Neshaminy Inn

To get to your hotel room from your car, you usually have to go through the front door, through the lobby, then down hallways, and through elevators. At a motel, you have direct access to your room from the parking area, so getting to your room is much easier.

As America’s highway system began to develop in the 1920s, long-distance road trips grew more popular. The need for inexpensive places to stay led to the advent of the motel. The term, a combination of “motor” and “hotel,” was coined in 1925.

Perhaps the most famous motel, the Bates Motel was located on a forgotten stretch of highway between Interstate 10 in Los Angeles and Phoenix. Owned by the Bates family, the story of the hotel and their lives in the spooky, haunted house behind it was made into a movie in 1960s super cult classic, suspense-horror film “Psycho.”

If you know where you plan to stop on the road, book your motel room before you leave home. That way, any special requests you may have—nonsmoking room, rollaway bed, handicap-accessible accommodations—are more likely to be met.