The real estate division of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) is reportedly seeking a buyer for the holding company of the discount lodging chain Motel 6.
Blackstone acquired the brand in 2012 for $1.9 billion from the French company Accor SA and established G6 Hospitality as its holding company. According to a Bloomberg News report citing unnamed sources “familiar with the matter,” Blackstone tried to sell G6 in 2021 but did not attract buyers – although at the time, the Covid pandemic was still disrupting the lodging industry, with many hotels losing revenue as potential customers opted not to travel. Over the past two months, there has been a new wave of lodging acquisitions with Hilton’s purchases of the NoMad Hotels and Graduate Hotels brands.
G6, which also owns the Studio 6 brand of extended-stay hotels, operates 1,400 locations across North America. Motel 6 began operations in 1962 as the nation’s first no-frills economy motel chain. Starting in 1986, Motel 6 was the focus of an award-winning radio advertising campaign featuring National Public Radio commentator Tom Bodett and the tagline “We’ll leave the light on for you.”
