Motel 6 is in the midst of a rebirth with its new Phoenix prototype and nowhere is that more evident than in Biloxi, MS. The Motel 6 there has risen from rubble—not quite ashes—after being decimated in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. The completely rebuilt property, the first with the new Phoenix interiors, celebrated its grand reopening on Jan. 29, which took on additional—and literal—meaning because it was also Accor’s 1,000th Motel 6/Studio 6 property to open.

“The 1,000^th property is a great milestone in Motel 6/Studio 6 history and we’re proud to be rebuilding in Biloxi,” said Olivier Poirot, CEO of Accor North America, Motel 6 and Studio 6. “With all this region went through during and after Katrina, Motel 6 is glad to play a small part in the rejuvenation of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.”

The property isn’t alone in the race to be ready for the lucrative spring-break season. The retrofit of the Galveston (TX) Motel 6 will be completed by next month, just six months after being flooded by Hurricane Ike in September, and the Motel 6 on South Padre Island in Texas is also putting the finishing touches on a retrofit after sustaining water damage from Hurricane Dolly. Both have remained open during the renovation process, but will celebrate grand reopenings later this month or next.

“Spring break is very big, it’s definitely a huge opportunity for us to showcase these hotels and the new look,” said Motel 6 Area Manager Xavier Icardo, who oversees 17 properties in the Gulf Coast region.

The three hurricane-damaged locations are corporately owned and were scheduled to be converted to the Phoenix interiors, but those plans were expedited. “It’s great for us and great for the economies of those cities,” Poirot said during an interview at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit in San Diego.

The Phoenix design is modern, with a European boutique-style feel, bright accent colors, ambient lighting and a banquette seating area. The wood-effect laminate flooring and a 32-inch flat-screen TV belie a more expensive price tag than Motel 6’s traditional affordability. The new design was meant to increase value for guests and franchisees, with the cost of the new rooms as cheap, or cheaper, than the previous prototype. The cost-per-key to renovate varies from $3,500 to $7,500, right in the ballpark of the last prototype.

Twenty-four properties were renovated last year with elements of the new look, but Biloxi was the first, in essence, new build with the Phoenix interior. The property doesn’t have the new exterior and lobby because construction was already under way before the prototype debuted. More key markets are undergoing retrofits this year and the first complete new construction of the Phoenix inside and out is underway in Northlake, TX, between Dallas and Fort Worth, and expected to be completed in September.

The Biloxi location and story has to be the most remarkable. Located across Highway 90 from the Gulf of Mexico, maybe a little more than 100 yards from a public beach, the hotel was completely destroyed by Katrina. Icardo, who’s originally from France and admits he’s become all too familiar with hurricanes since managing the Gulf Coast region here, said all that remained on the hotel’s site were the pool, the concrete slab and a commercial washing machine. The rest of the building was sitting in pieces a few hundred yards away. 

“You can feel this pride and need for new development and new buildings,” Icardo said. “The support we got from the community was absurdly incredible.” The feedback, he added, has been equally as impressive. “After not being in the market for three years, a lot of people forgot about us. Many are rediscovering Motel 6 and people are surprised and happy to see the new and improved Motel 6.”

The property didn’t forget its past, though. The Biloxi Motel 6 sold the first room each of the first six days it was open for $6, a nod to the origination of the brand and its name in 1962.