Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share THOSE NO GOD HERE: The Worst Motel in LA
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
THOSE NO GOD HERE: The Worst Motel in LA
“i barely survived”
With a combined 12M views, at least five sets of YouTube creators separately challenged themselves to survive a night in the WORST-rated hotel in Los Angeles. Many of them left before morning.
The unpretentious, internet-infamous haunt’s green-painted inner and outer facades are contrasted by an ominous red neon sign which loudly names the “1-star” Motel. Like the curious young YouTube creators, who all depicted a 1-star rating in their video thumbnails, I won’t be referring to the specific motel or owner by name for legal reasons.
Thanks for reading roofless! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
Gen-Z seem to have discovered a viral element amongst strange stains on “meme motel” mattresses, but I don’t have anything nasty to say about the place. Many of my unhoused neighbors have stayed at this motel on-and-off over the past decade or more, when they could afford it. The owner is my neighbor, and I don’t think he’s a bad guy (for a property/business owner). He lives on-site with his family and a long-term tenant or two. He wants us in his vacant rooms, but not for free.
1-star*
1-star is the real average of around a dozen reviews for the motel on Yelp. To gauge the extent of the narrators’ hyperbole, (and calibrate accordingly) Google Maps rates the motel 2.7 stars out of 5, on average, based on around 80 total reviews. So this is a real 1-star motel on Yelp, but a 2-star motel on Google, where approximately 7 times more people chimed in. And if you round 2.7 stars up, it’s a 3-star establishment!
🏚️ “Worst Motel” playlist • 👀 12M views total (5 videos)
* ▶️ i spent a night at the worst rated motel... • BENOFTHEWEEK • 5.7M views
* ▶️ Staying At The Worst Reviewed Hotel In My City (Los Angeles) • Brennen Taylor • 3.9M views
* ▶️ Staying at the WORST Rated Motel • Jake Webber • 2.1M views
* ▶️ Staying at the WORST REVIEWED HOTEL in LA • Marlin • 72k views
* ▶️ Staying at the WORST Reviewed Hotel in My City! • SAVONTE • 15k views
Last June, over a dozen of my neighbors were offered to stay at this motel for free through the State-funded, location-based “Encampment to Home” ERF-1 program, which targeted unhoused people living along CD4’s stretch of the LA River wash. It was easy for “River people” to quickly accept the offers, proceed to check-in and make themselves at home because they had slept in those beds before on purpose, and were possibly the only people who would gladly do it again.
Securing accommodations already known and frequented by the targeted population is extremely valuable in my experience.
As an unhoused person living within the targeted area, I should have benefited from this blessing. I was skeptical the first time I heard of the initiative to house River folks (my friend Kathleen was the first to tell me). Despite the obnoxious, squeamish young YouTube creators’ “detestimonials”, no one who stayed in the motel through the program had any complaints about their accommodations.
“I couldn’t even talk to my neighbor.”
—🔊 Audio interview (length: 12:08) of displaced River dweller
Grievances included isolation due to not being allowed to talk to neighbors or have family visit, being misunderstood by caseworkers, and being unable to access vouchers or subsidies through the program. There were also complaints that medical care and mental healthcare were not accessible. I personally have no complaints about the hotel shelter because I never stayed in it, as it closed before I ever got in.
A part of me wanted to see these investments turn out to be our saving grace.
In July, some of my unhoused neighbors were still settling in, but as summer turned into fall, they were thriving. But, like with our local Project Roomkey in 2020, I wasn’t one of the lucky ones who went inside right at the beginning.
I figured I could claim a recycled room as soon as someone moved into housing or I may get in another program as it felt like several similar programs were operating alongside each other: Project Homekey, Inside Safe, Roadmap, etc. The River Re-Housing funds were dried up by October. By November, the operation had wound down, with the chosen ones trickling back to where they started—outside, with me.
Despite all the obvious issues in the unpretentious green building, by far the biggest grievance I heard from former participants was resentment about being unexpectedly removed in December, and wanting to move back inside as soon as possible. They blamed themselves for not being able to consistently afford the ≈$100/night retail rate and constantly fell into arrears.
“There was an issue.”
CD4 senior advisor Sarah Tanberg admitted the Encampment to Home motel closure was botched, but blamed it on the motel owner. In an email dated 12/12/23, Tanberg said the displaced participants would be offered motel rooms again ASAP, then she went on an extended leave. The Inside Safe contract had been signed one week prior, so she may have thought they’d be invited inside again by outreach, but no outreach was seen until the second week of January, and they had no motel rooms to offer.
12/12/23
I wanted to get back to let you know I've received your requests. We will get back to you soon, hoping to have some documents to share with you and I will acknowledge there was an issue with the [motel] and [service provider] due to a miscommunication with the [motel] owner. Our team is working to get these folks matched with motel/ shelter rooms that are amenable to them ASAP
Will follow up soon
The City blamed the motel owner for a miscommunication, but it doesn’t make sense for him to self-sabotage his business. After hosting River dwellers for six months at a cost of $300k, he had signed a year-long Inside Safe contract at the beginning of December 2023, something I’d been personally advocating for. This $600k Inside Safe contract award didn’t feel like a victory, though, since it didn’t help anyone avoid displacement.
I later realized Zachary Millett in the City’s General Services Division, Real Estate section accidentally used a bad phone number on the contract. But when I got his real City cell phone number, he never wanted to talk to the owner of the motel or I. He always had to go and hasn’t responded to email…to be continued…
Thanks for reading roofless! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit roofless.substack.com
View all episodes
By Ruth @roofless“i barely survived”
With a combined 12M views, at least five sets of YouTube creators separately challenged themselves to survive a night in the WORST-rated hotel in Los Angeles. Many of them left before morning.
The unpretentious, internet-infamous haunt’s green-painted inner and outer facades are contrasted by an ominous red neon sign which loudly names the “1-star” Motel. Like the curious young YouTube creators, who all depicted a 1-star rating in their video thumbnails, I won’t be referring to the specific motel or owner by name for legal reasons.
Thanks for reading roofless! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
Gen-Z seem to have discovered a viral element amongst strange stains on “meme motel” mattresses, but I don’t have anything nasty to say about the place. Many of my unhoused neighbors have stayed at this motel on-and-off over the past decade or more, when they could afford it. The owner is my neighbor, and I don’t think he’s a bad guy (for a property/business owner). He lives on-site with his family and a long-term tenant or two. He wants us in his vacant rooms, but not for free.
1-star*
1-star is the real average of around a dozen reviews for the motel on Yelp. To gauge the extent of the narrators’ hyperbole, (and calibrate accordingly) Google Maps rates the motel 2.7 stars out of 5, on average, based on around 80 total reviews. So this is a real 1-star motel on Yelp, but a 2-star motel on Google, where approximately 7 times more people chimed in. And if you round 2.7 stars up, it’s a 3-star establishment!
🏚️ “Worst Motel” playlist • 👀 12M views total (5 videos)
* ▶️ i spent a night at the worst rated motel... • BENOFTHEWEEK • 5.7M views
* ▶️ Staying At The Worst Reviewed Hotel In My City (Los Angeles) • Brennen Taylor • 3.9M views
* ▶️ Staying at the WORST Rated Motel • Jake Webber • 2.1M views
* ▶️ Staying at the WORST REVIEWED HOTEL in LA • Marlin • 72k views
* ▶️ Staying at the WORST Reviewed Hotel in My City! • SAVONTE • 15k views
Last June, over a dozen of my neighbors were offered to stay at this motel for free through the State-funded, location-based “Encampment to Home” ERF-1 program, which targeted unhoused people living along CD4’s stretch of the LA River wash. It was easy for “River people” to quickly accept the offers, proceed to check-in and make themselves at home because they had slept in those beds before on purpose, and were possibly the only people who would gladly do it again.
Securing accommodations already known and frequented by the targeted population is extremely valuable in my experience.
As an unhoused person living within the targeted area, I should have benefited from this blessing. I was skeptical the first time I heard of the initiative to house River folks (my friend Kathleen was the first to tell me). Despite the obnoxious, squeamish young YouTube creators’ “detestimonials”, no one who stayed in the motel through the program had any complaints about their accommodations.
“I couldn’t even talk to my neighbor.”
—🔊 Audio interview (length: 12:08) of displaced River dweller
Grievances included isolation due to not being allowed to talk to neighbors or have family visit, being misunderstood by caseworkers, and being unable to access vouchers or subsidies through the program. There were also complaints that medical care and mental healthcare were not accessible. I personally have no complaints about the hotel shelter because I never stayed in it, as it closed before I ever got in.
A part of me wanted to see these investments turn out to be our saving grace.
In July, some of my unhoused neighbors were still settling in, but as summer turned into fall, they were thriving. But, like with our local Project Roomkey in 2020, I wasn’t one of the lucky ones who went inside right at the beginning.
I figured I could claim a recycled room as soon as someone moved into housing or I may get in another program as it felt like several similar programs were operating alongside each other: Project Homekey, Inside Safe, Roadmap, etc. The River Re-Housing funds were dried up by October. By November, the operation had wound down, with the chosen ones trickling back to where they started—outside, with me.
Despite all the obvious issues in the unpretentious green building, by far the biggest grievance I heard from former participants was resentment about being unexpectedly removed in December, and wanting to move back inside as soon as possible. They blamed themselves for not being able to consistently afford the ≈$100/night retail rate and constantly fell into arrears.
“There was an issue.”
CD4 senior advisor Sarah Tanberg admitted the Encampment to Home motel closure was botched, but blamed it on the motel owner. In an email dated 12/12/23, Tanberg said the displaced participants would be offered motel rooms again ASAP, then she went on an extended leave. The Inside Safe contract had been signed one week prior, so she may have thought they’d be invited inside again by outreach, but no outreach was seen until the second week of January, and they had no motel rooms to offer.
12/12/23
I wanted to get back to let you know I've received your requests. We will get back to you soon, hoping to have some documents to share with you and I will acknowledge there was an issue with the [motel] and [service provider] due to a miscommunication with the [motel] owner. Our team is working to get these folks matched with motel/ shelter rooms that are amenable to them ASAP
Will follow up soon
The City blamed the motel owner for a miscommunication, but it doesn’t make sense for him to self-sabotage his business. After hosting River dwellers for six months at a cost of $300k, he had signed a year-long Inside Safe contract at the beginning of December 2023, something I’d been personally advocating for. This $600k Inside Safe contract award didn’t feel like a victory, though, since it didn’t help anyone avoid displacement.
I later realized Zachary Millett in the City’s General Services Division, Real Estate section accidentally used a bad phone number on the contract. But when I got his real City cell phone number, he never wanted to talk to the owner of the motel or I. He always had to go and hasn’t responded to email…to be continued…
Thanks for reading roofless! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit roofless.substack.com