Travelodge's Sleepy Bear: Hibernating?

One of the most visited posts of this blog is one I did on Travelodge's Sleepy Bear mascot back in 2013. The post featured a lot of vintage Sleepy Bear promotional items, and tracked his evolution over the decades through his use on postcards, brochures, matchbooks and other marketing pieces.

Google "Travelodge Sleepy Bear" and you'll see that my 2013 post about the beloved bruin shows up first – thus demonstrating that a lot of people remember him and are wondering what he's up to these days.

The answer: not much. And for fans of the original bear, that's rather, uh, unbearable.

After a series of redesigns, by 2012 Sleepy had evolved into a largely unappealing character. Sleepy had lost his nightshirt and cap, and wasn't sleepy any more; he was tall and dopey-looking, wore a Travelodge vest and was now an adventure guide. His transition from cute, sleep-walking cub to his present grisly grizzly appearance was documented on the Travelodge website at that time.

Today, Sleepy is nowhere to be found on the Travelodge by Wyndham website. The Travelodge Wiki entry notes, "The Sleepy Bear mascot has largely been retired, but can be seen on some older Travelodge signs and is still used on some advertising."

Sleepy Bear does still appear on the Travelodge Facebook page, but all of the photos are from 2012. There is a short video from last year that seems to be a half-hearted attempt to keep him 'working.' Here's a screen grab showing how he looks these days.

That's a long way from this (below).

If Wyndham was smart, they would return to the original, charming Sleepy Bear design. Give him a website and/or presence on TikTok, YouTube etc. and give the youngest kiddies a stuffed Sleepy Bear doll when they stay at a Travelodge. There's still a lot of life left in that bear even if he is sleepy.

Vintage Travelodge Guest Pak

I bought this nifty Travelodge Guest Pak on Ebay a few years ago. Guest Pak Corp. in New York produced these boxes of toiletry samples for hotels and motels to give to their guests.

This Travelodge Guest Pak is nicely designed, with Sleepy Bear on the lid, along with an area where the motel could imprint their name. In this case, the motel is the Ontario Travelodge at 755 N. Euclid in Ontario, California.

Here's what the motel looked like (below).

The motel is still there today, but it's no longer part of the Travelodge chain.

So what's in the Travelodge Guest Pak? Let's open it up and find out. My medicine cabinet is short a few things, maybe I can save a trip to the drug store!

Hmmmm. Lots of forgotten brands and partially used samples.
• a two-ounce bottle of Lavoris (that is almost empty)
• a bottle of shampoo with no brand label – just directions on how to use it
• a bottle of Helene Curtis Conditioning Creme Rinse
• a little jar of Helene Curtis Suave Creme Hairdressing with Lanolin
• a bottle of Famel Syrup (for the relief of Coughs and Throat Irritations)
• a small tin of Stanback Analgesic Tablets
• a small plastic jar of Mum Deodorant with M-3
• an almost empty tube of Pacquins Hand Cream
• a tube of Ipana Toothpaste (with the marking NEW DESIGNS ADOPTED 1955)

On second thought, it's probably not a good idea to brush your teeth with 60-year-old toothpaste.

I'm fairly intrigued by some of the products. I wonder if the deodorant would still keep you dry? I guess Mum's the word on that.

Anyway, for more Guest Pak fun, another blogger (here) has some other samples.

Cleveland's Travelodge – Then & Now

I've blogged about the long-gone Elyria Travelodge on Route 57 (here), as well as Sleepy Bear, the Travelodge teddy bear mascot (here). So I'm a big fan of the motel chain, and have stayed at many of its outlets in the U. S. and Canada over the years.

I was surprised to discover that the chain once had a motel on W. 25th Street in Cleveland, just south of Detroit Road near Franklin. It's hard to imagine one there, since that area is not particularly tourist-friendly today. I guess in the 1950s it was a different story.

Anyway, here's a vintage Plain Dealer ad from August 26, 1958 announcing its opening.

And here's its matching matchbook.

Today the former motel is home to Cleveland's Transitional Housing, Inc. It provides homeless women with a safe environment, as well as programs and services that promote independence and self-sufficiency.

Here's my "now" shot of the converted Travelodge today (below). It looks pretty nice, and is a welcome change from how many old motel buildings look once they drop their affiliation with a major chain.

May 2015

The Bear Facts About Travelodge's Sleepy Bear

Promotional Diecut Postcard
(Courtesy Vintage Roadside flickr site)

In my post yesterday about the Elyria Travelodge, I mentioned that as a kid I liked Sleepy, the teddy bear mascot for the national motel chain.

Back then, Sleepy was a small bear cub, like Winnie-the-Pooh. He wore a nightshirt and sleeping cap, and was obviously tired and ready to hibernate.

Usually he appeared to be sleepwalking, just like they do in animated cartoons with arms sticking straight out. Other times, he was shown carrying a suitcase, just like Travelodge customers.

Vintage Postcard
(Courtesy Todd Franklin's Neato Coolville flickr website)

According to the Travelodge website, Sleepy originated with the very first Travelodge in San Diego, California back in the early 1950s.

Travelodge made good use of the bruin goodwill ambassador in their advertising.

They used Sleepy not only in printed ads, brochures, postcards and matchbook covers, but on motel signage and items as well.

(Courtesy Dave Eames' great Historic Highways online museum)

For kids, the motel chain manufactured a stuffed version of Sleepy (below). 

For adults, a special Jim Beam decanter in the shape of Sleepy Bear was issued (below).

Sleepy Bear decanter, currently for sale on Etsy

Travelodge even had full-size Sleepy costumes (below) made, so that he could make public appearances.

Courtesy Travelodge.com

Sometime in the late 1960s I believe, Sleepy's design was streamlined and simplified (below).

Then in the 1970s, the sleep-deprived bear was downplayed in advertising, and was often featured only in silhouette (below).

By 1980 or so, Sleepy was completely redesigned and given a new, jowly look. His white nightshirt was replaced with a blue pajama top, with matching sleep cap and slippers.

"New" Sleepy and "Old" Sleepy

In 2004, in honor of his 50th birthday, Sleepy was redesigned to be less jowly (below).

Anyway, while preparing this post I was surprised to discover that Sleepy had been redesigned again in 2012.

Gone are the nightshirt and sleeping cap. This new Sleepy is all grown up. Surprisingly, Sleepy's not even sleepy any more!

Why? According to the Travelodge website, the explanation is that since he sleeps at Travelodge, he's well-rested and ready for adventure. It looks like he's longer a Travelodge customer anymore too; now, he's a full-fledged employee with an official company vest.

He's featured in TV commercials and on the official Travelodge Facebook page.

Travelodge has celebrated Sleepy's new look with a special page on the company website with an online graphic showing his evolution through the years (below).

Courtesy Travelodge.com

I'm sure that the new Sleepy tested well in the motel's marketing research, as he is very much in style with the current crop of animated 3-D movies.

As for me, though, I still prefer the design of the sleepwalking 1950s Sleepy. I can identify with him, too – as I'm always hoping to get that elusive good night's sleep.

****

UPDATE (April 10, 2026)

An anonymous comment left on this post back in 2024 notes, " I found this blog as a result of searching for a nightlight I had as a kid in the late '60s. I still have a vivid memory of it. It looked like the classic Travelodge bear. He was wearing PJ'S, a night cap, and walking up stairs with a candle. The night light emitted a soft blue glow."

I'll bet this is what they remember. It's currently on Worthpoint (or at least it was) and is described as "Vintage Sylvania Panelescent Nite Light Teddy Bear Blue."

Elyria Travelodge Then & Now

I saw this postcard – for the Elyria Travelodge – on Ebay recently, and since it was only a few bucks, I sprang for it.

When I was a kid, the Elyria Travelodge was one of those landmarks that I used to watch for from the back seat when we were in Elyria for some reason and coming up via Route 113. Why? Because I liked Sleepy, the bear that Travelodge used as their advertising mascot. (More on Sleepy tomorrow!)

Using the small selection of Elyria phone books at the Lorain Public Library, along with the Lorain phone books, I was able to put together a rough timeline for the motel. The Elyria Travelodge showed up in the Elyria phone book in October 1961, followed by the Lorain phone book a year later. So it looks like the motel dates to the early 1960s.

1962 Elyria Phone Book listing

It's interesting that the 1962 phone book ad mentions both the Howard Johnson restaurant next door, as well as Carey's Villa.

Here's another version of the same postcard – this one with the water tower cropped out (and a fake, cloudy sky added).

Courtesy CardCow.com

Here's a telephone book ad circa 1965.

The motel continued to show up in the Elyria phone book until the 1986 edition, when the motel's listing disappeared.

Today the Elyria Fire Department's Engine Company 3 occupies the motel's former location (below) in my "now" shot.

More than 50 years after the motel first opened, the trees have now grown to obscure the water tower in the vintage postcard. You can see part of it (it's now bright blue) peeking through the trees above the blue dumpster if you look closely.

The grassy center strip in the middle of State Route 57 is gone. And the Howard Johnson's mentioned in the vintage ad is long-gone as well.

Tomorrow: The Bear Facts About Sleepy Bear