by Jennifer Eblin

Created on: June 12, 2009

Motel 6 is a chain of hotels that bills itself as cheap and easy without any frills. These hotels are located all across the country and are essentially the most basic hotels of all. They offer little in the way of amenities, but guests do get a clean bed and a safe place to stay. Of course that really depends on the hotel itself and where it's located.

The problem with the Motel 6 franchise is that they aren't regulated. They let people buy into the franchise and open their own motel under the Motel 6 brand. When using their website, travelers will sometimes notice that the hotels don't have a lot of information listed. This is a clear sign that the hotel is a franchise and not owned by the larger chain. These franchise hotels still use the name and logo, but are regulated by the owner and rather the company.

Those unfortunate enough to stay overnight in one of the franchise branches will remember the experience and not in a positive way. At one franchise branch in Indianapolis, the owner allowed workers to bring their pets to work, which resulted in some unhappy guests confronted with a snapping and biting dog in the lobby. At another location two female guests were spending the night and arrived back late one night to find another guest urinating in the middle of the parking lot.

There are worse stories about Motel 6 as well. Those same two girls stayed in another Motel 6 where the hotel charged $79.99 a night because they were in a busy area. The hotel itself was dirty, the phone was broken, the dresser was missing drawers and housekeeping never came even once during their stay. If Motel 6 were to check in on their franchise locations and perform spot checks, these problems could be avoided.

The Motel 6 chain also has a nicer series of motels known as Studio 6. The Studio 6 chain is meant for travelers who want to stay in an area for an extended period of time, or need to stay there for longer than a few days. The hotels are complete with dishes, pots, utensils, a stove, oven and refrigerator. These hotels also usually have wireless internet available and other amenities for the busy travelers and working travelers.

The Motel 6 chain is cheap, but that's about all it has going for it. Many of their hotels are in need of updates and travelers have no way of knowing which of their hotels are good and which are seriously bad. These guests won't get much for their money except for a bed, a color television and a working shower.

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