Editing Motel (section)

===Guidebooks===
[[Image:El Rey Court, 2 miles S. W. of plaza U.S. Highway 85, Santa Fe, New Mexico.jpg|thumb|right|Guidebooks and referral chains featured in promotion for independent motels. [[El Rey Inn|El Rey Court]] in [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]] boasted [[American Automobile Association]], [[Duncan Hines]], and [[Best Western|The Best Western Motels]]' approval.]]
The original motels were small, locally owned businesses which grew around two-lane highways which were main street in every town along the way. As independents, the quality of accommodation varied widely from one lodge to another; while a minority of these properties were inspected or rated by the [[American Automobile Association]] and [[Canadian Automobile Association]] (which have published maps and tour book directories of restaurants and rooms since 1917), no consistent standard stood behind the "sanitized for your protection" banner. There was no real access to national advertising for local motels and no nationwide network to facilitate reservation of a room in a distant city.

The main roads into major towns therefore became a sea of [[neon lighting|orange or red neon]] proclaiming <span style="color:orange;">VACANCY</span> (and later <span style="color:red;">C</span><span style="color:blue;">O</span><span style="color:orange;">L</span><span style="color:purple;">O</span><span style="color:green;">R</span> TV, air conditioning, or a swimming pool) as competing operators vied for precious visibility on crowded highways. Other venues for advertising were local tourist bureaus and postcards provided for free use by clients.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/cml_search_results.php?CISOOP1=exact&CISOFIELD1=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOROOT=/memory&CISOBOX1=Motels |title=Digital Archives |publisher=Columbus (OH) Metropolitan Library |access-date=March 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022073838/http://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/cml_search_results.php?CISOOP1=exact&CISOFIELD1=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOROOT=%2Fmemory&CISOBOX1=Motels |archive-date=October 22, 2013 |url-status=dead }} finds 22 entries for "motels" on [[U.S. Route 40 in Ohio|U.S. 40]], mostly archived picture postcards bearing advertisements like "40 Winks Motel -- within city limits of Columbus, Ohio. 100% fire proof construction. Restaurant and service station open 24 hours daily. Every room has the following: air conditioning - telephone - radio - Beauty Rest box springs and mattresses - private baths. Phone DOuglas 3615." (The '40 Winks Restaurant' and adjacent filling station are now long gone; the remainder of this property was shut down for one year in 2005 (per {{cite news |url=http://beta.wosu.org/news/2012/01/23/some-east-side-residents-say-neglected-motel-hinders-area-progress |title=Some East Side Residents Say Neglected Motel Hinders Area Progress |publisher=[[WOSU-FM|WOSU Public Media]] |date=January 23, 2012 |access-date=August 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120507183251/http://beta.wosu.org/news/2012/01/23/some-east-side-residents-say-neglected-motel-hinders-area-progress/ |archive-date=May 7, 2012 |url-status=dead  }}) due to ongoing code violations.) <!--Any six-digit telephone numbers on these cards predate the 1950s [[North American Numbering Plan]] with its standardized-length numbers and direct-dialing of long-distance telephone calls.--></ref>

A rating in the ''Directory of Motor Courts and Cottages by the American Automobile Association'' was just one of many credentials eagerly sought by independent motels of the era. Regional guides (such as ''Official Florida Guide by A. Lowell Hunt'' or ''Approved Travelers Motor Courts'') and the food/lodging guidebooks published by restaurant reviewer [[Duncan Hines]] (''Adventures in Good Eating'', 1936 and ''Lodging for a Night'', 1938) were also valued endorsements.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/duncan-hines/lodging-for-a-night-hci.shtml|author=Duncan Hines |title=Lodging for a night |publisher=Adventures in Good Eating Inc., Bowling Green, Ky, Telephone 1219 |year=1940 |edition=3rd}} ([https://archive.org/stream/lodgingfornight00hinerich/lodgingfornight00hinerich_djvu.txt archive.org])</ref>