Economy Accommodations- What We’ve Learned

Dan is a liar who is also unfaithful.  At least those are the words Todd and I heard being screamed at him in the middle of the night from our room which happened to be right next door to Dan’s.  We had arrived at this particular Motel 6 in eastern Texas just before 10 pm after a long day of driving.  After being briefly distracted by social media on our phones, Todd and I almost immediately went to sleep in preparation for an early morning departure.

I’m not exactly sure when the argument started next door, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say it was probably not long after “closing time” at some nearby establishment. I was immediately jarred awake when Dan’s wife? girlfriend? started screaming at him, but I didn’t move.  I could tell Todd was also awake although neither of us moved or spoke about our neighbors until the next morning.  I just listened – intently and on guard – in case the argument spiraled into a domestic violence situation that would require intervention from authorities.  Every word of her displeasure in Dan was easy to hear, but he was speaking in a low and muffled voice.  Eventually the argument died down and the television was turned on in their room.  As I slowly drifted back to sleep, my thoughts were occasionally punctuated by her yelling at Dan to “shut up.” Mostly I was lying there thinking about how I wished I was staying in a higher-end hotel room – one with real glasses by the sink.  Not that I would ever trust a real glass to have been cleaned properly enough to drink from.  No way!  But I could have used that glass to put my ear up to the wall to hear better.  What had Dan been saying to her?

A couple of years ago Todd and I started making a conscious effort to stay at economy motels for brief stops on the road.  Our logic being why should we spend more than twice the money when we are doing nothing more than sleeping, waking up, showering, and getting back on the road again?   Certainly if we are homesteading out of the same place for a few days during a trip, we will spend the extra money to increase our creature comforts.  In fact when we are going to be spending multiple nights in the same location, I usually skip over hotels entirely and move onto Airbnb to rent an entire apartment or house for our use instead.  When we traveled with small kids things like pools and other amenities were important to us. But now that it’s just us arriving at bedtime and setting an alarm to get back on the road early, why spend $100-$150 for a Holiday Inn Express or a Hampton Inn when we can spend $50-$75 and have all our needs met for those 8 or so hours at a Motel 6 or an Econo Lodge?  That being said, it is important to note that not all economy motels are created equal.  You need to do your homework before check-in.

What I like most about economy motels is that they are often locally owned and operated small businesses.  A few years ago, after watching the documentary Meet the Patels – which I highly recommend – I was introduced to the notion of “Patel motels.”  After watching the movie, I began noticing that many of the motels we were spending the night in were, in fact, owned by members of the Patel community.  A little research taught me that almost 50% of all motels in the United States are owned by Indian Americans.  Most of them are from Gujarat in central and southern India, and about 70% of them share the surname, “Patel.”

For more information about the phenomenon of “Patel motels” read “Life Behind the Lobby:  Indian American Motel Owners and the American Dream.” Link  

Every couple has their division of labor, and it is my job to check in and out of motels when we travel.  I’m always delighted when I discover we are staying in a “Patel motel,”  and Todd and I always do a little high-five when I come back to the car and tell him.  What I love most about these motels is the family aspect to the operation.  Whether it be a “mom and pop” style motel, or a low, or even mid-level franchised economy motel if you look closely, it’s easy to recognize the signs of family life all around.  More often than not, the family running the daily motel operation, whether they be the owners or extended family members who manage the property, also live in the motel.  When a desk clerk appears from behind a closed-door, you can often get a glimpse of family life going on behind the walls:  a TV on, dishes clanking, a baby fussing, kids laughing and playing.  Sometimes you will glimpse teenagers who walk down a hallway and disappear behind a door that clearly leads to back of the house areas of the motel.  I love when I know a family is living life just beyond the lobby walls.  It makes the motel feel more special and homey.

These motels that dot the landscape off every exit are a uniquely American fixture along our roadways, and it’s very important to both do your homework and manage your expectations before checking into an economy motel, whether it be a “Patel motel” or not:

Read each motel’s reviews carefully!  Todd and I do not typically pre-plan our road trip stops.  We drive until we get tired or until we reach our destination.  As we decide we are done driving for the day, I get on my phone and start searching.  I largely rely on reviews from Booking.com.  It is a closed reviewing system and only solicits its reviews from customers who have booked a motel through the website.   I know everyone who is commenting has actually been a customer.  I zero in on the cheapest motel with the highest rating, and I try to avoid staying at motels that do not at least score a “7.5” on Booking.com’s rating system.   As I read the reviews, I carefully search for comments such as “clean,” “comfortable beds/pillow”, “friendly staff,” etc.  It’s also important to take the negative reviews with a grain of salt.  People are far more likely to take the time to leave a review when they are disgruntled than when they are pleased with their stay.  Read the bad reviews to see if they are legitimate concerns.   A review that says the room was dirty carries more weight than one from a customer who is unhappy because noise from the air conditioner unit (or room next door?) kept them awake.

Don’t expect 5-star amenities.  The towels are likely to be terrible.  Be grateful for the shampoo and conditioner and the couple bars of soap.  There will not usually be lotion or any other toiletry items offered.  There will be no sign telling you to come down to the front desk if you forgot your toothbrush to get a complimentary one.  No hairdryer will be provided.  Expect and insist that your bathtub be clean, but don’t expect the bathtub to be new and blemish free by any means.

A morning continental breakfast buffet is not likely, but sometimes you will get a scaled down version.  Motel breakfasts do not generally appeal to me anyway.  At a minimum, coffee is usually offered in the lobby each morning.

Inspect your room.  This is a rule of thumb regardless of where you stay.  Bed bugs are just as likely to be in an expensive hotel as they are to be in economy motels.  I look at the sheets and mattress for signs of any critters.  I wouldn’t lie down on a bedspread whether I’m in a Motel 6 or a JW Marriott.

I will note that I appreciate the direction Motel 6 has taken in recent years.  It’s very uncommon to stay at a Motel 6 that hasn’t been refurbished these days.  What they have done across their motels is take out the soft furnishing in favor of hard surfaces.  Carpeting has been replaced with laminate.  Upholstered furniture has been replaced with wood, and bedding is comfortable without being overly plush.  I assume these design choices have been made to keep the likelihood of bedbug infestations to a minimum.

If you do your homework and manage your expectations, economy motels can provide very pleasant stays while you are on the road.  Sure the walls can be thin sometimes, but I would argue that in most mid-level motels, and often in some higher-end hotels, you will hear more from your neighbors than you would prefer from time to time.

The morning after Dan and his lady friend interrupted our sleep, Todd and I rose early and quietly prepared to get back on the road.  We laughed about the argument we’d been witness to and I wondered about Dan.  The night before, I’d taken it on faith that Dan was in fact a lying cheater.  I’d assumed his low murmured side of the conversation had been an attempt to manipulate and gaslight her.  But in the morning light I considered that maybe she was just that kind of crazy drunk who needed to be calmly talked down from the ledge from time to time.  Maybe Dan’s transgressions were just imagined?

Todd left to load and warm up the car, and I walked through the room one last time to make sure we had our belongings.  I came to the door and noticed that Todd had pulled the car across the parking lot to make sure the idling did not disturb those still sleeping.  As I glanced around, Dan’s room was quiet and peaceful.  As I imagined them sleeping off their evening, I turned and slammed the door as hard as I could.  You see….Todd’s a much nicer person than I am.