Super 8 Motels
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Super 8 Motels Inc. is the world's largest budget hotel chain, with motels in the United States and Canada, and a few outside of North America (China). The company is a subsidiary of Wyndham Worldwide, formerly a part of Cendant.[1]
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[edit] History
It was founded in 1972 by Dennis Brown as a motel referral system, which was soon dissolved and replaced with a franchise operation in 1973. The first Super 8 was opened in 1974 in Aberdeen, South Dakota, which still operates today as the Super 8 Aberdeen West. It had 60 rooms. The original room rate was $8.88, hence the numeric brand name. Though a popular and clever opinion, some[who?] erroneously believed that "Super 8" was an abbreviated version of the phrase a "super 8 hours of sleep."
Today, Super 8 offers guests standard amenities at every hotel, including a new "SuperStart" continental breakfast, free high-speed wireless internet access, hairdryers, coffee makers, and a lobby area. Some locations have pools and meeting rooms. A few of the larger Super 8's even have a restaurant on the property. Competitors include Econo Lodge, Budget Host, and Motel 6.
Super 8 had a frequent traveler program, the V.I.P club, introduced in 1976, which grew to over 7.6 million members. The V.I.P Club program was purchased by Hospitality Franchise Systems in 1993, which later became Cendant. The V.I.P. program was dissolved in December, 2003 and replaced with the TripRewards program, which was renamed Wyndham Rewards in 2008. Also in 2003, Super 8 opened its 100th Canadian property in Truro, Nova Scotia.[2]
[edit] New Logo
Super 8 released their new logo on August 8, 2008 in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
[edit] Growth of Super 8
- 1973 - 1
- 1979 - 71
- 1984 - 245
- 1986 - 492
- 1992 - 900
- 1993 - 1000
- 1994 - 1100
- 1995 - 1200
- 1996 - 1500
- 1997 - 1600
- 1998 - 1700
- 2000 - 1900
- 2001 - 2000
- 2003 - 2083
