While I agree a little research can go along ways into the quaility of a place. Something overlooked by many is checking the dates that a review was given as some maybe quite outdated as alot can change in an area in a couple of years. I don't feel it is right to lump all of the budget hotels of any chain as good or bad.

the fact that the OP had a few good experiences with Travelodge might hint that the abundance of reviews now readily available to everyone has forced some of the lower-end chains to clean up their acts.

While I think the reviews may have helped with some locations, I don't think it's fair to say that they're the reason there are any nice Travelodges, Days Inns, etc. out there at all

Yes, they are lower end hotels, but millions of people have used them over the years and there were just as high a pecentage of decent ones 30 years ago as there are now.

I would rather stay at a chain where standards are consistent from one property to another.

Twenty some years ago I stayed at a very nice Motel 6 in Bend, Oregon. Later I booked a Motel 6 in Topeka, Kansas, where the room clerk did business from behind a bullet-proof window and where I received no housekeeping service.

Also, some years ago I booked at a Day's Inn in Florida and complained to the desk clerk about pubic hair on one of the pillows. He came to inspect and suggested I was out of line for complaining because, "There is only one hair."

I'm sure Motel 6 and Day's Inn have some very desirable properties; however, I no longer do Russian Roulette when booking motel rooms.

I don't disagree with you HTTY, but I know a lot of folks can't afford to go that next step up.

For the price, Travelodge and Days Inn are a pretty good hotel chain (I find Quality Inn to be a step down). But, if you're going to use them, you have to do your homework - you can't make assumptions that they are all equal.

If you realize that and learn to interpret reviews, etc., you can manage quite well at this level.

No chain really guarantees the same quality at every property. I have more than once found hair in the bath or on the bed in high-ish end places and in budget chains. The on-site manager is the biggest influence on service/cleanliness whether at a Marriott/Hilton or a Days Inn/Motel 6.

Sorry, but some motel chains (e.g. Hampton Inns) have 100% satisfaction guarantees, and I know from experience that they honor those guarantees by giving full refunds when they fail to meet their standards.

Hilton, in my experience, does the best job of maintaining standards, and other seem to agree. The July 27, 2007, edition of USA Today had an article about motels with highest customer satisfaction. Of the six or seven chains listed, one was the Ritz-Carlton three were from the Hilton family of hotels: Embassy Suites, Homewood Suites, and Hilton Garden Inn.

&quot;<i>Hilton, in my experience, does the best job of maintaining standards, and other seem to agree.</i>&quot;

interesting, since I have TWICE been comped a night's stay at Hilton's because of the unacceptable conditions of rooms. Same as happened once in a very low-end Extended Stay America.

So as I said - sure there are 100% satisfaction guarantees - and they satisfied me by giving me free nights. I would have much rather had a decent room to begin with and not had to move twice.

Lack of consistency among hotel/motel chains is a big pet peeve of mine. We are conditioned to expect consistency when buying a national brand and I believe that shady motel operators use this expectation against us. When better to have consistency than when you are traveling far from home and giving those that you are depending on for a decent place to sleep your credit card number in advance for a room sight unseen? You would think that the higher quality franchisees would lobby for enforcement of standards, but I do believe that many hotel/motel brands will allow anyone willing to pay the franchise fee to fly their banner. You can buy a consistent McDonald's burger anywhere in the country (franchise locations or corporate owned), but hotels are the Wild West. That said, I do agree that the Hilton brands are very consistent.

I too wish that there were a bit more consistency with hotels. We have had a so-so Hilton in FL, a good Motel 6 in CA, a bad Best Western in CA, but an awesome BW in France, rotten Ramada in OR, great Ramada in Canada, etc. I will say that I like these boards, and Trip Advisor, to help with hotel decisions. At least hearing first hand accounts really helps to filter down the choices. But after our Days Inn and Ramada experiences in the states, my husband said no more second chances for those. Not in the states anyway. Travelling...it IS an adventure in more ways than we sometimes imagine.

I've stayed in more than my share of lower end chains. The thing is to get one that meets your needs and expectations.

We do work in Montgomery, AL yearly. Stayed two years at a new Comfort Inn. Nice place and all, but the neighborhood was awful. We decided next time to move north a few exits and stayed at an older Econolodge. Not as nice inside, but you could walk to several restaruants and not worry about who was hanging out in the parking lot.

It's a matter of location in choosing lower end motels, knowing the neighborhood so to speak.

I find AAA guidebooks the most reliable way to have a decent chance of a good night in a motel/hotel.

Each property is considered individually and range from international resorts to some terrific mom-and-pop places.

I like Hampton Inn and Residence Inn for an overnight but have a hard time with the plastic smell.

Ackislander, I'm glad AAA has been good luck for you. Not for me; I've come not to trust them at all. I do, however, like their discount! :)

I agree with elsiemoo.

I find AAA GuideBooks useful for hotels about which I have other information. For instance, when they give the locations of a Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites, or other chain with which I have had good experiences.

However, they aren't helpful when it comes to Best Western's or mom and pop places and, I regret to report, that when I have informed AAA of a miserable experience at a recommended place they go through a lot of paper shuffling but only update listings with additional lies elicited from the property owners over the telephone.

Don't waste you time letting AAA know about letdowns in their publication. Take the 10% discount and save your breath.

Well, fellow Fodorites you had a field day on this one and all your comments were interesting, the final analysis is that hardly any are consistent. As someone said when you are booking from in my case 6,000 miles away, it's a hit and miss but you must book and know that when you arrive there is a bed waiting somewhere, especially when staying near an airport. Of course it's quite different when travelling by car, if you don't like what you see you go elsewhere.
I wonder if anyone has experienced a worse hotel than the one I had in Paris. I booked at a very nice hotel but on arrival they informed me they didn't have my booking. The clerk offered to find another and I think he must have been having me on because the one he did book was something else. It was up a dark flight of stairs, the small office was on the first floor and the rooms on the second. The room was dingy, dark and stinky. I refrained from using the shower. I had just arrived after a flight from Geneva and not really in any mood to go hunting for another. The madam that owned it was just that and on going into the room I found three tiny towels with large holes in them, in other words there wasn't much towel at all. I took them to her office and complained and as she was on the phone she literally threw me another three, these ones had smaller holes. She wanted five nights payment and I told her she could have one night, I already knew I was off at the earliest. The whole place gave me the shivers. I then walked about 5 square miles of Parisian streets looking for another and of all the luck after enquiring at about twenty found myself at a suitable one right beside the Olympia theatre where I happened to be going to two concerts that week. How convenient was that? I returned to the first disaster after going to the Musee D'Orsay as it was their late night. The bed needless to say was indescribable, it sloped not sideways but long ways so I constantly found myself sliding out the bottom. I think it was stuffed with straw. I got up at 5.30am, got ready to leave and crept out at 6.30am, gave the key to madam who snorted some remark as I gingerly went down the stairs trying not to break my neck. I hailed a taxi on Rue Rivoli and turned up at the new hotel at around 7.15am much to their amazement. I had a very nice stay there for five days and amazingly enough ran into some friends from Germany there. I also met two other friends who had come to this first hotel the day before to see me and were too scared to come up those dark stairs so went away. So the experience in the USA as you can see pales into insignificance when I remember this experience.
But just to finish you all off, friends were on a guided tour through Europe and they were taken one night to a Holiday Inn in Germany. Imagine their disgust when they turned down the bed to find a used condom in it, so much for quality hotels. Obviously the bed had only been pulled up from the previous occupiers, the linen had not been changed at all.

Sorry guys, I meant the hotels aren't consistent, not your replies!!

We have stayed in over 30 different motels so far this summer in our travels and have found the consistency varies widely with different motels within the same chain, individually owned or not. Cost is not an indication of a quality place to stay either. One motel we stayed in that cost $135 charged 25c for a bucket of ice and no coffee in room. Another one just as nice for $49 offered free ice, in room coffee and breakfast. One Days Inn was so bad the manager refunded our cost the next morning after we pointed out the problems and showed him the letter in the room guaranteeing the room or your money would be refunded. The problems were brought to the attention of the front desk the night before but were not corrected.. In fact the night clerk gave us a bogus name for the manager. I don't think he liked that much when brought to his attention. Other Days Inns with the same style letter in room were just fine... Another problem, ashtrays in Non-Smoking rooms. Makes you wonder.