Econo Lodge is an economy

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries ...

chain based in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. Econo Lodge is one of the larger brands in the

Choice Hotels Choice Hotels International, Inc. is an American multinational hospitality company based in Rockville, Maryland. The company, which is one of the largest hotel chains in the world, owns several hotel brands ranging from upscale to economy. As o ...

system. It aims to provide affordable rooms to budget travelers. The 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 779 Econo Lodge hotels open with 46,992 rooms. There are Econo Lodge motels in every US state and Canadian province.

History

The company began in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 cen ...

by developer Vernon Myers and his son, Vernon Jr. in 1969 as Econo-Travel and they were joined by Lloyd , a local businessman. took on the project, finding investors and money, as well as doing extensive

market research Market research is an organized effort to gather information about target markets and customers: know about them, starting with who they are. It is an important component of business strategy and a major factor in maintaining competitiveness. Ma ...

, to see if the concept would work. The chain's

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fic ...

in the early days was "Sandy", a girl in a short Scotch skirt and