Economy brand Motel 6 announced its first new prototype in 12 years. Parent company Accor North America unveiled the "Phoenix" prototype, designed by London's Priestman Goode to optimize the use of space by combining multiple functions into a single piece of furniture to provide modern functionality.

Major features of the design include a new building exterior, a spacious lobby with a new 24-hour food and beverage vending marketplace and a new guestroom design with bright accent colors. The room has wood-effect flooring instead of carpeting and a 32-inch flat screen TV that is displayed on the entertainment unit, which conceals the door-less wardrobe behind it. The entertainment center also has a multi-media panel that gives guests the chance to plug in their MP3 players, CD players or laptop computers if they want to listen to music or use the TV as a computer monitor.

The first "Phoenix" will be a corporate-owned location and construction will begin later this year. The prototype will be available to franchisees in summer 2009.

Best Western recently broke ground with its first new Atria prototype. San Antonio developer and hotel owner Ajay Patel began construction on a 100-room property scheduled for completion next fall. Best Western has 11 other Atria properties in its pipeline. The new design was introduced in October.