The price isn't that expensive, charges range from $30 to $60 a night; however, these aren't your usual hotel rooms with the nice comfy bed, turn down service and private bathroom.  Instead you'll typically get an 8x8 concrete room, no privacy and a bunk bed to share with someone you'd probably rather not. 

What kind of hotel is this you might ask?  Well the answer is it isn’t.  In the tough economic conditions many state and local governments are facing, some jailers are informing their tenants that they have to "pay to stay".   This is just one of many creative ways government agencies are looking to pass the costs of doing business onto taxpayers.   However, unlike many reforms, this particular practice has a large approval rating as it goes after individuals that society already looks down upon.  

Taxpayers have been angry for years about the costs associated with housing inmates, which can easily run upward of $100/night per inmate. After seeing some success in curbing their deficits, jailers aren't just stopping at charging for a nightly visit.  In some cases, jails have begun charging double or triple what they were just a year ago for medical and other unessential items, like cigarettes and chocolate. 

There is some debate about how much prisons could really collect or the legality of the fees they are charging.  Officials disagree and praise the practice as another deterrent.  Their belief is that if people know that time isn't the only price they'll have to pay perhaps some will think twice before committing the crime.

For more information about hotels you’d like to stay at, visit http://www.tripcents.com