A Dallas-based CBS affiliate filed a nice report today on Oklahoma’s Route 66 motels, which recently made Preservation Oklahoma’s 2007 Most Endangered Places List.
The piece — which mentions the Riviera Courts in Miamia, the Chelsea Motel and Chelsea Motor Inn in Chelsea, Elm’s Motel in Claremore, the Cotton Boll Motel in Canute, and the West Winds Motel in Erick — outlines the major threats to historic motels: interstate culture, with its emphasis on faster, better, and more homogeneous; disinterested owners; development; the mindset that a 50- or 60-year-old building isn’t historically significant; and the “fleabag” stigma that scares travelers away from even the best mom-and-pop motels.
Here’s the money quote:
“People say, ‘it’s a nice sign, but I would never stay there,”‘ says Jim Gabbert, an architectural historian with the Oklahoma Historical Society. “There are dozens of old motels … fighting the perception that these are rat traps.”
Unfortunately, when travelers fail to support mom-and-pop motels, that perception becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Too few travelers stop for the night, so property owners have to resort to accepting weekly tenants to keep their doors open. Weekly tenants trash the rooms and sometimes use them as a base for carrying out criminal activities, which scares off travelers passing through. Profits drop, making it hard to afford maintenance costs. You get the idea.
The solution to the problem is obvious, but it takes a little courage. Here at Route 66 News, we make a point of staying at mom-and-pop motels at every opportunity. We’re seldom disappointed.
Yes, there are fleabags out there. But they’re easy to spot. Simply ask to see the room before you check in. Peek behind the shower curtain and under the toilet seat. Trust your nose. Listen to your instincts. If the room doesn’t meet your standards, go somewhere else. And do your homework before you travel. The National Historic Route 66 Federation’s excellent Dining and Lodging Guide, the Route 66 Yahoo! group, and Route66motels.com (run by yours truly) are all good resources to help you narrow down your choices and improve your odds of finding a good mom-and-pop option.