It was founded in 1972 by Dennis Brown as a motel referral system, which was soon dissolved and replaced with a franchise operation in 1973. The first Super 8 Motel was opened in 1974 in Aberdeen, South Dakota. It had 60 rooms. The original room rate was $8.88, hence the numeric brand name.
Today, Super 8 Motels offer guests standard amenities at every hotel, including a new SuperStart continental breakfast, free high-speed internet access, and a lobby area. Some locations have pools and meeting rooms. A few of the larger Super 8 "Lodges" even have a restaurant on the property. However, it still remains the lowest-priced offering in the Wyndham Worldwide family. Competitors include Econo Lodge and Motel 6.
Super 8 has a frequent traveler program, the V.I.P club, introduced in 1976, which grew to over 7.6 million members. The V.I.P Club program was purchased by Hospitality Franchise Systems in 1993, which later became Cendant. The V.I.P. program was dissolved in December, 2003 and replaced with the TripRewards program, which was renamed Wyndham Rewards in 2008. Also in 2003, Super 8 opened its 100th Canadian property in Truro, Nova Scotia.[2]
Super 8 is planning to roll out a new Logo, which will be on all properties by July of 2009.
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