Number of the Day

Motels’ Pandemic Comeback, by the Numbers

Why posh luxury hotels are losing to the impersonal design of economy lodges

40%: That’s the estimated occupancy rate at U.S. “economy” lodgings, such as motels, according to early summer data from McKinsey & Company, recently reported in the Washington Post.

That number might sound low, but that’s practically a boom compared to the estimated 15% occupancy at higher-end hotels favored by white-collar workers and upscale leisure travelers. McKinsey predicts it’s the humble economy sector that will rebound most quickly; the Post’s reporting found plenty of anecdotal evidence that motels in particular are, after decades of dwindling numbers, “having an upswing.”

There are a couple reasons why: For one, a core clientele for motels are people whose work simply can’t be done via Zoom, like long-haul truckers. Also, many of the design features of motels that used to make them seem alienating are now attractive, like room doors facing parking lots rather than corridors, minimal common space, and (in one- or two-story structures) no need to take an elevator, if one even exists.

Meanwhile, hotel amenities like spas and fancy bars that previously drove up room rates — and, in some cases, conference and…