Walk into a newly renovated Motel 6 and you immediately notice something different. The bright accent colors are hard to miss, but it's what you're standing on that is the most surprising. Wood-effect laminate flooring has replaced the traditional carpet in Motel 6's new Phoenix prototype, giving the economy brand a clean, modern and totally different feel.

The new flooring is made of 80-percent pre-consumer recycled material, including an inner wood core of oak and cherry wood chips that otherwise would have been burned or dumped in a landfill. Manufactured by Tarkett, the flooring is made of four layers pressed together under high temperatures to create a product that provides solid, uniform strength and is highly resistant to indentions, scratches and wear. The top layer — made up of melamine and aluminum oxide — provides a smooth finish that doesn't need polishing.

The flooring comes with a 10-year warranty and doesn't require regular steam cleaning like carpet. It's also a huge plus with Motel 6's pet-friendly policies.

Accor CEO Gilles Pelisson said Motel 6 benefited from the company's research and development department in France. Twenty-four properties completed renovations last year, adding elements of the new Phoenix interiors designed by Priestman Goode of London.

“Hardwood flooring is something we've always contemplated,” Accor North America CEO Olivier Poirot said recently at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit. The challenge, though, was maintaining Motel 6's traditional affordability.

Even with the new flooring, new seating, a 32-inch flat screen TV, multi-media plug-in panel, ambient lighting and a modern bathroom with black granite countertops, the economy brand was able to keep costs to comparable levels for both franchisees and guests. Other guest amenities offered in the new prototype property include Wi-Fi Internet access and an upgraded lobby design with a 24-hour food and beverage vending marketplace.