Cheap, clean, safe, but you make the bed

Does a hotel room for $159 a week sound good? It's safe, it's clean. But if you want your bed made more than once a week, you'll be doing that yourself.

The concept is called Value Place and is brought to you by Jack DeBoer, the self-described "father of extended-stay'' who built the Residence Inn and Candlewood Suites chains.

According to one TripAdvisor review, "If you are used to boot camp or college dorms, you'll be ok staying here." But Gina-Lynne Scharoun, a Value Place executive and owner of a franchise in Tulsa, Oklahoma, says business travelers are hungry for low-cost lodging, and they don't mind going without some amenities to get it.

She calls this growing group "gray collar'' types — computer consultants or corporate managers­ — staying somewhere between 30 to 45 days, but not on the company dime.

The challenge for such travelers is in finding a cheap place that doesn't require packing a stun gun or roach motel.

Value Place, along with competitors like Motel 6's Studio 6, solves that problem. But it leaves travelers on their own when it comes to extras.

"Our challenge is to educate people so they don't expect to get a free bottle of shampoo,'' says Scharoun. Guests can purchase extra cleaning and linen service, Internet access, laundry detergent and a "kitchen value pack'' filled with dishes and basic cooking utensils ($60).

Indeed, guests truly treat the Value Place properties as a home away from home. A company survey found that lodgers eat in their rooms more frequently than the average American eats at home.

This lodging model may sound less than appealing to some travelers. But they'd better get used to it, because it's growing fast. Value Place counts 25 properties open now, with commitments for 500 more.

Write to: Barbara Correa at bboydstoncorrea@yahoo.com