Hotel designed for persons traveling by automobile, with convenient parking space provided (the name blends the words "motor hotel").
Originally usually consisting of a series of separate or attached roadside cabins, motels serve commercial and business travelers and persons attending conventions and business meetings as well as vacationers and tourists. By 1950 the automobile was the principal mode of travel in the U.S., and motels were built near large highways, just as hotels had been built near railroad stations.