Motel schmotel...

While driving halfway across the country yesterday (to help my girlfriend move into her apartment at her new university) I noticed something which I had never seen in South Africa before: a real motel. Now before you start clamouring that I’m mad, and think that I’m some kind of hermit, let me explain…

I’m fully aware that there are plenty of motels scattered around the country. I’m in the transport business, enjoy driving cross-country, and have stayed in dozens of them. This one, though, was slightly different, and it struck me enough to write about it. It was in Sedgefield, a small coastal town in the Garden Route here in the Western Cape, and its sign stated proudly that it was the Motor Inn. What made it different to all the other motels that I’ve seen and stayed in was how it was designed. Many local motels tend towards being small stand-alone bungalows clustered in a circle or a few rows; and those that aren’t are semi-detached and staggered slightly diagonally, with each one having its own character – almost as if the building has been added to as the demand has grown for more units.

The Motor Inn in Sedgefield, however, was built as if it had come straight out of the middle of the USA. For those of you who’ve ever watched a movie from the US (which means all of you), you will have seen a version of the archetypal US motel. You know the type: simple single-storey building; office in the middle or at one end; each room with a parking bay outside the door; one big window per room, facing onto the parking lot. This is where the term ‘motel’ came from – motor hotel – where weary travellers could drive their vehicles right up to their room, instead of parking them in a central hotel parking lot and going up to their rooms. They are spread out all over the US, and have been a landmark of the vast open spaces for decades. The reason for their popularity is simple: they’re cheap; functional; have what you need (bed, shower, toilet); and, most importantly, they’re right there – in the middle of nowhere when you just can’t face driving another mile for the day.

What I’ve never understood about the design of ‘motels’ in SA is the way that they are built, with the units often separate. To me, building them the way they do in the US is much more logical. By having multiple units in one structure, you save a fair chunk in building and maintenance costs: the units have a common wall; they share the same roof structure; you only have one window per room; plumbing, electricity and ventilation are simpler. It’s also quicker and easier to clean units that are uniform in their layout. All in all, this means that the owners of the motel lay out less up front to build them, and can maximise their profits by not having to spend unnecessarily on maintenance. In fact, motels are very often owned by retirees in the US – they use their retirement package to buy the motel, and then live off of the income it generates. It’s a simple business to run, with minimal effort required day-to-day, and can provide a decent, liveable income. I feel that SA motels, though, have opened themselves up to higher building and maintenance costs, using the layout that they do.

It was thus quite refreshing to see a motel in SA working off a proven ‘model’ – one gets the feeling that the owners have put some thought into it, and I wish them the best of luck with their business. Interestingly enough, our ultimate destination yesterday was a postgraduate village in the university town where my girlfriend will be doing her Master’s degree. From what I had been told, I was under the impression that my better half would be staying in an apartment block. On arrival, though, I was pleasantly surprised to find that her room was a free-standing unit in a little cluster complex, surrounded by similar units arranged in rows. And what had it been used as before the university purchased it? A motel…