October 16, 2002

Motel 6 Still Leaving the Light On After 40 Years; Budget Lodging Leader Motel 6 Celebrates 40th Anniversary

DALLAS, In 1962, the first Motel 6 opened its doors in Santa Barbara, CA, as the first budget motel for the no-frills traveler. Forty years later, Motel 6 remains one of the most recognizable brands in the country.

Accor North America

Growing from a $6 a night motel, to an American classic, Motel 6 celebrates its 40th Anniversary as the leader in budget lodging -- the category it invented in 1962. Motel 6 has evolved from a series of small properties built along highways to the largest company owned and operated budget hotel chain in North America with more than 800 locations (over 85,000 rooms) in the United States and Canada.

"For 40 years, the basic philosophy of Motel 6 has been to provide quality lodging, clean rooms and a pleasant environment at the best price of any national chain," said Carol Kirby, Group Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing. "We have never lost sight of our customers' needs and have continued to strengthen the strong tradition of economy lodging started in 1962."

Proof that a strong brand can stand the test of time, Motel 6 has remained one of the most recognizable American icons through changes in ownership and new acquisitions. In 1990, Accor, the third largest hotel company in the world with more than 3,600 hotels in 90 countries, purchased Motel 6 and launched a $600 million chain wide renovation project.

Motel 6 has also become known for its successful 15-year advertising campaign featuring Tom Bodett and the tagline, "We'll Leave the Light On For You." The tagline was created in 1986 when Bodett ad-libbed the phrase after the original radio spot ran short. In 2000, AdWeek named the campaign one of the top advertising campaigns in the last 100 years.

About Motel 6

Motel 6 features free local phone calls with no long distance access charges, free morning coffee, 24-hour-a-day faxing service, free HBO and ESPN, phones with data ports and remote-controlled television sets. Most properties also have swimming pools, guest laundry facilities and electronic door locks. With more than 800 locations in the U.S. and Canada, Motel 6 offers the lowest price of any national lodging chain.

About Accor North America

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Accor North America operates more than 1,200 upscale and economy properties including the nationwide economy leaders Motel 6, Studio 6, and Red Roof Inns and the upscale Sofitel, Novotel and Ibis hotel locations in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

With 147,000 associates in 140 countries, Accor is the European leader and one of the world's largest groups in travel, tourism and corporate services, with two major international activities:

hotels: more than 3,700 hotels (423,000 rooms) in 90 countries, casinos, travel agencies, and restaurants;
services to corporate clients and public institutions: each day, 13 million people in 32 countries use a broad range of services (food vouchers, people care and services, incentive, loyalty programs, events) engineered and managed by Accor.

     Motel 6 Timeline

     1962           First Motel 6 opens in Santa Barbara, CA; Rooms start at
                    $6

     1967           Manager Training School established to train husband and
                    wife teams

     1968           Purchased by City Investing Company

     Prior to 1972  Televisions in rooms -- 25 cents for 6 hours

     1972           Motel 6 celebrates 10th Anniversary and 100th property
                    opening

     1979           GDV Inc. acquires Motel 6 from City Investing

     1980           Average room rate $13.84

     1983           Motel 6 grows to 350 properties

     1984           Motel 6 accepts credit cards

     1985           Occupancies exceed one million rooms sold

     1986           Tom Bodett and "We'll Leave the Light On" campaign begins
                    Phones in rooms: Motel 6 signs $40 million contract with
                    AT&T to install phones in 45,000 rooms at 425 locations

     1987           Motel 6 celebrates 25th Anniversary
                    Motel 6 headquarters moves to Dallas from Santa Barbara
                    Free local calls; TV at no charge

     1990           Accor acquires Motel 6 with 522 motels, representing a
                    total of 62,000 rooms

     1992           Georges Le Mener becomes CEO and President

     1993           Free HBO/ESPN
                    $600 million renovation project begins

     1994           Free morning coffee

     1995           Opens new interior corridor "Motel 6 of the Future"
                    prototype

     1996           Motel 6 begins franchising
                    Introduces prepaid phones at all properties

     1997           Motel 6 unveils new logo

     1999           First Studio 6 opened in El Paso
                    Motel6.com introduces online booking

     2000           Motel 6 opens first location in Canada
                    "Accor hotels" added to Motel 6 logo

     2002           Motel 6 celebrates 40th Anniversary
                    Introduces Click 6 online web bargains

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