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I remember traveling from Texas to Florida back in 1997 with my family to go to Disney World. We stayed in motels all the way and I remember the signs out front

by esaym 5y ago

I remember traveling from Texas to Florida back in 1997 with my family to go to Disney World. We stayed in motels all the way and I remember the signs out front saying $25 per night. I never stayed in a motel/hotel since then until 2010 when some friends and I were planning a road trip. Trying to figure a budget, I figured if I paid doubled the rate I was familiar with for a motel ($25), that we could live like kings. So I asked everyone if our daily motel/hotel budget was around $50 per night and got laughed at pretty bad. Then I did some research and was absolutely shocked.

lotsofpulp 5y ago
Those days are long gone. Also, governments around the country recognized they could raise taxes on a certain population that cannot vote against them. So now, hotel taxes everywhere are 15%+. I laugh when Oregon claims to have no sales tax, and yet hotel room nights have 15% sales tax. Also, no government/populace is going to approve new construction of cheap motels that could invite drugs and prostitution. So the only new ones have to be ones that cost $5M+ to build. Close to $10M or more in any popular area.
- noahtallen 5y ago
  > I laugh when Oregon claims to have no sales tax, and yet hotel room nights have 15% sales tax. I mean, let’s be fair. No sales tax is extremely nice when buying almost anything, including cars, computers, groceries, furniture, etc. I think it’s pretty great! I’d rather have no sales tax across the board and then a handful of individual items with higher tax.
  - jpindar 5y ago
    New Hampshire is like that - no sales tax on most things, but there is tax on things like hotel rooms, restaurant meals, gasoline, and, in effect, liquor (since you can only buy it in state owned liquor stores). Tourism is one of New Hampshire's main industries. Is it a coincidence that these are things often purchased by tourists? I think not!
    - OldHand2018 5y ago
      > Is it a coincidence that these are things often purchased by tourists? Ha! Here in Illinois, the hotel tax is insane. But once your stay exceeds 30 days, it retroactively becomes 0%.
boomboomsubban 5y ago
Admittedly I live in the middle of nowhere, but I was looking at local motel/hotel prices earlier this week and could get a weekday room for $60. So your route taken might always have been a major factor in the cost, the route to Disney World likely has more cheap lodging than many other routes.
CommieBobDole 5y ago
You can definitely still sleep in motels for ~$50/night on a road trip the US. But you're going be staying in a lot of likely-sketchy independent motels next to the highway outside of large urban areas.

by esaym 5y ago

lotsofpulp 5y ago

Those days are long gone. Also, governments around the country recognized they could raise taxes on a certain population that cannot vote against them. So now, hotel taxes everywhere are 15%+. I laugh when Oregon claims to have no sales tax, and yet hotel room nights have 15% sales tax. Also, no government/populace is going to approve new construction of cheap motels that could invite drugs and prostitution. So the only new ones have to be ones that cost $5M+ to build. Close to $10M or more in any popular area.

noahtallen 5y ago
> I laugh when Oregon claims to have no sales tax, and yet hotel room nights have 15% sales tax. I mean, let’s be fair. No sales tax is extremely nice when buying almost anything, including cars, computers, groceries, furniture, etc. I think it’s pretty great! I’d rather have no sales tax across the board and then a handful of individual items with higher tax.
- jpindar 5y ago
  New Hampshire is like that - no sales tax on most things, but there is tax on things like hotel rooms, restaurant meals, gasoline, and, in effect, liquor (since you can only buy it in state owned liquor stores). Tourism is one of New Hampshire's main industries. Is it a coincidence that these are things often purchased by tourists? I think not!
  - OldHand2018 5y ago
    > Is it a coincidence that these are things often purchased by tourists? Ha! Here in Illinois, the hotel tax is insane. But once your stay exceeds 30 days, it retroactively becomes 0%.

boomboomsubban 5y ago

Admittedly I live in the middle of nowhere, but I was looking at local motel/hotel prices earlier this week and could get a weekday room for $60. So your route taken might always have been a major factor in the cost, the route to Disney World likely has more cheap lodging than many other routes.

CommieBobDole 5y ago

You can definitely still sleep in motels for ~$50/night on a road trip the US. But you're going be staying in a lot of likely-sketchy independent motels next to the highway outside of large urban areas.