Many of the motels in Reno and Sparks that cater to long-term occupants have seen increasing business, primarily from unemployed local residents as well as newcomers from other states seeking work.
Because managers don't demand deposits and require only that tenants have cash in hand, renting a weekly or monthly room is as easy as pumping gas and far easier that renting an apartment.
Monique Burch, manager of the Pony Express Lodge at Prater Way and El Rancho Drive, says occupancy has stayed steady throughout the winter as all her studios and one- bedroom units are rented.
Eight months is the average stay in a monthly room, Burch says, but one of her weekly tenants has lived there more than 20 years, and two monthly tenants have boarded at the Pony Express for more than 13 years.
Many new tenants are from out of town.
"We have been getting lot of young couples with small children, usually from California and a lot from Wyoming. I think mostly they are looking for work," Burch says.
Burch notes that about 90 percent of her tenants are unemployed. The motel has a fair share of veterans as tenants, she says, who are referred to the property by caseworkers at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center on Locust Street. Other boarders come from the Northern Nevada Adult Mental Health hospital nearby on Galletti Way.
Peggy Bloodworth, manager of Tombstone Territory motel on West Fourth Street, says monthly rooms are a popular attraction. Winter brought a spike in occupancy at the motel and just two of its 30 rooms are vacant.
"Some stay few months, some stay few weeks, but most are full-time residents," Bloodworth says.
Many of the residents at Tombstone Territory, built in 1947, are seniors, Bloodworth adds.
"My place is very quite and clean. I don't allow rowdiness, wild parties or visitors running in and out. It is a respectful place. A lot of my people are a little older, and they are looking for somewhere peaceful and quiet where they can feel safe."
Some motel managers say Christmas often brings a slight slowdown in occupancy. Others say they've seen many of their weekly tenants leave the area altogether after they were unable to find work in the Truckee Meadows.
And competition from low-priced hotel rooms makes it hard on motel operators, they add. Mid-week room rates at the Sands Regency, for example, can be found for under $30 a night.
Although weeklies are easy to get into, the average monthly rent can actually be quite expensive, notes Len Ramos, first vice president of the multi-housing group for commercial real estate broker CB Richard Ellis. Despite elevated monthly rental rates at many weekly properties, motels still remain a viable option for some renters because motel properties don't require a hefty down payment or full monthly rental fees typically required to rent an apartment.
"In this economy that is huge," Ramos says. "If you can come up with 140 bucks to have a bed and a roof over your head, that is all you need. But to rent an apartment you need more than that to get in, and you need good credit."
Ramos says many new weekly or monthly renters at motels are out-of-work people who might not normally have considered a motel an option, but because they can't show income they can't rent at most apartment complexes.
"People who don't have jobs, they may not be able to rent because they won't qualify," he says. "But they can get into these units fairly easily; all they have to do is have cash."
Others have turned to non-profit shelters for lodging. Ray Duffy, case manager for Family Promise of Reno-Sparks, says he's seen spike in applicants into the program the waiting list currently runs about 25 families deep.
Family Promise can house 14 people or four families a time at area churches. Residents can stay a maximum of 90 days, but Duffy says most seek lodging elsewhere before the three-month cap. Many applicants waiting to get into the Family Promise shelter are couch hopping in the meantime, Duffy says, or they, too, seek lodging at a weekly motel.
"Thanksgiving through last week we have seen more folks staying with friends, and motel managers who normally might have done an eviction in the summer, because it's Christmas time they might let them stay an extra week even though they know they can't afford it," Duffy says.
