Editing Motel (section)

==In popular culture==
[[Image:Bates Motel.jpg|thumb|right|The Bates Motel set at [[Universal Studios Lot|Universal Studios]]]]
The Bates Motel is an important part of ''[[Psycho (novel)|Psycho]]'', a 1959 novel by [[Robert Bloch]], and [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s [[Psycho (1960 film)|1960 film adaptation]]. ''[[Psycho II (film)|Psycho II]]'', ''[[Psycho III]]'' and ''[[Psycho IV: The Beginning]]'', sequels to the film, also feature the motel, as does [[Gus Van Sant]]'s [[Psycho (1998 film)|1998 remake]] of the original film. A comedic 1987 television movie ''[[Bates Motel (film)|Bates Motel]]'' and the 2013 television series ''[[Bates Motel (TV series)|Bates Motel]]'', a prequel to the films, both use the name of the motel as a title. In the 2010 Halloween TV [[Television special|special]] ''[[Scared Shrekless]]'', [[Puss in Boots (Shrek)|Puss in Boots]] tells a cautionary tale about the "Boots Motel".

The scenario of an isolated motel being operated by a serial killer, whose guests subsequently become victims, has been exploited in a number of other horror films, notably ''[[Motel Hell]]'' (1980) and ''[[Mountaintop Motel Massacre]]'' (1986). More recently, the genre has been revived with such films as ''Mayhem Motel'' (2001), ''Murder Inn'' (2005), [[Vacancy (film)|''Vacancy'']] (2007), and its direct-to-video [[prequel]], ''[[Vacancy 2: The First Cut]]'' (2009).

Several of these horror films also incorporate the sub-theme of voyeurism, whereby the motel owner spies on (or even films) the sexual exploits of the guests. This plays on the long-established connotations of motels and illicit sexual activity, which has itself formed the basis for numerous other films, variously representing the thriller, comedy, teen film, and [[sexploitation]] genres. [[Stephen C. Apostolof]]'s ''Motel Confidential'' (1967) and the porn film ''Motel for Lovers'' (1970) were two notable early examples. More recent manifestations include ''Paradise Motel'' (1985), ''Talking Walls'' (1987), ''[[Desire and Hell at Sunset Motel]]'' (1991), and the Korean films ''Motel Cactus'' (1997) and ''[[The Motel (film)|The Motel]]'' (2005).

In countless other films and TV series, the motel—invariably depicted as an isolated, run-down, and seedy establishment—has served as the setting for sordid events often involving equally sordid characters. Examples include ''[[Pink Motel]]'' (1982), ''Motel Blue 19'' (1993), ''Backroad Motel'' (2001), ''Stateline Motel'' (2003), ''[[Niagara Motel]]'' (2006), and ''Motel 5150'' (2008).

In the film ''Sparkle Lite Motel'' (2006) and the TV miniseries ''[[The Lost Room]]'' (2006), the motel made forays into the realms of science fiction. In the [[Pixar]] animation [[Cars (film)#Route 66|''Cars'']] (2006), a clientele of solely [[anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic vehicles]] requires all hotels be motels where clients drive directly to their rooms; allusions to real Route 66 motels on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places abound in the film. The Cozy Cone Motel design is the [[Wigwam Motel]] on [[U.S. Route 66 in Arizona]]<ref>{{cite web |title=About the Wigwam |url=http://www.wigwammotel.com/about |work=[[Wigwam Motel]] |year=2010 |access-date=August 21, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wigwamvillage.com/ |title=Teepee Village |work=[[Wigwam Village No. 2]] |access-date=August 21, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.galerie-kokopelli.com/wigwam/ |title=Welcome to the Wigwam Motel |work=Wigwam Motel Holbrook |access-date=August 21, 2018 |archive-date=August 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821031911/http://www.galerie-kokopelli.com/wigwam/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> with the neon "100% Refrigerated Air" slogan of [[Tucumcari, New Mexico]]'s [[Blue Swallow Motel]];<ref>{{cite web |work=Blue Swallow Motel |title=History |url=https://www.blueswallowmotel.com/history-2/ |year=2015 |access-date=August 21, 2018 |publisher=New Mexico Digital}}</ref> the Wheel Well Motel's name alludes to the restored stone-cabin [[Wagon Wheel Motel, Café and Station|Wagon Wheel Motel]] in [[Cuba, Missouri]]. A long-defunct "Glenn Rio Motel" recalls Route 66 ghost town [[Glenrio, New Mexico and Texas]], now a national historic district on the state line. Glenrio once boasted the "First Motel in Texas" (as seen when arriving from New Mexico) or "Last Motel in Texas" (the same motel, its signage viewed from the opposite side).<ref>{{cite news |first=Josh |last=Burton |url=http://amarillo.com/stories/040107/new_7204588.shtml |title=Glenrio resurrected |newspaper=[[Amarillo Globe-News]] |date=April 1, 2007 |access-date=June 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160525212653/http://amarillo.com/stories/040107/new_7204588.shtml |archive-date=May 25, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In computer gaming, ''Murder Motel'' was an online text game by Sean D. Wagle, hosted on various dial-up bulletin board systems (1980s, originally [[Bulletin board system#Color64|Color64]], ported to various other platforms). The object was for each player to attempt to brutally kill all fellow guests in each room of a motel using a variety of weapons.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.r2games.com/gameinfo/editorial/murder-motel/ |title=Murder Motel (BBS door game) |work=[[R2games]] |year=2014 |access-date=August 21, 2018}}</ref>

In theatre, the seedy motel room has been the setting for [[two-hander]] plays such as ''[[Same Time, Next Year (play)|Same Time, Next Year]]'' (1975) and [[Bug (play)|''Bug'']] (2006). Both were later adapted as films. Broadway musicals have also paid homage to the lowbrow reputation of motel culture, demonstrated by songs such as "The No-Tel Motel" from ''[[Prettybelle]]'' and "At the Bed-D-by Motel" from ''[[Lolita, My Love]]''.

The British [[soap opera]] ''[[Crossroads (soap opera)|Crossroads]]'' was set in a motel in the English Midlands which was originally based on American-style motels with chalets but later was transformed into a luxury country hotel.

A run-down motel was used as the relocated residence of the unfortunate Rose family in the Emmy Award-winning series [[Schitt's Creek]]. As the show progressed, Johnny Rose and Stevie Budd venture into turning old motels into authentic boutique motels. In one episode, a presidential suite is seen complete with era-correct furniture.<ref>{{cite web |title=Schitt's Creek |website=[[CBC News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230509163237/https://www.cbc.ca/schittscreek/ |archive-date=2023-05-09 |url-status=live |url=https://www.cbc.ca/schittscreek/}}</ref>