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Highlighting more than $100 million in renovations at its hotels across North America, Super 8, the world’s largest economy hotel brand and trusted roadside companion, rolled into the 2018 New York International Auto Show on March 29 with ROADM8, the first-ever concept car inspired by a hotel brand’s guest room redesign.
Pulling its style and amenities straight from Super 8’s newly refreshed and elevated rooms—think bedding turned upholstery, a nightstand turned dashboard accent—ROADM8 fully embodies the sleek, new, modern look and feel of Super 8 while bringing the best of the brand to the open road. Outside, the vehicle boasts the red and yellow of the iconic Super 8 sign while inside are innovative amenities like a built-in, on-demand coffee machine, custom center console mini-fridge, touch-screen entertainment, and more.
“Super 8 enables travelers everywhere, regardless of budget or location, to not only embrace the call of the open road, but have a great experience along the way,” said Mike Mueller, Super 8 brand senior vice president. “ROADM8 is the auto embodiment of that brand promise, taking the best that our newly renovated hotels have to offer and showcasing them in a way that tells the world: this isn’t your grandfather’s budget hotel.”
Super 8 created ROADM8 with industry-leading fabricators—several with ties to some of Hollywood’s most iconic vehicles—customizing the car’s exterior and re-imagining its interior. Built from a 2017 Jeep Wrangler, the base of ROADM8 was chosen for its reputation as family friendly and representing a balance between iconic and inventive.
This year marks the 45th anniversary of Super 8 and in celebration of that milestone, ROADM8 also features hidden surprises with direct ties to the brand’s rich history. One such surprise: the black and white art showcasing South Dakota’s Badlands National Park under the ROADM8’s hood.
Mirroring the hyper-local, wall size black and white art that doubles as a headboard in the new Super 8 guestroom—the hood art serves as a direct callback to Super 8’s South Dakota roots. Other surprises include a Super 8 branded engine cover, custom model plate, and a key fob in the shape of a road sign for U.S. Route 12, which passes directly through Aberdeen, South Dakota, home of the very first Super 8 hotel, which is still open today.
Added Mueller, “As a brand, we recognize the value in creating ways for our guests to interact with us that are both fun and unexpected. So, while some might be surprised to see us at the New York International Auto Show, for us, we think it’s the ideal spot to show off the new look and feel of Super 8. After all, we’re the same brand that just over a year ago, launched our new black and white art collection by hosting critically-acclaimed galleries of ‘old hotel art’ during Frieze in New York and Art Basel in Miami.”
Millions of attendees visit the auto show annually, eager to see the latest in design and innovation before setting out and hitting the open road, two things Super 8 knows all about. Attendees of the show can see ROADM8 firsthand at Super 8’s booth at the Javits Center in New York City, when the show opens to the public Friday, March 30 through Sunday, April 8. For more information, visit super8.com/roadm8.
