Naturally, the best economy hotel for you will depend on what is available in the city you visit. However, when traveling domestically, there are a number of economy hotel chains that regularly provide quality lodgings and service for a remarkably reasonable price.

Global marketing information services giant, J. D. Powers and Associates, recently completed the 2008 North American Hotel Guest Satisfaction Survey, which compared 11 budget hotels on eight factors: overall satisfaction, reservation, check-in/check-out, guest room, food and beverage, hotel service, hotel facilities, and cost and fees. Which chain came out on top? Microtel Inns and Suites won it hands down, with Red Roof Inn, Super 8 and Days Inn trailing behind.

Next time you're planning a trip and want to slash the cost of lodgings, you'll want to consider how to get the best experience for your money.

Economy Hotel "Must-Haves"

Before you can even begin to select the right economy hotel for you, you must understand your basic needs. Here are key questions to ask:

• Are you flexible about which part of the city the hotel's located, or are you willing to pay a little more for a certain area? If so, how much more?
• Are you limited in choices by the city you're planning to visit?
• Do you know anyone who can make a recommendation?
• What is your maximum budget?
• What amenities are necessary?

Once you've determined your minimum requirements, you can search one of the many travel websites, as well as each hotel's personal site. In fact, with so many sites to choose from, you'd be wise to use more than one for comparison-shopping.

Dare to Compare

Once you're clear about what you want in your hotel, you can conduct a search of the major travel-booking sites such as Travelocity.com, Expedia.com, CheapTickets.com, Orbitz.com, Priceline.com and Hotels.com. No, you don't have to visit each site separately. Just go to IgoUgo.com and enter the search criteria, including the websites for which you want to compare rates. This website will populate the information across all the travel boards you choose, and you can easily start comparison-shopping.

Personally, I conducted a search in the Universal Orlando Resort area. I started with Orbitz, which offered the Orlando Metropolitan Resort for $45 per night - a three-star property rated 3.3 out of five stars by guests. This same three-star facility at Travelocity was rated 2.5 stars by guests and went for a price of $49 per night. At Hotels.com, it got a 3.3 rating and a $45.92 price tag. Interestingly, CheapTickets offered the exact same price and hotel rating as Orbitz. Also, Hotwire.com and Priceline.com are two other options; however, these are bidding sites, which require you to accept the offer prior to knowing where you're booked. So while you can get some really great deals, you take a risk. However, many people swear by Priceline.

Armed with this information, I then checked out the hotel's homepage to see what rates they were currently offering. Not surprisingly, the price was comparable. In fact, it was the same as at Travelocity: $49 per night. A word of note: I did a search about six months ago for a hotel in Sacramento, Calif. I wound up with a $79/night room at a three-acre resort that started out at $119/night. An extra precaution I took was to not make a reservation until it came closer to the actual travel date to see if the price dropped. I was lucky - it did.

In addition, before you book anything, ask family and friends for feedback to ensure that you're getting the best deal. Or, check out tripadvisor.com to find out what other travelers have to say about the facility; however, most of the big travel sites already have an automatic link to this website for each property. Remember: If you do the appropriate legwork, you will find the right budget hotel to fit your needs.