Authors of The Motel in America concluded that Alamo Plaza was a referral chain of independently owned motels that depended on the personalities of its various owners. However, even as it was a loosely connected chain, Alamo Plaza served as a pioneering concept for the lodging industry. Even though its many innovations did not necessarily migrate directly into the later mainstream of chain hotel/motel operations, Alamo Plaza's legacy was to foster a market where consumers came to rely upon easily identifiable brands signified by distinctive architecture, signs, logos, and service. Consumers learned to develop expectations based on brand marketing, reinforced with repeating logos and slogans. Thus creating a brand with value and significance in the mind of the public, as Lee Torrance had done with his Alamo Plaza, drove the hospitality industry to become more efficient and offer more and better service.