I’m an engineer who plays music for a hobby. Most of my vacations consist of road trips to distant gigs, and when I retire in about eight years, I may spend most of my time in such an existence. Even if the price of oil throws a monkey wrench into plans depending on lots of auto travel, I would still enjoy the freedom to spend winters in the south and summers up north, etc.
Over the years, I have actually come to enjoy living in motels. I own a house which is pretty much paid for, but I will probably sell it when I retire. I’ve found I don’t need much space (I’m single and I’ve traveled a lot for work), and am less enamoured than most people about the cost and effort of maintaining a property.
It would be really cool if I could purchase from one of the major hotel chains access to a nightly room in one of their hotels on a space-available basis.
I guess I should first ask if such an arrangement already is available, which would render this thread a GQ.
If not, I welcome thoughts on the feasibility of such an arrangement.
It would seem to be a good deal for the hotel chain: I pay them a large sum up front which they invest, and as long as they have a room vacant, their only expenses would be the marginal cost of hospitality, utilities and supplies I would use. They could figure out how large a sum would cover this comfortably. They might ask for a clause whereby even if a room is available when I check in, I would have to move out if they need the room for a paying customer. I could afford to pay a pretty large fee – larger than I would ever consider for a vacation timeshare – since this arrangement would be my year-round housing.
Obviously, if the company folds, I’m out of luck. I would until recently have scoffed at the idea of a Marriott or Holiday Inn going under, but we have yet to see how the price of oil will change Americans’ travel habits.
Thoughts?