I once stayed at some crappy roadside motel in Nowheresville, Georgia. The towels were thin, the toiletries the cheapest you can buy, the carpet worn, the bathroom held together by many tubes of caulk.

The room rate listed on the back of the entrance door? $399 per night.

Of course nobody in the history of that motel has ever paid more than 1/4 of the listed price for that room. It’s a total joke.

Here’s a photo of the price at Element Miami Airport I stayed in a few days ago when I had some meetings nearby. It was a fine hotel I’d gladly stay in again, with a great suite layout and a kitchen. When I search various dates for it online, the rate is usually around $150 or so. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and say sometimes they’re able to charge double that amount. But here’s what’s on the door.

The original idea behind this practice was to keep hotel management or front desk clerks from gouging you. Cities or states required the “rack rate” be listed on the door as the maximum. If anyone paid more than what was listed, they could complain and get compensated.

Follow the logic of how hotel owners are going to respond and you know how we got into this silliness. If the hotel must list its maximum rate, the owner/manager is going to pull a ridiculously high number out of thin air and post it as a pipe dream. Nobody ever complains because nobody will ever pay anything close.

When I go on Trivago.com and search Miami hotel deals, I get 168 hotels to choose from in Miami proper (apart from the beach). That’s what keeps prices in check: competition. When people can go on that site and see prices from nearly every booking site out there, do we really need this silly system anymore?

Consumer Reports checks out the cheap hotel and motel chains most glossy travel mags ignore.

Hampton Inn Downtown Miami

Usually when Consumer Reports magazine gets detailed feedback from its subscribers, it’s concerning physical items like cars, washing machines, and TVs. They do look at service industries as well though, including hospitality, and in a recent issue they took a close look at results on hotels.

What I liked about this one was the depth. They didn’t just focus on the big business and luxury chains like most travel magazines do. They ran through four classes of hotels, down to humble names like Econolodge and Motel 6. After all, in the real world that the 99% inhabit, these chains often have a higher occupancy than the big boys, especially on weekends when the biz travelers have gone home. (Despite the impression you may get from the print  travel press, the average nightly room rate in the United States is generally around $100.)

So who came out on top? I’ll skip the top tier (Ritz-Carlton) and the second tier (Harrah’s and Walt Disney Resorts). In the Moderate category, here’s who got the highest ratings from readers:

1) Wingate by Wyndham
2) Drury Inn & Suites (Slogan: “Where the extras aren’t extra.”)
3) Hampton Inn & Suites

At the bottom were Quality Inn, Clarion, and Ramada.

In the Budget category, there were seven entries. Here are the top three:

1) Microtel (also owned by Wyndham)
2) Red Roof Inn
3) Super 8 (also owned by Wyndham)

In order, the others were Day’s Inn, Motel 6, Econolodge, and America’s Best Value (which apparently isn’t).

The ones that ranked the highest usually got a top score in the “comfort” category and “check-in” was a big factor as well.

Keep this list in mind if you’re booking online or perusing a coupon book you pick up at a rest stop—something I strongly advise on road trips where you want to stay flexible. Remember though that the individual hotels are usually franchises or independently owned in some other fashion. There’s a business arrangement there, but the brand you see on the sign doesn’t mean the Super 8 in Long Beach is the same as the Super 8 in Topeka. For budget motels, newer is generally better, all else being equal. These are not places built to still look good 200 years from now. Or even 25.

Don’t forget about the opaque booking sites.

Interestingly though, Consumer Reports basically said you should throw all this out the window if you want a great deal instead of just a good one: their advice was to book through Hotwire or Priceline whenever your plans are secure. They tried their best to top the deal they got through Hotwire through every means possible—including calling the front desk to request a discount—but couldn’t come close. They paid $133 for a high-end Chicago hotel in the location they wanted. The best price they could get on the same hotel, same night booking it any other way? $230.

As I’ve said before, if you’re not using sites like this, you’re paying far more than you need to—and far more than that cheerful couple in the room next door if that gets your competitive juices flowing. You don’t have to go in blind either. Use message board sites like BetterBidding, BiddingForTravel, and BidLessTravel to figure out what you’ll probably get in each star category. See links to these and more on hotel deal sites here.

Over the years I’ve checked out all kinds of discount programs while traveling around the U.S. that promise great rates on motels: AAA, the Entertainment book, and all the various booking sites for a start. Over and over again though, the best rates come from an old-school source: those printed coupon books you pick up at Interstate rest stops.

I just used one of these again a few nights ago while driving down to Florida. South of Atlanta the three of us stayed in a Baymont Inn for under 50 bucks, breakfast for three included. Free Wi-Fi and ice for the cooler too. The lowest rate I’ve found online since for the same hotel is $59—and that’s the advance payment rate through the Baymont site. Other booking services were more and usually tack on a fee on top the taxes (which were 10% in this case.)

I maybe could have gotten a better rate for an unknown motel by using Hotwire, but at this level the most I could have saved is $5, not enough to make up for the uncertainty. If I were alone and less picky, there were a few cheapo motels off the same exit that were under $40.

This has been my experience road-tripping across multiple states in the U.S. If you’re staying in a nicer place, like 2.5 stars and above, it makes sense to book online. If you don’t care which hotel you end up in, you can save a bundle using Hotwire or Priceline. If you’re just looking for a cheap place to crash for the night though as you move from point A to point B, hit the coupon book racks when you stop for a bathroom break. The best selection is usually at the state’s welcome center after you cross a state line. You can routinely shave 5-20% off the best rate you can find online—and some of these cheapo places aren’t even in the system at Expedia or Orbitz.

Don’t forget that even these rates and terms are open to negotiation. If the rate  listed is for a single and you’re two people, call from the road on your cell phone and see if you can get the same deal for a double. If it’s 11 at night and you’re in a haggling mood, call (or just show up) and see if you can get a discount: no hotel manager likes to turn down a chance to fill and empty room, especially when you’ll be in and out in eight hours.

Sometimes you can find some of these same coupons ahead of time online. Start Travelcoupons.com and TravelDiscountGuide.

Find more contrarian traveler advice here.