Another alternative for some of these small operators is a variation of a timed lock box. AirBnB places do this, but in my 2023 travels I found several places listing themselves as motels as well.
- Examples would be in Duchesne Utah and Glenns Ferry Idaho.
- In both places I booked something listed as motel but instead was sent a passcode to a timed lock.
- After the check-in time was reached, the code would be valid and I could sign in to receive a key to the room.
- There was an attendant who came on their timeframe as well as a contract company who did cleaning.
However, it wasn't a fully staffed place.

I've had family and friends in the motel business and it can be pretty constraining, particularly in a place like near Glacier National Park. The summer season is short but intense so it can be tough to get away at all (particularly if staffing isn't always reliable) so you are busy all the time. These other places with a timed lock were more small places with a limited number of rooms, e.g. 6-8.

I have noticed that some booking sites such as Expedia have enough of a network effect that if a place isn't listed in Expedia it often isn't a viable motel anymore e.g. repurposed to mostly long term residents and similar. There is still a site motelguide.com (http not https) that lists some of these. Two examples that come to mind in New Mexico are in Corona NM (filled with construction workers) and Tatum NM (no owner but fellow residents could take your money and give you access to the room - but one of the beds had been slept in, towels were used and middle of the night someone barged in because there wasn't a lock on the door - so they were lending it to others as well).