A cheap hotel room can stop feeling like a bargain the moment you find stained bedding, a dirty bathroom, or a room that looks nothing like the photos you saw when booking. And while a bad review doesn’t prove an entire hotel chain has a cleanliness problem, large-scale guest surveys show that some familiar economy brands consistently struggle to satisfy travelers. The 2025 J.D. Power North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study surveyed 39,219 hotel guests and found substantial differences even among hotels competing in the same economy segment. Motel 6, Red Roof Inn and Super 8 all landed near or below the economy segment average, while Days Inn performed better but still trailed the segment leader. The lesson isn’t necessarily to blacklist an entire chain—it’s to know which brands require a closer look at the specific property before you hand over your credit card.
