New motel design for truckers

Its very beneficial to be part of a franchise, not many stand alone hotels are able to stay in business
OK here are a couple of numbers
Hot breakfast buffet at a local best western$4.00+ a person
60% occupancy break even point
Lots of drivers wont pay idle air $20 a night

 

Lurchgs posted: "Offer contracts to trucking companies. ( I don't know if this will fly, but it's worth a try). Offer rooms to them at a flat rate - if trucker stays, he can pay for internet, etc, but room is billed to company. (hay, we're dreaming a bit here - why not go for the gold?)"

That is how it worked before Deregulation in the early 1980s. LTL carriers had their TL and Refrigerated Divisions. We only slept in the sleeper if we were at at "field point". If we delivered in a larger city, we went to the LTL terminal and rode a courtesy van operated by the commercial hotel in the downtown area. Commercial hotels catered to all transportation workers: truckers, railroad and airline employees. I always loved delivering TL to the auto plants in St. Louis, Hazelwood, and Fenton. We had a choice of two hotels in St. Louis within walking distance of the ball park and the riverfront. Those courtesy vans were driven by maniacs. One truck driver had enough and asked the van driver to let him out. He phoned the terminal and told them to send a taxi.

LTL road drivers and other union drivers still stay in hotels and motels paid by the company. Now that I am retired, I have fond memories of some of the fire-traps I stayed in. I looked in the bottom dresser drawer and found a heavy rope with a note. "In case of fire, tie one end of rope to bed and through other end out of the window." Perhaps, that is why my lead driver (Tri-State Motor Transit) had returned to the truck and got me out of the sleeper. He handed me the hotel key and said he would take the sleeper, deliver the load in the morning and then pick me up at the hotel.

 

Maybe offer a few rooms with IN ROOM laundry facilities for a few extra bucks. Small stackable Washer/Dryer combo wouldn't be hard to install and wouldn't take up much room. I see a huge value in being able to do my laundry and be able to sleep at the same time!!! HUUUGE

Also.....an area with a few copy machines where drivers can make copies of their paperwork.

And please....put a few extra electrical outlets in the rooms so I don't have to move furniture around or unplug lamps and/or TV to recharge my phone and laptop and use my c-pap.

 

Forget the parking just build next to truck stops.

I have more excellent ideas but I'll have to charge you for the information.

 

I spent last weekend in Colorado Springs. The first night I was real tired (drove straight thru from Michigan) so all I wanted was a place to crash. I shut the door and noticed the door was 2 inches too short from the frame. The floors were sinking away from the walls, so much so, that the rear of the room had a three inch drop, food left over from the previous tenant in the fridge, NO clean towels and a crappy TV (no remote) whose "colors" included pink and white. I paid $46. DON'T STAY at the "Dunn Roamin"! LOL
The next night I stayed in a "Days Inn" MUCH BETTER. Extra large TV with working remote, WiFi, queen bed 8 pillows, extra towels, shampoo, body wash, hair dryer, microwave, small fridge and coffee pot with REAL ground coffee. $68 using my AARP discount. Only problem was the all-night Illegal Immigrant Festival at the pool, but after a couple beers, I didn't care.
However, $68 IS a little high.
One NECESSITY is SAFE AND SECURED parking. Sorry, I would rather sleep in my truck if I have to worry about some dope-fiend knuckle-head deciding he "needs" my stuff more than I do. And the freight I haul is FAR MORE valuable than what someone would spend to build a "truckers motel" let alone a load of lettuce from Salinas.

 

Ya sure......then lay awake all night wondering if some knuckle-head wandering around the truck stop is going to take a liking to your belongings....
No thanks.

 

pay special attention to your bathrooms. we spend alot of time in small shower stalls and deal with sinks with little counter room. extra lighting would be good for grooming.

also, several elevators would be a plus. I recently stayed at a motel with only one elevator, and long hallways. and if you do have truck parking, make an entrance near the parking. we don't want to walk all the way around the building with all our gear.

one complaint i've always had is noise. 1. I don't want to hear ANYTHING from the next room, tv included. 2. I don't like the way the heavy doors slam. (why do they slam?)


someone mentioned we won't even pay 20 bucks a nite for idle aire. well, idle aire doesnt provide a shower, a bed, or premium channels (w/o added cost)


That said, I usually don't like to pay more than 50 or 55 + tax for a decent room.

 

Lots of parking with 24 hour paking lot security.

I would think laundry facilities would be nice. They be complimentary would be good to, but pay is acceptable. Maybe put a laundry room on each floor of the motel so the drivers wont have to haul their laundry from one end of the motel to the other.

A good continental breakfast available for extened hours, not just 6am-9am like a lot of hotels.

A small convenience store on site.

Having a heavy truck repair and lube shop nearby (like next door or across the street) would be good. That way guys can get work done while they rest without having to hitch a ride.

One last idea that I don't know if anybody mentioned. Maybe have a few rental cars available on site with hourly rates so truckers on an extended break can drive to shopping, restaurants, or sight seeing without having to drop a trailer and bobtail around.

Last, but not least. The beds that vibrate when you put a quarter in.