This past weekend, I stayed in a pretty heinous hotel.
I knew it would probably be a dump, and it was, but it was the only place in town where I could find a room so that I could cover the NHRA Fall Nationals drag race for Fast Machines. Yes, I called six months ahead of time and it did not matter; everything was already full because race fans return year after year.
It was the Waxahachie, Texas America’s Best Value Inn, to be specific, but the exact hotel is really not all that important. No, I did not go over and launch a fusillade of disgust on TripAdvisor; it wouldn’t change the hotel one iota because I’m not sure the owners really care what their customers think. Plenty of unsuspecting people will keep staying there who do not read TripAdvisor, and I was grossed out enough without running around documenting everything with my camera.
The issue is whether I expect too much from budget lodging, and whether I expect overly high standards from US hotel chains (since one would assume that a chain would want to maintain a decent reputation across its properties.) After all, the Holiday Inn chain was started in 1952 to provide inexpensive lodging for families; lodging that also adhered to consistent standards across all Holiday Inns. The founder didn’t like the wildly varying quality that he found across most Mom and Pop places.
Is it too much to ask to not have to look at gouged/stained wallpaper, cigarette-burned/stained carpet, chairs so blackened and filthy I wouldn’t sit in them, cheapo clothes hangar holders but no hangars in them, and a laundry list of monstrosities in the bathroom?
You will be pleased to know that the bed was decent and I did not personally spy any vermin running around. I’m a mellow, non-judgmental sort, you know.
There was free, functioning WiFi. The front desk personnel were nice – the young woman at the front desk on Sunday morning asked everyone checking out how their room was, then the poor thing stood there and listened to rant after rant. Maybe she was new, but she seemed genuinely surprised that everyone checking out reported that the rooms were a disaster. I gave her a rundown on my room but it seemed like piling on.
My room had a small fridge that worked, and a microwave that warned I would blow the circuits if I used it at the same time I used any other large electrical device. There was a holder for an iron and board, but no iron or board.
The race weekend rate was $89 a day for this room.
I imagine that on a regular weekend, the rate is more like $50-ish, including taxes.
Is that what I can expect from $50/night? Really? Am I nuts to expect better?
Please, dear readers, enlighten me. I want a basic but clean, well-maintained room to lay my head.
Do any of you stay regularly at one of the US budget lodging chains like Days Inn, Motel 6 or Super 8 that consistently provides an acceptable room for $50-$60 a night? As a point of reference, my favorite mid-range US hotel chain is the Hampton Inn.
I would love to hear from you in the comments. I hope you do not tell me to give it up and sleep in my car in the future. 
I think that if you’re going to run a business, you should run it like you’d run your own house.
Would I have a cigarette-burned carpet? No. If my carpet were to get burned by a cigarette, would I clean it? Absolutely.
I don’t think you’re asking too much. But don’t be surprised if the next $50 hotel you hit up isn’t much better.
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for visiting. I know that many people are thinking, “Well, what did she expect?”
I expected very basic, but reasonably clean and well-maintained, and the stubborn part of me (which is a lot!) wonders why those are apparently unrealistic expectations at this price level. A chain, even a budget one, is supposed to adhere to standards, and I still don’t think mine are too high.
On a 15-hour drive from Colorado to California, my husband and I made sort of a game of “how cheap can we get” and booked a $39.99 hotel room in Mesquite, Nevada. After a night of scratchy sheets and walking on ick carpet, I vowed never again. Then we went ultra-budget in Puerto Vallarta… what was I thinking?! (We left after one night.)
With few exceptions, I don’t think you can get a decent hotel room in the U.S. for under $100. I will stay at Holiday Inn Express, but not Motel 6.
I write guides to New Mexico and Mexico. Budget hotels in Mexico are much nicer (within their category) and more reliable than they are in New Mexico. In the US, you might get a TV and a mini-fridge, but no guarantee they’re clean.
In general, I think you might be better off with _non_ chain cheapies in the US–you get owners who are really trying to hustle and compete (usually–although I can definitely think of some dumps in Albuquerque where that’s not true) because they don’t have the name-brand familiarity. And in New Mexico, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the Budget Host affiliates–_really_ cheap, all good, and a couple that are exceptional.
It is a catch 22 I think. At $50/night they probably don’t have big budgets for replacing items frequently (or buying higher quality in the first place). Maybe carpet every 3 years? Mattresses every 5 years? (I am being way optimistic on this one huh?) And a $50 night, who is staying there at non-event times? Maybe a budget chain hotel attracts more disrespectful clients? High schoolers wanting to “party” comes to mind. One prom night could destroy a small hotel and it may take years to have the money to clean up the lasting damage.
I agree with looking for non-chain budget motels and at a certain price, it may be better to camp.
No, I don’t think you’re offering too much but the reality is that for $50 a night, budget hotels get away with what you described. You can get a decent hotel for under $100, however. Hampton Inn is one of my favorites as well but you can’t always go with chains. My strategy is to book deals and discounts from higher end hotels and independent boutique hotels. The standards are higher but if you book during off season or week days, you can snag budget prices.
I’ll take the bait if no one else will. Stop whingeing! I’ve stayed in the worst 10 peso flea bags in Latin America, and I’ve stayed in luxury palaces in New York and Boston. And it doesn’t matter. I don’t even notice wallpaper, or carpets, or the closet. And what do you mean by “a laundry list of monstrosities in the bathroom?” If you’re just talking about spots and stains, I wouldn’t even notice that either. You’d have to be more specific, but based on what you consider important about the room I’d have to think that your definition of monstrosities would differ from mine.
Before I started getting regular work I was so poor I couldn’t even afford hotels. I slept in my car when I had a travel assignment, and I loved that too! Motel 6, Super 8, truck stop showers, crappy hostel, I say bring ‘em on.
@Kara – Well, I was hoping for less than $100/night, but I hear you.
@Zora – Thanks for the insights, and the comment about Budget Host (in New Mexico, at least.)
@Meg – Well, frankly, I kinda checked out the cars and appearance of my fellow guests, and they were well-dressed families with kids, with mostly well-maintained autos. I’m sure the parties do happen, though.
@Fly Girl – OK, thanks, maybe I’ll have to suck it up and retreat to Hampton Inns, which I do like.
@road max – Thanks for your thoughts, and if you really don’t care, I gotta place in Waxahachie TX that you’ll surely love.
Thank you very much for the great information.
Thanks