Highlighting more than $100 million in renovations at its North American hotels, Super 8, Wyndham Hotel Group's largest economy hotel brand, has rolled into the 2018 New York International Auto Show at New York City's Javits Center with ROADM8, the first-ever concept car inspired by a hotel brand’s guestroom redesign.
The Super 8 team custom designed the car’s exterior and reimagined its interior. Built from a 2017 Jeep Wrangler, the base of ROADM8 was reportedly chosen for its reputation as being family friendly and representing a balance between iconic and inventive.
For the car's interiors, the design team turned guestroom bedding into the car's upholstery, while the nightstand inspired the dashboard accent. Other interior perks include a built-in coffee machine, custom center console mini-fridge and touchscreen entertainment. Outside, the vehicle is painted in the red and yellow of the Super 8 sign.
In a statement, Mike Mueller, Super 8 brand SVP, called ROADM8 “the auto embodiment" of the 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.”
To recognize Super 8's 45th anniversary, the car has little touches that pay homage to the brand's history, with black-and-white artwork of 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. The car also has 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, S.D., home of the first Super 8 hotel (which is still open today).
“As a brand, we recognize the value in creating ways for our guests to interact with us that are both fun and unexpected," Mueller said. "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.”
Attendees of the Auto Show can see ROADM8 at Super 8’s booth when the show opens to the public on March 30 through April 8.