Lobby (room) in the context of "Sofa"

A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries after World War II, the word motel, coined as a portmanteau of "motor hotel", originates from the defunct lodging compound establishment, The Milestone Mo-Tel in San Luis Obispo, California (later renamed as "Motel Inn"), which was built in 1925. The term referred to a type of hotel consisting of a single building of connected rooms whose doors faced a parking lot and in some circumstances, a common area or a series of small cabins with common parking. Motels are often individually owned, though motel chains do exist.

As large highway systems began to be developed in the 1920s, long-distance road journeys became more common, and the need for inexpensive, easily accessible overnight accommodation sites close to the main routes led to the growth of the motel concept. Motels peaked in popularity in the 1960s with rising car travel, only to decline in response to competition from the newer chain hotels that became commonplace at highway interchanges as traffic was bypassed onto newly constructed freeways. Several historic motels are listed on the US National Register of Historic Places.

In architecture, an atrium (pl.: atria or atriums) is a large open-air or skylight-covered space surrounded by a building.Atria were a common feature in Ancient Roman dwellings, providing light and ventilation to the interior. Modern atria, as developed in the late 19th and 20th centuries, are often several stories high, with a glazed roof or large windows, and often located immediately beyond a building's main entrance doors (in the lobby).

Atria are a popular design feature because they give their buildings a "feeling of space and light." The atrium has become a key feature of many buildings in recent years. Atria are popular with building users, building designers and building developers. Users like atria because they create a dynamic and stimulating interior that provides shelter from the external environment while maintaining a visual link with that environment. Designers enjoy the opportunity to create new types of spaces in buildings, and developers see atria as prestigious amenities that can increase commercial value and appeal.

A vestibule (also anteroom, antechamber, outer room, air-lock entry or foyer) is a small room leading into a larger space such as a lobby, entrance hall, or passage, for the purpose of waiting, withholding the larger space from view, reducing heat loss ( air trap, windbreak), providing storage space for outdoor clothing ( mudroom), etc. The term applies to structures in both modern and classical architecture since ancient times.

In antiquity, antechambers were employed as transitional spaces leading to more significant rooms, such as throne rooms in palaces or the naos in temples. In ancient Roman architecture, a vestibule (Latin: vestibulum) was a partially enclosed area between the interior of the house and the street.