whats the difference bettween a hotel and a motel?

Question

im serious i dont know the difference but i see it all the time

Answer 1

Motel is a made up word from the early 1950s or so. It stands for Motor Hotel. Generally speaking, in a Motel you can drive your car right up to your room door.

Motels are usually one or two levels only. The room doors open directly to the outside as opposed to an internal hallway. The parking lot is designed such that you can park your car right outside your room door -- in theory at least.

The traditional Motel is falling out of favor mostly due to security considerations since all of the room doors open directly to the outside. A traditional Hotel provides an additional layer or two of access control into the building to enhance guest security.

Many Motels are being refitted with interior hallways and improved access control but retain the word Motel in their name to avoid confusion. And many more typical Hotel properties are calling themselves Motels to indicate that they have plenty of parking and are catering to the motoring public.

The terms Hotel and Motel are frequently assumed to have some bearing on the quality of the property. While that may have been true in the past to a limited extent there's no truth in it today. Anyone who ever stayed at the old Diplomat Hotel in Boston (a skid-row dive) knows this for a fact!

Answer 2

Motels came about back in the 50's when the interstate was born, and the name, motor hotel, was born.. The other big difference is one usually pulls up to the building and enters their room from the outside, with, in general, their vehicle in front of their door..Hotels on the other hand , were entered from the sidewalk and then one came into a main room where the front desk is located..Then to enter into the room, one usually went to the elevator and went to a specific floor and down a hallway to enter into the room from inside the building..If anybody has been around awhile, one may notice that motels are less like the architecture of old and more like a hotel nowadays..So, in a sense, the 2 are somewhat starting to melt together....

Answer 3

Motel is short for "motor hotel." They gained popularity in the 50s when the U.S. Interstate highway system was built and people needed cheap places to stay overnight en route to wherever they were going. Motels are usually found adjacent to a highway and don't have a lot of frills. Of course, they have evolved quite a bit since then and are found everywhere, but motel usually means cheaper than a hotel with full amenities.

Answer 4

Entering dictionaries after World War II, the word motel (from MOtor hoTEL) referred initially to a single building of connected rooms whose doors face a parking lot and/or common area or a series of small cabins with common parking. Their creation was driven by increased driving distances on the United States highway system that allowed easy cross-country travel. The concept originated with the Motel Inn of San Luis Obispo, constructed in 1925 by Arthur Heinman.

Motels differed from hotels in their emphasis on largely anonymous interactions between owners and occupants, their location along highways (as opposed to urban cores), and their orientation to the outside (in contrast to hotels whose doors typically face an interior hallway).

With the 1952 introduction of Kemmons Wilson's Holiday Inn, the 'mom and pop' motels of that era went into decline. Eventually, the emergence of the interstate highway system, along with other factors, led to a blurring of the motel and the hotel. Today, family owned motels with as few as five rooms may still be found along older highways. The quality and standards of every independent motel differ so it is always wise to cruise around for good motel before settling in a room.

Answer 5

A hotel is usally a more upscale place to stay for a longer length of time. Usually has several floors & mostly found in town & cities.

A motel is usally just a drive up place with easy access by car. Usually only one or two floors & commonly found near expressways and highways.

Answer 6

a motel is like a hotel designed for motorist hence the name. The most noticeable difference is that in Motels there is no ball room lobby that kind of thing, the entrance to your room is outside.

Answer 7

Motel is the older style "motor inn" .... they are exterior corridor drive up style ... Years ago a popular term used to be "down and out" .... Downstairs and outside entrance ... This is a Motel.

Hotel is the style that we typically see today ... Interior corridor high rise or multi-level buildings.

Answer 8

Motels have only 1 level. Hotels have multiple floors (stories).

$0.02's answer makes no sense. I've been in hotel before that didn't have ball rooms and such. You people have no clue what you're talking about.

Answer 9

For what i see the Motels are ugly and nasty dirty.
And the hotels they are fancy and nice

Answer 10

one starts with a H and the other start M. really know idea Kitty's answer sounds right...