OBX Vacay - pet friendly 1 night motel/hotel?

Dr. Frenchenstein

So i'm heading down to OBX (kill devil hills) in a couple weeks. my buddy and i are heading down a day early because we're towing all the food/drinks/sundries/etc in a trailer. we want to make sure to leave ample time for technical issues. Anyway, we need a pet friendly place to stay friday night. There are a bunch of hotels down there that are pet friendly that i've seen, but we are literally getting there at midnight, and just need a place to crash for less than 12 hours (since checkout is at 11 typically...). I'd rather not shell out $150 for a night in a hotel, when a fleabag motel would be just fine for our purposes. Does anybody know of any places down that way that are cheap and pet friendly?

Also, i was considering just winging it. I'd assume most places would give a highly discounted rate to some dudes that show up at midnight, and they have empty rooms. I just don't want to be hopping place to place, deal hunting when we are driving a giant pickup with a trailer attached.

Lankysean

I don't know any hotels down there but I do know that some Best Western, Comfort Suits, and a few other large chain hotels will allow pets. Best bet is to call ahead because some place will have weird rules like no dogs over 50lbs or only 1 animal of any type etc. When I drove from Miami to Brooklyn I found a bunch of hotels that where pet friendly even though they didn't advertise it.

mts

i would personally just find a campground or spend an uncomfortable night in a walmart parking lot

Lankysean

Oh, I almost forgot, most hotels that allow pets charge some kinda pet fee. I think it's generally $10-$50 depending on the hotel.

The Crowing One

It feels, sometimes, like I live out of Hiltons. I'll give this a shot. Most hotels/motels are run on a franchise system, so there tends to exist a really wide-range of policies for allowing animals. as @Lankysean noted, there are almost always pet deposits or fees, sometimes refundable to one extent or another. The real thing is that general managers usually have a lot of control over things like rates. Your best bet is, honestly, to find someplace that allows animals cheap (I know Hilton properties note this on their respective pages) and try to get in contact with the general manager or a front-desk supervisor to basically say "I want to stay at your hotel but I'm on a budget". For a hotel that isn't booked completely, they'd rather offer a reasonably discounted rate rather than have an empty room. Of course, no guarantees.

I've cancelled rooms before (usually due to last minute schedule changes) and have had GMs email/call me to basically throw discounted, cheap rooms at me in order to get the business.

I'll also say that when I do these negotiations (and I do them a lot) I'm working from a place where I have access to my corporate expense account and as a high-tier repeat customer, so I get better treatment than those without those privileges. It's also worth noting that the amount of work they need to do remains basically the same if you're there for 24 hours, 12 hours or just popping by to get a quick four hours of sleep, so spending less time in the room isn't usually much of a bargaining chip.

Just get on the phone and find someone who'll do it cheap. Motels seems your best option, so find some Red Roofs or Motel 6s in the area and you should be able to find someone interested in providing a discount room in your price range. Don't expect crazy low rates, but what's posted may or may not be the lowest they can go. Hell, sometimes front desk reps can book lower depending on the particular hotel.

Darkewolfe

Nothing is cheaper than a tent in a campground, but OBX campgrounds are often booked out for at least a month on weekends.

Lankysean

I once stayed at a Motel 6, they where pet friendly and cost something like $46 for the night if memory serves.

Dr. Frenchenstein

Yeah there are no motel 6 or red roof inn type places down there, i don't think. The rooms i've found were like $130 for the cheapest without a fee, it was a radisson i think. i'm not sure if there is anyplace much lower than that.

The Crowing One

Dr. Frenchenstein wrote: »

Yeah there are no motel 6 or red roof inn type places down there, i don't think. The rooms i've found were like $130 for the cheapest without a fee, it was a radisson i think. i'm not sure if there is anyplace much lower than that.

Call and speak to the general manager. The worst they can say is no.