I'm planning well ahead for a lengthy individual (me alone) motorcycle tour, of the western states, that will cover about 5000 miles.

I cannot consider camping for medical reasons; I need to stay in hotels or other lodging where I have reliable 120 volt power. For business connectivity reasons, I also need to be able to access Wi-Fi daily in the evening.

The "conventional" approach of hotel room each night, even if reserved well in advance (at the cost of taking away flexibility to change miles per day or route), results in lodging costs that dwarf all other trip costs by a considerable margin.

I'm looking for advice on a creative alternative.

Example: I doubt that this exists, but IF a hotel chain offered the ability to pay in advance a discounted price for X nights, staying at any hotel within that chain within a designated geographic area, I'd jump on it.

ARE there any creative alternatives to the simple but costly "find the best deal in a hotel room each evening, wherever you happen to be"?

A few constraints:

- Individual room with own bathroom
- Clean
- Safe area of town
- Safe enough to leave the motorcycle out overnight and it still be there next morning
- Not luxurious but not disgusting either!

Ideas or, better yet, actual experiences?

Jim G

 

Hey there! Just came back from a 3k+ trip.

Have the same dilemma. Im getting so I don't really like hotels all that much and want to try camping. I know you have that issue when you need one and to be honest I don't like camping all that much but I want to save some cash!

I have been always staying at small mom/pop hotels. They are usually clean and reasonably prices.

I have always had the best experiences when I just stumble upon a nice, locally owned hotel. I don't make reservations as I like to look at the hotel prior to my staying.

Even travelling this year in June I was never not able to find a room providing you stop early enough im guessing.

For example, I was in Holyoke, Colorado. Its a very small town but it had several hotels. Some modern but all looked clean.
I was able to pick my room on the end of the hotel...clean/wifi for 60 bucks...that included tax. Very quiet and worked out.

So Im thinking that sometimes finding a hotel you like when you feel like stopping may work the best....

other than that I cant think of any creative solutions but im sure someone will come along with some good ideas.

Enjoy the trip.

 

If you want to look up local hotels in various areas, try booking.com. It often has a large number
of smaller places that don't show up on Expedia, Travelocity, etc.;

I think that's because booking doesn't charge the operators as high a fee to list and book as do
the larger, more popular sites. You could also print off a list of likely places without actually
booking and make a couple last minute calls as you arrive somewhere to see if you can get a deal..

I used booking.com almost exclusively last year for a 2,300 mile, 14 day ride from Albuqueque through
Durango, Silverton, Ouray, Moab, Salt Lake, Jackson, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Sheridan and Denver
and back. The America's Best in Sheridan was a disappointment, OK but marginal, all other stops
were fine..

FWIW

 

I use Trip Advisor often, even for small towns. Usually can see several mom/pop motels and read a few reviews. Then I usually call the motel and tell them I'm headed their way and what's the best they have for 1 person, 1 night and do they have wifi. If I ride into town and the place is a dump I find something else and cancel...but that's only happened once. A couple times I've been quoted rates by phone significantly less than what res websites show....Klamath Falls, OR 3 weeks ago was a good example.

 

Thank-you for this info! I will check out Booking.com and see what they offer on the route I plan to take:

Austin, Texas to:
Abilene
Denver
Rocky Mountain National Park
Yellowstone
Glacier National Park (Going to the Sun Road!)
Northern Idaho
Seattle
Pacific Coast Highway to Northern California
Southern Utah / Southern Colorado
Santa Fe
Austin, TX

Jim G

 

This too sounds good!

And I do recognize that Klamath Falls location - saw it in planning my route.

Jim G

 

I know you said no camping for medical reasons and that you need 120 volts and Wi-Fi. Most campgrounds offer both. I need a c-pap to sleep and I have bought a 12 volt inverter and a 12 volt battery. I no longer need 120 volts. Maybe you can find another way to power your medical device. I have had a lot more fun camping than in any hotel and its a lot cheaper than a hotel. I also like to know who slept in my bed the previous night. Just a thought.

 

I don't know who all offers a loyalty program. I use hotels.com often because of this. After 10 stays booked through them you get 1 free (or a discount on more expensive room). I do like them over a certain chain because it seems you get the reward faster, and you are not stuck staying at a certain chain.

 

You raise a good point about choices.

I checked out the Booking.com site, and it is very good. You feed in a location, a check-in date and check-out date, and it gives your places to stay with prices, choices, and pretty good photos for each property.

Jim G

 

when we went thru Yellowstone last year, rooms in the immediate area went up pretty obscene. maybe hit smaller towns or areas away from tourist avenue? We normally hit towns close to cities and find rates noticeably lower.

Trip advisor helps. Most major hi ways will have hotels near where they intersect. Good place to start the search.