Page "Motel" Paragraph 25

The original motels were small, locally owned businesses which grew up around the then-expanding networks of two-lane highways which were to serve as Main Street in every town along the way.

As these were independents, the quality of accommodation varied widely from one lodge to another ; while a minority of these properties were inspected or rated by automobile associations ( AAA and CAA, in addition to providing maps to member motorists, have published tour books or directories of restaurants and rooms since 1917 ), no consistent standard stood behind the " sanitized for your protection " banner.

There was also no real access to national advertising for local motels and no nationwide network to facilitate reservation of a room in a distant city.