Super 8 (hotel)

Super 8 by Wyndham
Super 8 Worldwide, Inc.
IndustryHotels
PredecessorMain Street Inn
Founded1974; 50 years ago (1974), Aberdeen, South Dakota
FoundersRon Rivett
Dennis Brown
Headquarters,
United States
Number of locations
2,091[1][2]
Area served
United States, Canada, China, Brazil, Germany, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom
ParentWyndham Hotels & Resorts
Websitewww.wyndhamhotels.com/super-8

Super 8 by Wyndham, commonly known as Super 8, is an American hotel brand, being the world's largest budget hotel chain with over 2,000 locations worldwide. The chain is a subsidiary of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.[3] The original room cost was $8.88 per night.[4] As of October 2022, the brand website listed 2,091 hotels worldwide.[1][2]

History

Super 8 in Marysville, Ohio
Super 8 in Wendover, Utah

Launch

Ron Rivett and Dennis Brown created the new Super 8 Motel corporation with each of them owning 50% of the stock in the new company.[5] The original room rate was US$8.88 (equivalent to $50.07 in 2021), hence the numeric brand name.[6] The first Super 8, with 60 rooms, opened in Aberdeen, South Dakota, in 1974,[5] built near a Holiday Inn with just some drawings made by Rivett as blueprints. The stucco exterior with an English Tudor style was inspired by Rivett's father-in-law, who was a stuccoer; the English Tudor style and placing of Super 8's near Holiday Inns was an established procedure for setting up new Super 8's for years to come.[5]

Dennis Brown died in 1988. The 1,000 locations of the Super 8 chain were sold to Hospitality Franchise Systems, which became Cendant in 1993.[7]

Super 8 had a frequent traveler program, the VIP club, which was introduced in 1976; it grew to over 7.6 million members. The VIP program was dissolved in December 2003 and replaced with the TripRewards program, which was renamed Wyndham Rewards in 2008.[citation needed]

Development

The first franchise was sold in 1976 and established in Gillette, Wyoming. By 1978, Super 8 expanded from the state of New York to the state of Washington and was no longer just a Midwestern company.[5]

In 1981, groundbreaking for the 100th Super 8 Location began in Aberdeen, South Dakota; the birthplace of Super 8.[8] In 1993, Super 8 opened its 1,000th property in Mount Vernon, Ohio.[8] By 2001, Super 8 Motels had more than 2,000 motels worldwide.[8]

Super 8 Worldwide entered the China market in 2004 by opening a Super 8 hotel (Chinese: 速8酒店 Su Ba Jiudian) in Beijing.[9] By 2011, there were 680 Super 8 hotels mainly located in major cities of China.[10]

In 2010, Super 8 replaced the beddings and redesigned the bathrooms.[11]

In May 2013, Super 8 opened its first location in Turkey, in Istanbul.[12] In May 2014, Super 8 opened its first location in the Middle East, in Riyadh. Super 8 came to the UK when it opened at Chester Motorway Services in 2023 after being rebranded from Days Inn, another one of Wyndham's hotel brands [13] In April 2016, Super 8 opened its first German location in Munich.[14]

2016 brand overhaul

In May 2016, Super 8 remodelled its 1,800 rooms in the US and Canada and organized a big giveaway of old art and furniture.[citation needed] The brand jokingly organized an exhibition in New York called When the Art Comes Down: Works from the Super 8 Collection and featuring 100 pieces of their "not-so-super art",[15][16] an event organized to communicate on the brand's design overhaul.[17] In December 2016, another edition of the exhibition was organized in Miami.[18]

In November 2016, Super 8 launched a new promotion for US Army veterans which included a reserved parking area in all US and Canada locations.[19]

In May 2017, Super 8 launched a new marketing campaign that focused its targeting on road trippers,[20] followed by the introduction in October 2019 of Super 8's first shared room, the ROOM8, a concept developed for young road trippers.[21] In March 2018, Super 8 launched a concept Jeep Wrangler, the ROADM8, with body works and interiors reminiscent of the brand's redesigned hotels, and some unexpected features such as a coffee machine and a mini-fridge built in the central console of the back seats.[22][23]

In 2019, Wyndham unveiled the shared room type that seeks to make better use of larger, underutilized room types.[24]

Amenities

The minimum standard Super 8 requires offering guests a complimentary breakfast item with beverages and free wireless Internet access.[25] For a period, beginning in 2004, anyone that purchased a "See You Along The Way" coffee mug was entitled to free coffee, regardless if they stayed the night before or not, at any of the Super 8s.[26]

Logo history

References

  1. ^ a b "Locations | Super 8 by Wyndham Hotels".
  2. ^ a b "Locations | Super 8 by Wyndham Hotels". www.wyndhamhotels.com. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  3. ^ "Super 8 by Windham". Hospitalitynet.org. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  4. ^ "Super 8 by Wyndham Franchise Information". Entrepreneur. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d El-Hai, Jack (1999). Clean and Friendly for More Than 25 Years. Greenwich Publishing Group. ISBN 0-944641-37-7.
  6. ^ Cunill, Onofre Martorell (April 13, 2018). The Growth Strategies of Hotel Chains: Best Business Practices by Leading Companies. Haworth Hospitality Press. ISBN 9780789026644. Retrieved April 13, 2018 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Stefani O'Connor (March 7, 2010). "Super 8 got it all started for Tharaldson". Hotelbusiness.com. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c About Super 8
  9. ^ "Aetos Capital Commits $50mil to Tian Rui Hotel Corporation". Hotelexecutives.com. October 14, 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  10. ^ Super 8 Hotels - Location
  11. ^ Michelle Higgins (March 30, 2010). "Motels Boost the Thread Count". The New York Times. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  12. ^ "Wyndham Hotel Group launches Super 8 hotel brand in Turkey. In 2023, Super 8 opened their first UK site at Chester Motorway Services after being rebranded from Days Inn anotjdr of Wyndham brands". Eturbonews.com. May 31, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  13. ^ "Growing Super 8 Hotel Brand Opens First Property in the Middle East". Hospitalitynet.org. May 5, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  14. ^ "Super 8 Welcomed to Germany". Hospitalitynet.org. April 22, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  15. ^ Jessica Plautz (May 3, 2016). "Amy Sedaris is giving away Super 8 motel art". Mashable.com. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  16. ^ Jordi Lippe (May 4, 2016). "Super 8 is Hosting a Show of Old Hotel Artwork". Travelleisure.com. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  17. ^ Deanna Ting (May 5, 2016). "Super 8 Wants to Change Your Mind About Super 8 Through Design". Skift.com. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  18. ^ Paul Laster (December 1, 2016). "Super 8 Hotels Giving Away 'Not-So-Super' Art in Miami". Observer.com. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  19. ^ "Reserved Because They Served: Super 8 Introduces Veteran Parking at Nearly 1,800 Hotels across the U.S. and Canada". Hospitalitynet.org. November 10, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  20. ^ "Super 8 "Road Trip Fails" Campaign Showcases Renovations". Hospitalitynet.org. May 3, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  21. ^ "Super 8 by Wyndham Unveils ROOM8, Its First-Ever Shared Room Concept". Hospitalitynet.org. October 28, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  22. ^ Andrew Kork (March 29, 2018). "Super 8 RoadM8 concept looks nicer than its hotel rooms". Cnet.com. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  23. ^ Christopher Smith (March 29, 2018). "Super 8 Has A Custom Jeep In NY That Makes Ronald McDonald Jealous". Motor1.com. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  24. ^ "Wyndham unveils winning design for shared Super 8 room". Hotel Management. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  25. ^ "About Us". www.wyndhamhotels.com. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  26. ^ "Super 8® Motels Offer Free Coffee Refills with Branded Travel Mug". www.hotelnewsresource.com. Retrieved September 9, 2021.

External links

  • Official website
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Super_8_(hotel)&oldid=1218758449"