Back in the early 1990s, before Priceline and back when you had to book Entertainment rates over the phone (and do most things over the phone), I stayed at Motel 6 a lot. Their locations in places like Nashville or Anniston would usually go for $20s, and ones in destination areas like Monterey, Coeur d'Alene or Florida in winter might go for $40s (though they'd fill and you'd need an advance reservation, bookable on the 800 number). Motel 6 also didn't play the phone-surcharge game, which seems like a relic these days but was a huge issue before everyone had a cellphone. At Motel 6 you could make local calls free and call an 800 number and enter a phonecard number to do a long distance call.

By the mid-90s, though, they had gone way up in price on some of the locations and had widened the gap between weekend and weekday rates. In some situations triple figures was even possible. Technically they were still cheapest of the chains, but often by $1-5 whereas before it might have been $20 or even $30 less. They were also on a renovation binge, but getting a renovated place was hit and miss and didn't seem to line up with the price. What had really happened was a cave in to Wall Street wanting a what-the-market-will-bear mentalty.

The final nail was in being able to do Priceline bookings around $30, sometimes less, and often landing in an ESA with more space and better creature comforts, and driving by the Motel 6 and seeing they wanted $39 or even $49. With the ESA you sometimes don't get a pool and don't get the daily maid service, but do get the frig and a better cable selection and nicer room in general, though not always without issues.

If you think about it, though, Priceline is a bit rarefied in that you need a credit card with available credit, plus the organizational skills to plan ahead and to commit to a non-refundable reservation. Those parameters would screen out a surprising percentage of the Motel 6 crowd, which is either showing up hoping to find a room or paying some other way besides a credit card. Priceline and imitators have been backdoor ways for single travelers with low-impact (no kids, pets or smoking) to quit subsidizing the high-impact travelers as much and capture some savings.