Originally Posted by littlemookie

About a year ago Blackstone, which owns Hilton and La Quinta, purchased Motel 6 from Accor (article link is below). There was speculation on Hilton using Motel 6 as its new economy brand, as Hilton's economy brands were moving upmarket. So far that speculation has been rumors and seems unlikely (La Quinta would be a far better alternative for Hilton, IMHO), but that doesn't rule out Blackstone building the Motel 6 brand and selling it to a larger hotel chain.