to announce their future plan, as per the media reports.

The newly formed merger shared some of their plans with media in India. And to say those are interesting would be an understatement. They are planning to open new hotels in every Tier-1, 2 and other potential areas, which basically translates into a huge foreign investment in the hospitality industry in India. And if this happens, it will be one of the most significant foreign direct investment in the Indian economy in recent time.