Story: Hotels and motels

At one of Picton’s early motels, shown in 1958, the adults are enjoying a drink on the sun-filled lawn and two well-groomed boys play to one side. The post-war boom in motor vehicle sales brought the motel onto New Zealand’s accommodation scene, with the first motel being opened in Picton in December 1952. Motels quickly became popular with New Zealanders. Not only were they cheaper – low staff requirements kept prices down – but most had kitchen facilities and their own bathrooms, which hotels lacked.