Half Way Motel

some questions about motels: cost, reservations, how to find one?

hey...I live in WI but I grew up in IL...well this Saturday I'm driving six hours down to my home town to visit my family and friends (way homesick)...I've gotten alot of offers for places to stay overnight from the people I'll be visiting however none of them include a place where my fiance won't feel uncomfortable...so he and I decided to get a hotel/motel room for the one night.. ...we are both under 21 (over 18) and we've heard that it's hard to find places that will let you get a room if you're under 21...is that true? also, what's the going rate for a cheap motel? nothing fancy just four walls and a bed...the last place I went to while on vacation in IN was $25 a night for a one bed/one bath and local cable tv...but I've since heard that that was really cheap and that the going rate for some places is $100 or more...our budget is $50 for the room: that's it...is that going to be enough? (in/around Joliet, IL area?) and lastly: is there a website with motel listings? thanks!

Public Comments

1. As long as one of you has picture I.D. stating you're 18, you should be okay. Here in New York, the cheapest motels go for minimum $100. And they are really, really cheap (all around!). That's probably not to far off any other cities' prices. You can find places as low as $40, but that's usually in the middle of nowhere off a highway/freeway. It depends on season and day of week also. (Weekend rates are always higher).
2. I worked in hotels for years, the standard rule of thumb is that you have to be 18 to get a room. If you are making reservations they will require a credit card for the deposit of the room, when you check in however you can let them know that you will be paying cash upon check out. That is fine. I will let you know that when a deposit is run on the CC there is a certain amount of money that is put on "hold" on the card, which means that if the room cost $80 a night they are going to ask the cc co to hold $100 for the cost of the room, taxes and possible damages. Upon check out they let the CC CO know that you are not paying by CC and to remove the hold. The hold can take a few days, however you will never see a charge or a credit to your statement. Rental Car companies do this same thing. Okay if yoiu go into a hotel/motel and you are paying cash SOME places will require either a CC or a certain amount of money as a deposit, they do this because rooms do get trashed (I know that you are not), people make phones calls, get pay preveiw movies ect and then leave without paying....again upon check out you get this back! I have stayed at a few places that do require either you just pay for your night or two upon check in. If you are unsure of the policy just ask! Okay now for finding cheap hotels: Your best bet here is going to be find a mom and pop motel or stay at some place like Days Inn, Red Roof Inn, Motel 6, Super 8, Travelodge, and other places like these.....all of these companies have website, check their rates. If you are leaving this weekend there is really no need to make reservations just do your research and see what the internet price is going for, when you stop at the motel ask them what the rate is for the night if they say something like $60, you can say well I saw on the internet that you were running a rate of $55. It never hurts to ask and yes sometimes they will honor/give you the lower price. Okay another tip which is not so honest, when you go to check in park the car on the side and only one person go in, if they ask you how many people say 1. Here is why I say this, sometimes they charge extra for another person so if they say the rate is $50 and you say two people they can change that to $60. Dumb I know I never charged for extra people but, they do have reasons for doing it. For your area you should be able to find one of the above mentioned chains for about $50-70 a night. I would try to dig up about $30 extra dollars if you can. LOOK FOR COUPONS....do some searching on the internet see if you can find coupons from the visitors center or places like that. Do you know anyone with AAA???? You get discounts at hotels, see if they offer student discounts some do. ASK about specails and coupons it never hurts and can save you some cash! So I looked at Motel 6 and they have rooms for like $50 a night so with tax about $60 here are some websites of motels to help you: http://www.motel6.com/ www.daysinn.com www.redroof.com www.super8.com www.travelodge.com www.budgethost.com www.visitjoliet.org/ Motel 6 Joliet I-80 1850 McDonough Street, Joliet 815/729-2800 Super 8 South 1730 McDonough Street, Joliet 815/725-8855 68 Rooms Red Roof Inn 1750 McDonough Street, Joliet 815/741-2304 108 Rooms Motel 6 Joliet I-55 3551 Mall Loop Drive, Joliet 815/439-1332 Super 8 – North 3401 Mall Loop Drive, Joliet 815/254-0573 63 Rooms One more thing just so you know that hotel/motel rates change depending on the amount of reservations made, so if there is something big like a convetion in town they are going to be higher than like a normal day. Good for you hotel rates are lower on the weekends durring the summer, most of their money is made off of business travelers. I hope this helps you, I was up by Joliet on Memorial day weekend no issues finding a hotel we spent $69 with tax. Drive around and find the best price. Have a great time seeing your friends.
3. Any motel can refuse you, even with reservations, even if they said otherwise on the phone. I remember attending a Science Fiction Convention. I was adult at time, but I wintessed several youngsters being turned away and they were asking convention volunteers for help. They had driven all day in some car pool to get to the convention. They said that when the reservations were made, it had been stated what their ages were and the reservations dept asked if that was a problem and been told no it is not. My advice was for the kids to get on the phone with their parents, and have an adult person present who was a witness to this. The parents need to phone the reservations dept and tell them that if this cannot be solved rapidly, the hotel will be facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit for deliberately putting these children at risk by first accepting the reservation, then denying them that reservation without making alternative arrangements. In your case, perhaps friends where you are visiting can help, by being available if there is any hassle with the lodging, and by helping you research the cheap places in immediate area. LOCATION has big impact on motel pricing. Near Airport, near interstate, deep inside large city, this all jacks up price because if in a place that is CONVENIENT to people, or close to what they want to visit, then up goes the price. Motel off beaten track that is 1/2 empty 1/2 the time, has lower prices because they desperate to get customers. Last time I stayed at a motel, it was like $ 50.00 a nite & this was at an Econo Lodge, in a semi-rural area ... this was within the last 6 months. There are chains were same brand name costs $ 50.00 one place and $ 500 another place. The difference is LOCATION ... inside major city, near Interstate, or in semi-rural area. So if you follow my advice, you locate such a low price motel that is close to your route to the community where you will be visiting your friends, outside the actual metropolis. Every brand name motel chain has a web site that gives you info on where they located. There are chains that are unique to some parts of the country. I particularly like the LEES INN chain, which only exists in the midwest (Indiana Illinois and some adjacent states), because of low pricing compared to many other chains in same commuities as them, and they have a great Continental Breakfast ... eggs sausage bacon cereal milk coffee ... rich selection ... this Breakfast is part of the cost of the room for the night ... Bed & Breakfast. Incidentally Bed & Breakfast is considerably lower priced than Motel Chains. I attended a convention in Chicago where the hotels were $ 500 a night, the meals $ 50 that would cost $ 5 anywhere else ... the B+B cost me $ 50 a nite, included breakfast, and free parking downtown. I attended a convention in Dallas TX ... same kind of deal except it was a 45 min commute between the B+B place and where the convention was being held. If you are not familiar with B+B you might ask about that in a separate question ... it is not going to help you for this trip because you have to make reservations a lot longer in advance, and it would be even more difficult for people not yet adults. There are other alternatives. Are you familiar with the concept of camp grounds? If the weather is decent, and you traveling by major highway, there is something known as a REST STOP. You can sleep in your car, if it is roomy enough ... like a four seater, you in front with bucket seat pushed all the way back as far as it will go. This is for free, but opportunities to freshen up are extremely limited. You might want to visit a truck stop. They have showers there as part of the rest room facilities, but I have no idea what that costs.