View Full Version : Sharing Motel rooms
swjohnsey
03-05-2012, 21:55
Anyone gonna try and split the cost of motel rooms? I'm on a budget and splitting the cost of a room will double the number of times I can stay.
Drybones
03-05-2012, 22:14
I plan to share costs whenever possible.
Wise Old Owl
03-05-2012, 22:32
Ughh horrible You might end up in the tub with the door closed - advise against this behavior, without going into detail
swjohnsey
03-05-2012, 22:33
Ain't skeered.
Wise Old Owl
03-05-2012, 22:52
nothing about being scared - just not being able to sleep
brian039
03-05-2012, 23:12
You will have absolutely no trouble finding people to split rooms with provided you're starting from Springer between mid-March and mid-April.
Slo-go'en
03-05-2012, 23:21
I do it all the time, sometimes with some one I might have just met - never had a problem. Although there are times when you like to a room to yourself.
max patch
03-05-2012, 23:23
Its common and you will have no trouble finding a roommate. I've shared a room a couple times between Springer and Gatlinburg, but after that decided I like the privacy of going solo.
swjohnsey
03-06-2012, 07:46
Y'all look for an old bald guy. I don't snore and don't mind those who do.
garlic08
03-06-2012, 08:57
I hiked the AT with a good friend and many double rooms are comparably priced per person to hostels, not even factoring privacy, comfort and quiet. When my wife hiked solo, she got in with a trail family that often shared motels, even opposite sex after the trust built up. "They" say a day on trail with someone is like a week in real life and you get to know what a person is really fast.
I hiked the AT with a good friend and many double rooms are comparably priced per person to hostels, not even factoring privacy, comfort and quiet. When my wife hiked solo, she got in with a trail family that often shared motels, even opposite sex after the trust built up. "They" say a day on trail with someone is like a week in real life and you get to know what a person is really fast.
yep - pretty accurate - I've shared opposite sex rooms a few times too - I'd say that it is usually more comfortable when you go ahead and have 3-4 to a room vs just 2 -of course, in a big storm, anything goes - I've been perfectly happy on my pad on the carpeted floor of a hotel room next to a heater vs a sleet storm - couldn't have care in the world who was in the beds or shower or what they were up to.
Lone Wolf
03-06-2012, 10:01
i would never share a room when i was hikin'. no way
i would never share a room when i was hikin'. no way
what - - you just sit out in the parking lot and howl at the moon all night? :D
coheterojo
03-06-2012, 10:06
Oh ya. The combined smell of 4 or 5 rancid backpacks as one comes out of the bathroom can't be beat! Aside from that I shared many a room on my hikes. No problem.
One key point is to be honest with the motel manager about how many hikers are sharing the room. If it costs an extra $5 or 10 dollars please do so. Every hiker that comes after you will be judged on your behavior. Hiker rates at motels quicky disappear when the manager gets repeatedly ripped off. As a Companion field editor I have listened to motel owners rant about this problem too many times.
Note that motel costs vary quite a bit along the trail. As a rule of thumb it seemed to me that motel rooms were cheaper in the south, so for a NOBO starting out you might find days when you are sufficiently wet, tired, etc that you want to get a relatively inexpensive room to yourself. How wet you (and others) are makes a difference too --- a lot easier to spread things out to dry when multiple other people aren't also spreading things out to dry in the same limited space.
All of this stuff you'll figure out as you go ...
turtle fast
03-06-2012, 13:22
Just be careful on whom you room with. I would tend to avoid getting a room with the hiker that wears the hockey mask.
Lone Wolf
03-06-2012, 13:31
One key point is to be honest with the motel manager about how many hikers are sharing the room. If it costs an extra $5 or 10 dollars please do so. Every hiker that comes after you will be judged on your behavior. Hiker rates at motels quicky disappear when the manager gets repeatedly ripped off. As a Companion field editor I have listened to motel owners rant about this problem too many times.
why any motel would give a "hiker rate" is beyond me. if anything i would charge more. most hikers trash the rooms and don't tip the poor staff that has to clean up their crap
One key point is to be honest with the motel manager about how many hikers are sharing the room. If it costs an extra $5 or 10 dollars please do so. Every hiker that comes after you will be judged on your behavior. Hiker rates at motels quicky disappear when the manager gets repeatedly ripped off. As a Companion field editor I have listened to motel owners rant about this problem too many times.
Yes, exactly this. If you share rooms, be sure to do so with the blessings of the motel staff. I was sharing a motel room somewhere in VA with just one other hiker, but the rooms on either side of us were crammed with unpaid for hikers. The manager found out, and booted those hikers out. Even though I and the person I was staying with had done nothing wrong, we still felt uncomfortable, and terrible about it and went and apologized to the manager in person. He appreciated the gesture, but we could tell that the other hikers had left a sour taste with him.
So, be sure to follow the rules of the motel. Not doing so has consequences beyond just you.
That all said, I've shared rooms countless times, with motel blessings, and it's a great way to save some $$$ and get cleaned up.
Slo-go'en
03-06-2012, 15:52
why any motel would give a "hiker rate" is beyond me. if anything i would charge more. most hikers trash the rooms and don't tip the poor staff that has to clean up their crap
It's not just hikers. I help out at a small motel here in town when it gets busy by cleaning rooms and doing other chores. Tourists can trash a room too. All you need is a couple of kids to make it even worse.
Having some experiance in the hospitality industry, when I leave a hotel room, all the trash is in one bag already tied up, the bed is stripped, with the pillows on a chair and the bed spread on the floor at the foot of the bed, towels are bundled up, used soap is in the trash and a small tip on the table. Just that little bit saves a lot of work for the house keeper.
jersey joe
03-06-2012, 16:58
Sharing a hotel room is a great way to save some money, get a shower and a night indoors. I did it a few times on my thru hike.
CrumbSnatcher
03-06-2012, 19:10
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=37838&catid=member&imageuser=15584
hiawassee inn---stayed at this motel multiple years, always a good stay, as you can see i always shared a room :-)
also always cleaned up the room quite well before leaving and had the manager check my room to make sure it was ok. always up front about the dog and she was so laid back, people could tell, and excepted her without hesitation
Its all about who's around and the money. Beats a shelter. Never felt comfortable with more then 2, maybe 3 to a room.
If I can share a room with a bunch of gutterpunks on Dead tour, how bad can thru-hikers be?
i would never share a room when i was hikin'. no way
You rich people have that luxury. Many of us don't.
Lone Wolf
03-12-2012, 21:06
You rich people have that luxury. Many of us don't.
dude. i work 3 jobs. when i hiked i saved a lot of cash. i was on vacation. in towns i wanted privacy and space. don't assume
Wise Old Owl
03-12-2012, 21:10
what - - you just sit out in the parking lot and howl at the moon all night? :D
You folks forgot Horrible snoring, belchin, and Methane! good luck!
You rich people have that luxury. Many of us don't.
He is better than the rich - he's damn PRACTICAL! And thought it through.
You folks forgot Horrible snoring, belchin, and Methane! good luck!
He is better than the rich - he's damn PRACTICAL! And thought it through.
I was joshing. I shared only one motel. I only used two motels on my long walk. Should I ever be able to walk the trail again, I might share more. Hostel -- which were my lodging of choice -- prices seem to have climbed since 1993.
rainmaker
03-12-2012, 22:22
You rich people have that luxury. Many of us don't.
Young man I'll have you know that I paid for my private room with my private bath and my private telephone and my private television with my public socialized Social Security check. Actually though that is factual and is probably due in part to a slight case of anti social behavior, I just prefer quiet time and I also found it was consistant with my desire to hike my hike and no one else's. I observed a number of hikers who appeared to brothers in arms, sharing rooms, laundry, and shopping until they got a divorce as we began the 100 mile wilderness with all the attendant emotional baggage that goes with a divorce. Anyway, hello Weary and please say hello for me to Dave Fields. I had a great time talking to him one day as I set up my tent on the old rail line near Orbeton Creek. At least I think it was Orbeton Creek. Maine is the greastest and my best memory was seeing that dynamite sign welcoming us to Maine. I was alone that day by the way.
flemdawg1
03-14-2012, 14:43
Most of the time i try to split a room. It saves me $.
CrumbSnatcher
03-14-2012, 15:46
1 maybe 2 other hikers with you in a room once in awhile, any more than that it ain't worth the trouble. ends up smelling like a **** box