Who co-founded Motel 6 with William Becker in 1962?

Paul Greene co-founded Motel 6 with William Becker in 1962.

Becker and Greene opened the first Motel 6 in Santa Barbara, California. The name referred to the original room rate of six dollars per night, a deliberately low price that helped define the brand’s early value-focused positioning. The company later expanded through franchising and became a major economy-motel chain.

Motel 6 is often confused with Holiday Inn because both helped popularize standardized roadside lodging in the United States. Their business models and founders were different, however. Motel 6 emphasized basic accommodation and low prices, while Holiday Inn developed a broader roadside-hotel concept under Kemmons Wilson.

The brand’s early locations used a simple, consistent format aimed at motorists. That standardization made the concept suitable for expansion, including franchised locations. Motel 6 was later acquired by Accor and subsequently became part of Blackstone’s lodging portfolio.