Motel 6 Founder Leaves Bright Legacy
Accor North America Continues Legacy to Provide Quality Lodging at an Affordable Price
CARROLLTON, Texas | William Becker, founder of Motel 6, passed away on April 2, 2007 in Kingman, Arizona. He will be remembered as a visionary who paved the way for quality economy lodging.
CARROLLTON, Texas | William Becker, founder of Motel 6, passed away on April 2, 2007 in Kingman, Arizona. He will be remembered as a visionary who paved the way for quality economy lodging.
In the 1960s, Becker grew tired of staying in rundown motels and believed there should be accommodations that provided both comfort and great value. His goal was to build a chain of affordable hotels for families and other travelers. In 1962, Becker pioneered budget travel by opening the first Motel 6 in Santa Barbara, California, where rooms were rented for $6 a night – thus the name Motel 6.
“We are proud to expand upon the dream of visionary William Becker,” said Jim Amorosia, Chief Operating Officer for Motel 6. “Accor North America maintains Motel 6 founder William Becker’s vision for the brand by continuing to provide a clean, comfortable room for the lowest price of any national chain to its guests for more than four decades. We are sad to learn of his passing, but his honor will forever be remembered through the Motel 6 brand and the many lives he has touched through his numerous endeavors.”
The Motel 6 founder was a man of many talents and dreams. Aside from creating economy lodging, Becker started a bank in 1979 that was the first locally owned and independent bank in Kingman, Arizona called The Stockmen’s Bank. His bank eventually expanded from Arizona into California and was sold last year to the National Bank of Arizona.
For over 40 years, and with almost 900 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada, Motel 6 is leaving the light on and still offers a clean, comfortable room for the lowest price of any national chain – just as Becker had dreamed.
Motel 6 offers the best price of any national chain at more than 850 company-owned and franchised locations covering 48 U.S. states and Canada. For 21 years Motel 6 has used the tagline, “We’ll leave the light on for you,” earning the chain the highest brand recognition in the economy lodging segment. Motel 6 was the first national pet friendly chain, welcoming pets since 1962. Standard amenities include free local phone calls, no long distance access charges, free morning coffee, data ports, and cable channel line-up with premium channels including HBO, ESPN/ESPN2, and CNN. Most locations offer swimming pools and guest laundry facilities. For more information, visit
Headquartered in Dallas (Carrollton), Texas, Accor North America operates more than 1,200 upscale and economy properties including nationwide economy leaders Red Roof Inn, Studio 6 and Motel 6 and the upscale Sofitel and mid-scale Novotel and Ibis hotel locations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. For more information, visit
Accor, the European leader in hotels and tourism, and a global leader in corporate services, operates in nearly 100 countries with 170,000 employees. It offers to its individual and corporate clients 40 years of expertise in its two core businesses:
- Hotels, with the Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel, Ibis, All Seasons, Etap Hotel, Formule 1, Red Roof Inn, Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands: over 4,100 hotels and 486,000 rooms in 90 countries, as well as strategically related activities, such as Lenôtre ;
- Services to corporate clients and public institutions: 23 million people in 35 countries benefit from Accor Services products – meal and food vouchers, people care, incentive and loyalty programs.