The author has a yardi.com email.. And the little bit of research I did shows yardi is involved in property management software and real estate. Source: about 1 year ago

I use both hotels.com and also booking.com mostly for booking accomodation but its also 100% worth using trivago site to search and see if anywhere else has the same hotel cheaper (This has saved me loads in the past) its not a great site I find for searching hotels in a region, Use hotels and booking for that then use trivago to price comparison it. Source: 6 months ago

To answer a couple of your questions, there are plenty of roadside motels near the National Parks. I usually use hotels.com or google to determine which chains are where and book directly with the hotel. Source: 6 months ago

Search on hotels.com or tripadvisor or other places to find things in your price range. You might have to stay outside of Manhattan, and before you book make sure to research commute times from the potential hotels to the places you want to visit. Source: 6 months ago

I use hotels.com, because they have 'pay when you get there' hotels, that way Im not charged if I dont show. Source: 6 months ago

It's $60 a night during peak holiday for a reason. Good hotels in that area are 4 to 6 times that. Looking at the ratings on Expedia and hotels.com, yeah, it's a shit hole. Did you read the reviews before you booked? Source: 6 months ago