Dick Powell's Bill Davis has plans for a series of motor lodges from coast to coast. This would have been a logical investment possibility in 1938. The U.S. was inching into recovery from the Depression, employment was rising and some people were beginning to travel again. Car manufacturing was picking up and better roads were being built. Most motels were mom and pop operations, but business ventures around the country were just starting to look into motor lodges - or "motels.".
The car Margaret borrows and drives out of gas is a 1937 Ford DeLuxe Cabriolet (model 78). Less than 19,000 were made.
The price of gas at Bill's station is 18 cents per gallon. Margaret buys 5 gallons for 90 cents on her second visit.
The first motel in the world was the Milestone Mo-Tel in San Luis Obispo, opened in December 1925. It was about midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco and afforded an overnight place to sleep for people making the two-day drive in those days. Today, the 400-mile trip takes six hours over Interstate 5.
The first Holiday Inn opened in August 1952 in Memphis, Tenn. By 1959, there were 100 Holiday Inns across the country. The chain grew rapidly to 500 motels in 1964 and 1,000 in 1968. As more Americans traveled more, budget chains began to appear and Holiday Inn grew to hotel chain status. By the end of the 20th century there were several nationwide budget chains and many more regional motel chains in the U.S.