Dumb question -- are you planning to RENT a car to drive there? A lot of rental car companies have rules that you can't take a dog in the car!
We roadtrip with our bunch all the time -- La Quinta (almost all, if not all of them), Comfort Inns (Sleep Inn, Quality Inn) -- many of them, Best Western, Red Roof Inn -- many motels take pets -- but not all of any one chain usually. So pre-plan your route.
Make sure your dog does fine in a crate. If you are going to take a side day trip you'd probably need to have the motel room and leave the dog crated in the room OR plan enough in advance that you can find a doggie daycare that will be operational for you (remember -- a lot of these places you have to drop off not before a certain hour and MUST pick up before 5 -- that can put a mega dent in a day trip! having a motel room with a crate can often be a far better option).
When you are on the road with a dog it's a whole new training experience. How does your dog tell you when they have to go out? Errrrr -- being in the car CHANGES that. First off you aren't looking AT them to see "the look" -- and there may not be a 'bell' or whatever device you may use. They get frustrated because they can't get YOUR attention -- so learning to hear the dog's frustrated cues is a big huge deal. The vibration of being in a car can be a bladder jiggling experience!! and their whole food/potty schedule is thrown off by travel.
True story that illustrates what I mean:
Years ago when we first got married, I wanted to take the dogs with us to an event over in Tampa. Only 2 hours from home but the schedule necessitated that we stay overnight. No Problemo!!
So -- we left Friday after work (dogs fed before we left) -- got there, mini pee break before we check in, longer pee break after husband and I schlepp all the 'stuff' in from the car. PHEW we can relax. Both of us flopped down on the beds and chilled out. Husband zoned out still dressed, and about 1 a.m. (maybe 30 minutes later) I stripped down and got into bed. In getting myself ready, David got roused and HE went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, do his final nighttime thing ....
UH OH!!!!! SUDDENLY THREE DOGS ****HAD**** TO GO OUT RIGHT NOW!!!
err -- guys, Dad and I aren't dressed!!! You weren't out that long ago. WHAT gives???
Three sets of eyes looked at me in abject horror. Three heads swung to the bathroom door where sounds of David brushing his teeth was evident.
DUH MOM -- HE'S DOING THE TEETH THING -- TIME TO GO OUT!!!!!! ****NOW****
Aha!! Light dawns to Mom!!
Every night at home after I get ready for bed, I let the dogs out while David brushes his teeth and does the bathroom thing!!
WE had a HABIT!!!
Who knew the sound of my husband brushing his teeth trained "Pavlov's Dogs" to have to pee???
Nothing doing -- it was ***essential*** so Mom got dressed and Dad stumbles out of the bathroom with a WT Heck look on his face. I 'splained and he got dressed to (he didn't want ME roaming a motel parking lot at 1:00 a.m).
My point was this -- all habits are off -- just because YOU think you've covered all the bases -- the dog will have his own ideas of what criteria has and has NOT been figured out.
Is your dog 100% at ease with elminating on leash? Not with walking 3 1/2 miles and THEN elminating at the turn around point?? But stop, we're here at a rest area POOP NOW!!!
Training is the whole deal. and trust me -- not just the dog gets trained *grin*.
I've seen people absolutely completely frustrated because "he goes FAST at home" -- and yet they never realized that altho the dog may go 'on leash' on a walk at home, they walk a long way before the dog 'does' it (cos the dog knows when he DOES the humans will turn around and go home!)
So if you kind of keep these things in mind while you are preparing to take the trip -- it will help.
I do a lot of things on a trip for the dogs. I tend to like disposable dishes (a dog dish is pretty darned hard to wash in a motel sink!!) - paper bowls make it easy. Bringing water from home or buying bottled water can save upset tummys. Bringing the dogs 'bed' or bedding for use IN the car and IN a motel is important for us -- it settles everyone right down in the car and it's perfect in the room. (But then the first thing I did with my PT Cruiser was to take out the bigger half back seat and deposit in my dining room and buy three oval foam dog beds so everyone has their 'place' in the back deck to lie. It's perfect for us (but then I train a LOT -- nobuddy is allowed to roam all over the car in MY car -- nope - you go lie down.
But it then my motto is the more you take them the easier it gets.
If you want I can crack you up totally and tell you how I 'trained' Luna not to get all bent out of shape in a motel trying to sniff and bark at every little sound!! Ms. Worrywart just had quite a time with all that "coming and going" stuff in a motel!!!