A motel is a hotel made for people travelling by car. The rooms are often in a low building, and you can park right outside your door. The idea grew in the United States along long roads, so drivers could stop for the night without going into a big city hotel. The word is ordinary, not slang. In some places people still look for a motel; in others they just say hotel. A motel is usually simpler and cheaper than a large hotel — though actually some motels now look quite smart. In Taiwan the idea is very familiar: you drive up, park, and sleep.