Super 8 (hotel)
{{Short description|American economy motel chain}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Super 8 by Wyndham
Super 8 Worldwide, Inc.
| logo = Super 8.svg
| logo_size = 130px
| image =
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| type =
| predecessor = Main Street Inn
| successor =
| foundation = {{start date and age|1974}}, Aberdeen, South Dakota
| founders = Ron Rivett
Dennis Brown
| location_city = Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey
| location_country = United States
| location =
| locations = 2,691{{Cite web|url=https://development.wyndhamhotels.com/brand/super-8-by-wyndham/#:~:text=With%20more%20than%202%2C600%20hotels,economy%20brand%20in%20the%20world. |title=Super 8 by Wyndham Hotels}}{{Cite web|title=Locations {{!}} Super 8 by Wyndham Hotels|url=https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/super-8/locations|access-date=2021-09-09|website=www.wyndhamhotels.com}}
| area_served = United States, Canada, China, Brazil, Germany, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom
| key_people =
| industry = Hotels
| products =
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| services =
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| parent = Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
| divisions =
| homepage = {{URL|www.wyndhamhotels.com/super-8}}
| footnotes =
}}
Super 8 by Wyndham, commonly known as Super 8, is an American hotel brand, being the world's largest budget hotel chain with over 2,600 locations worldwide. The chain is a subsidiary of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.{{cite web|url=https://www.hospitalitynet.org/brand/23000092/super-8.html|title=Super 8 by Windham|website=Hospitalitynet.org|access-date=November 6, 2019}} The original room cost was $8.88 per night.{{Cite web|title=Super 8 by Wyndham Franchise Information|url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/super8bywyndham/282845|access-date=2021-03-01|website=Entrepreneur|language=en}} As of December 2022, the brand website listed 2,691 hotels worldwide.{{Cite web |date=2018-05-19 |title=Super 8 by Wyndham {{!}} Wyndham Hotels & Resorts |url=https://development.wyndhamhotels.com/brand/super-8-by-wyndham/ |access-date=2024-06-09 |website=development.wyndhamhotels.com |language=en-US}}
History
{{multiple image
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| direction = vertical
| header =
| header_align = left/right/center
| header_background =
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| width =
| image1 = Super 8 Motels.svg
| width1 = 100
| caption1 = 1982 to 2008
| image2 = Super 8 Motel.svg
| width2 = 100
| caption2 = 2008 to 2018
| width3 = 100
| image3 = Super 8.svg
| caption3 = 2018 to present
}}
= 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.{{cite book|author=El-Hai, Jack|publisher=Greenwich Publishing Group|isbn=0-944641-37-7|year=1999|title=Clean and Friendly for More Than 25 Years}} The original room rate was US$8.88 (equivalent to $50.07 in 2021), hence the numeric brand name.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W0a6PFMAxGYC&q=%22super+8%22+%22$8.88%22&pg=PA10|title=The Growth Strategies of Hotel Chains: Best Business Practices by Leading Companies|first=Onofre Martorell|last=Cunill|date=April 13, 2018|publisher=Haworth Hospitality Press|isbn=9780789026644|access-date=April 13, 2018|via=Google Books}} The first Super 8, with 60 rooms, opened in Aberdeen, South Dakota, in 1974, 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.
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.{{cite news|url=https://www.hotelbusiness.com/super-8-got-it-all-started-for-tharaldson/|title=Super 8 got it all started for Tharaldson|newspaper=Hotel Business|date=March 7, 2010|author=Stefani O'Connor|access-date=November 6, 2019}}
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|date=August 2021}}
= 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.
In 1981, groundbreaking for the 100th Super 8 Location began in Aberdeen, South Dakota; the birthplace of Super 8.[https://web.archive.org/web/20070704095212/http://www.super8.com.cn/en/gys8.asp?id=704271037068313 About Super 8] In 1993, Super 8 opened its 1,000th property in Mount Vernon, Ohio. By 2001, Super 8 Motels had more than 2,000 motels worldwide.
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.{{cite web|url=https://www.hotelexecutive.com/newswire/9157/aetos-capital-commits-50mil-to-tian-rui-hotel-corporation|title=Aetos Capital Commits $50mil to Tian Rui Hotel Corporation|website=Hotelexecutives.com|date=October 14, 2008|access-date=November 6, 2019}} By 2011, there were 680 Super 8 hotels mainly located in major cities of China.[https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/super-8/locations Super 8 Hotels - Location]
In 2010, Super 8 replaced the beddings and redesigned the bathrooms.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/travel/04prac.html|title=Motels Boost the Thread Count|website=The New York Times|date=March 30, 2010|author=Michelle Higgins|access-date=November 6, 2019}}
In May 2013, Super 8 opened its first location in Turkey, in Istanbul.{{cite web|url=https://www.eturbonews.com/68892/wyndham-hotel-group-launches-super-8-hotel-brand-turkey/|title=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.|website=Eturbonews.com|date=May 31, 2013|access-date=November 6, 2019}} 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
{{cite web|url=https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4065151.html|title=Growing Super 8 Hotel Brand Opens First Property in the Middle East|website=Hospitalitynet.org|date=May 5, 2014|access-date=November 6, 2019}} In April 2016, Super 8 opened its first German location in Munich.{{cite web|url=https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4075620.html|title=Super 8 Welcomed to Germany|website=Hospitalitynet.org|date=April 22, 2016|access-date=November 6, 2019}}
= 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|date=August 2021}} 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",{{cite web|url=https://mashable.com/2016/05/03/super-8-amy-sedaris/|title=Amy Sedaris is giving away Super 8 motel art|website=Mashable.com|date=May 3, 2016|author=Jessica Plautz|access-date=November 6, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.travelandleisure.com/culture-design/visual-arts/super-8-hotel-artwork-show|title=Super 8 is Hosting a Show of Old Hotel Artwork|website=Travelleisure.com|date=May 4, 2016|author=Jordi Lippe|access-date=November 6, 2019}} an event organized to communicate on the brand's design overhaul.{{cite web|url=https://skift.com/2016/05/05/super-8-wants-to-change-your-mind-about-super-8-through-design/|title=Super 8 Wants to Change Your Mind About Super 8 Through Design|website=Skift.com|date=May 5, 2016|author=Deanna Ting|access-date=November 6, 2019}} In December 2016, another edition of the exhibition was organized in Miami.{{cite web|url=https://observer.com/2016/12/super-8-hotels-giving-away-not-so-super-art-in-miami/|title=Super 8 Hotels Giving Away 'Not-So-Super' Art in Miami|website=Observer.com|date=December 1, 2016|author=Paul Laster|access-date=November 6, 2019}}
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.{{cite web|url=https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4079267.html|title=Reserved Because They Served: Super 8 Introduces Veteran Parking at Nearly 1,800 Hotels across the U.S. and Canada|website=Hospitalitynet.org|date=November 10, 2016|access-date=November 6, 2019}}
In May 2017, Super 8 launched a new marketing campaign that focused its targeting on road trippers,{{cite web|url=https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4082514.html|title=Super 8 "Road Trip Fails" Campaign Showcases Renovations|website=Hospitalitynet.org|date=May 3, 2017|access-date=November 6, 2019}} followed by the introduction in October 2019 of Super 8's first shared room, the ROOM8, a concept developed for young road trippers.{{cite web|url=https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4095639.html|title=Super 8 by Wyndham Unveils ROOM8, Its First-Ever Shared Room Concept|website=Hospitalitynet.org|date=October 28, 2019|access-date=November 6, 2019}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/super-8-roadm8-concept-new-york/|title=Super 8 RoadM8 concept looks nicer than its hotel rooms|website=Cnet.com|date=March 29, 2018|author=Andrew Kork|access-date=November 6, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.motor1.com/news/237626/super-8-custom-jeep-new-york/|title=Super 8 Has A Custom Jeep In NY That Makes Ronald McDonald Jealous|website=Motor1.com|date=March 29, 2018|author=Christopher Smith|access-date=November 6, 2019}}
In 2019, Wyndham unveiled the shared room type that seeks to make better use of larger, underutilized room types.{{Cite web|title=Wyndham unveils winning design for shared Super 8 room|url=https://www.hotelmanagement.net/design/first-look-wyndham-picks-winning-design-for-shared-super-8-room|access-date=2021-03-01|website=Hotel Management|date=October 24, 2019 |language=en}}
Amenities
The minimum standard Super 8 requires offering guests a complimentary breakfast item with beverages and free wireless Internet access.{{Cite web|title=About Us|url=https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/super-8/about-us|access-date=2021-09-09|website=www.wyndhamhotels.com}} 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.{{Cite web|title=Super 8® Motels Offer Free Coffee Refills with Branded Travel Mug|url=https://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article11913.html|access-date=2021-09-09|website=www.hotelnewsresource.com}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/super-8/}}
{{Wyndham Hotels & Resorts}}
{{Hotel chains}}
Category:Hospitality companies of the United States
Category:Motels in the United States
Category:Hotels established in 1974
Category:1974 establishments in South Dakota
Category:Companies based in Morris County, New Jersey