Motels Are Having a Moment

In 2022, Lisa Lennox was visiting a friend in Stephenville, Texas, when she stumbled upon the Interstate Inn. The motel, on a highway an hour west of Fort Worth, had seen better days. The building was notorious with the local police, and rooms rented for $40 a night. The property needed new plumbing and wiring, and asbestos had to be removed.

But Ms. Lennox immediately felt a connection to the property, with its funky design, including a giant sloped roof that screamed Space Age.

“These motels are very Americana,” she said. “They’ve got a really unique design. But they’re all in disrepair, and a lot of them are being torn down.” Ms. Lennox had no real experience in hospitality, but she’d traveled widely and knew what made a good hotel room. She bought the motel that year, took an online hotel management course at Cornell and plans to open a renovated 35-room Interstate Inn, as well as another motel, with her siblings by the end of September. A third opening is planned for next year.

Ms. Lennox and her siblings are not alone: Motels are having a moment. Kimberly Walker, managing partner at Nomada Hotel Group, which owns three motels in California, says she sees a rise in what she calls “motel culture.” It includes people who are interested in owning and renovating motels, as well as travelers — especially young people — with an affinity for them.

Lisa Lennox had no real experience in the hospitality business, but when she stumbled upon the Interstate Inn in 2022, she felt an immediate connection to the property. She bought the motel that year.Credit…Desiree Rios for The New York Times