This thread cracks me up. I think of all those chains as being expensive. So I’m going to tell you a story.
In 1973 (yes, people who were alive in 1973 are still alive today, though in sparse numbers) I was driving my van (yes, I drove a van, because I was a hippie artist) across the country from New Hampshire to Washington State, with my foolish boyfriend and my two cats and my two foam mattresses and my art supplies, in other words all my worldly goods. Late one night in the middle of South Dakota we came across a lone motel on the lone prairie and we were very relieved because we were very tired. So I parked the van and walked into the office (which was open, with the light on) and asked the man How much for a room? $8, he said. Well, I said, that’s pretty steep for us, would you take $6? Nope, he said, and the next motel is about 150 miles from here, and he smiled. Okay, I said, and we went on driving.