Love motels (or love hotels) are a distinctive type of short-stay accommodation found in many parts of the world. This article explains what love motels are, what they look like, how they work, and where they are most common, from Japan and South Korea to Latin America.
What is a love motel?
Love motels are closely associated with the wider topic of sex tourism, although in practice most are used by local couples looking for privacy rather than by international tourists.
As the name suggests, love motels (or love hotels) are short-stay hotels which operate for the purpose of allowing their guests privacy to engage in romantic or sexual activities. Often they are just rented for an hour or two.
Love motels exist worldwide. However, the name actually originates from Hotel Love in Osaka, Japan, which was built in 1968.
Love motels are incredibly popular in Japan, as explained later in this article, but they are also gaining popularity around the world. Nonetheless, the idea started in Japan and remains a huge part of Japanese culture and economy to this day.
What do love motels look like?
For the most part, love motels look like other hotels.
Love motels are often distinguished by the use of love hearts in their signage and branding. Some love motels are more garish – think neon signs, castle-shaped buildings or even hotels built to look like UFOs. These love motels tend to be a bit more expensive, and the inside decor reflects the price. From rotating beds to karaoke machines in the rooms, to changeable mood lighting and ceiling mirrors the interior design is something that distinguishes love motels from regular hotels.
With discreet entrances and, oftentimes, a pane of frosted glass separating customers and staff (when booking a room, for example), privacy is maximised. Love motels often have very few windows. Some don’t actually have any windows at all! This is especially true of the more low-key love motels, rather than the ones that draw attention to themselves. However, privacy is taken seriously in these love motels too.
Are love motels different to other motels?
Motels are typically designed for motorists. They are small, and rooms can be accessed directly from the car park. Love motels are typically motels aimed at couples or those planning to engage in casual sexual activities. They are different from love hotels in that they are generally not in the city centre or in an urban area. Generally, guests drive to reach a love motel.
There is not much difference between a love motel and a love hotel, other than their location. The two terms are often used interchangeably within the industry. Love hotels tend to be found in cities, while love motels are more common on the outskirts and along main roads.
Booking a love motel
As previously mentioned, privacy is taken seriously at love motels. There is minimal interaction with staff. Guests often select a room from a panel of buttons and screens, and there are machines to settle the bill. Where staff interactions are necessary, they often take place with a screen of frosted glass in between the customer and staff member.
Some love hotels can be booked online (see this example). However, as they tend to be booked by the hour and usually on the spur of the moment, booking online is less common and can be more expensive. However, looking at love hotels online allows people to see reviews from previous guests. Booking online also allows tourists to find out what facilities are included, such as themed rooms, soundproofing, karaoke, drinks and snacks.
The big distinction between a typical motel and a love motel is that love motels cater specifically for couples seeking privacy.
Where you can find love motels around the world
Love motels are found throughout the world. Some of the places where they are most common are outlined below.
Love motels in Japan
Love hotels are most popular in Japan, where they originated, and they make a significant contribution to the economy. Estimates of the industry’s size vary, but it has been estimated to generate several trillion yen a year.
Estimates suggest that there are tens of thousands of love hotels across Japan, although numbers have declined in recent years. One widely cited estimate suggested that there were around 500 million visits to love hotels each year – equivalent to around 1.4 million couples a day.
See also: Sex tourism in Amsterdam
It is said that love hotels can be traced back to the 17th century in Japan. Some teahouses and inns in Edo and Kyoto were actually love hotels with discreet entrance and exits; modern love hotels were a natural progression as time went by.
In the 1960s, as car ownership grew, motels appeared. Because of the typical Japanese housing style, where sleeping areas were used as common areas during the day, there was very little opportunity for couples to engage in sexual activities at home.
As a result, people drove to motels, or visited love hotels, and soon the two concepts merged. Love motels are not as common as love hotels, but they are still a major player in the Japanese tourism industry.
Love motels are also found in many places outside Japan.
Love motels in South Korea
Love motels appeared in South Korea in the 80s.
While historically seen as seedy, they have been upgraded over the years and are now clean and modern; many sexual elements have been removed from the decor to appease local residents, which is where they often differ from Japanese motels.
The 1988 Seoul Olympics are said to have been a factor in the popularity boom of these motels in South Korea. As well as this, many young adults in South Korea still live with their parents. This means private time with partners can be hard to come by, which adds to the popularity of the motels here.
The main place you’ll find love motels in South Korea is still Seoul; specifically, the Sinchon, Jamsil and Jongro areas. These are big nightlife neighbourhoods. The hotels won’t generally advertise themselves as a ‘love motel’ from the outside, but they do tend to be quite garish so they are easy to distinguish. Some are themed, and though they tend to be more expensive they add an extra element of fun.
Love motels in Thailand
With the popularity of sex tourism in Thailand, it is no surprise that love/sex motels are popular. There are many in Bangkok alone. Love hotels have long existed in Thailand and are often known locally as ‘curtain motels’, because curtains are drawn across the parking bays to hide guests’ cars.
With fantasy-themed rooms, mirrored walls and ambient lighting, there are some unusual love motels in Thailand!
Love motels elsewhere
In 2019, a temporary Japanese-inspired pop-up love hotel called the Tokyo Love Hotel opened briefly in Toronto, Canada, offering themed fantasy rooms.
Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong also have love hotels. In Latin America, Guatemala has ‘autohoteles’, and Chile has ‘moteles’ – sometimes known as ‘hoteles parejeros’, or couples’ hotels.
The Dominican Republic, Panama, Argentina and Uruguay all have their own versions of these motels. In Panama, many love motels are designed to be entered by car – guests drive directly into a private garage, and there is a button which you push to unlock and enter the room itself. Because of this, they are often referred to as push buttons.
Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico and Colombia all use the word motel exclusively for love hotels. There are thousands in Brazil alone, where they are a familiar part of the urban landscape. Love motels are popular here, and associated with both eroticism and romantic love.
In Nigeria and other countries, some hotels offer ‘short-time’ stays by the hour.
The USA and Canada have many motels. While they don’t have love motels in the Japanese sense, some motels rent rooms by the hour (sometimes called ‘no-tell motels’). These tend to differ from love motels in that they are seen as more seedy, and don’t have the themed rooms or discreet design that are common in (especially Japanese) motels. They are becoming less common, partly because many now require identification when booking/arriving, which takes away from the secretive nature of these motels.
Love motels: Conclusion
Love motels are big business in some parts of the world, particularly Japan, South Korea and Latin America. Their popularity is often linked to housing conditions and cultures in which couples have little privacy at home, such as where young adults live with their parents. While some people perceive the industry as seedy, for many couples love hotels are simply a place where they can enjoy privacy together.
Love motels: FAQs
Below are answers to some of the most common questions about love motels.
What is a love motel?
A love motel, or love hotel, is a short-stay hotel designed to give couples privacy, often rented by the hour, with discreet entrances and themed rooms.
Where did love hotels originate?
Love hotels are most closely associated with Japan, where the name comes from Hotel Love in Osaka, which opened in 1968, although similar discreet inns existed in Japan centuries earlier.
Why are love hotels popular in Japan and South Korea?
Love hotels are popular partly because many people live in small homes or with their families, leaving couples with little privacy, and partly because of cultural attitudes towards discretion.
What is the difference between a love hotel and a love motel?
The two terms are often used interchangeably. Love hotels are usually in cities, while love motels are typically on the outskirts or near main roads and are designed for guests arriving by car.
Which countries have love motels?
Love motels and similar short-stay hotels are found in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and many Latin American countries, including Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Panama.
Love motels: Further reading
If you found this article on love motels useful, these articles may also be of interest:
- 20 popular types of hotels around the world
- The history of the hotel industry
- Types of accommodation in tourism
- Sex tourism in Amsterdam
