Some guests at the Studios and Suites for Less in west Charlotte say they are dealing with exposed wires, no power and waste that has been left out.
The conditions are not ideal, but the guests said they can still live there.
Others said they have made several complaints that have gone unnoticed.
Alternatives to Violence, an advocacy group, thought the motel would be a great place to help a struggling family find stability.
Outreach worker Juan Hall said his team bought them a one-week stay at Studios and Suites for Less.
“We came up with a plan for them to get back up on their feet,” Hall said.
Channel 9 spoke with a woman who was looking for something affordable. She did not want to be identified.
“We really didn’t know what we were coming into,” she said.
The woman and her family checked out early from the motel because of the conditions.
“There were exposed wires,” the woman said. “A lot of the electrical stuff in the room did not work. I think we had two lights in the room that worked.”
She said there were feces on a window.
“We walked by that window every day for days and it had not been cleaned,” she told Channel 9.
The mother told Channel 9 those conditions are extra concerning because her son lives with autism.
She says she’s also concerned with a sign from the Department of Labor, which shows the elevator hasn’t been inspected since 2019.
“Getting anything done or trying to have anything done is, it’s rough,” she said.
Channel 9′s Erika Jackson brought her concerns to the motel, the city of Charlotte, and the county health department.
A Mecklenburg County car was at the motel Tuesday briefly while Jackson and her photographer were there.
Motel management told Jackson the new owners renovated the building within the year, and their team responds to complaints urgently.
Community activists expressed their concerns to management on behalf of some guests.
“My reaction was, ‘Wow. That people have to live like this in these conditions,’” Hall said.
Hall says he helped the family find a new place to stay but understands others may not have that option.
“Under the conditions, some people have no other choice,” Hall said.
Jackson pulled the elevator inspection reports from the North Carolina Department of Labor.
Records showed inspectors were at the motel in 2020 and 2022 but didn’t do an inspection because of COVID-19 cases in the building.
A spokesperson with Mecklenburg County sent Channel 9 the following statement on Wednesday: “Mecklenburg County Environmental Health has not received any recent complaints for the Suites 4 Less hotel, located at 3415 Queen City Drive, Charlotte NC. Environmental Health received a complaint concerning the presence of bedbugs and unsanitary conditions and conducted a sanitation inspection on 3/23/2023. The hotel received a score of 95.5% during that inspection. The Inspector indicated no evidence of bedbugs during that same inspection. Environmental Health has no regulatory authority over elevators in the state of North Carolina. Complaints related to elevators should be addressed to the Department of Labor. Environmental Health will follow up on the reported concerns this week.”
A representative with the city of Charlotte sent Channel 9 a statement saying: “Supporting partners are providing assistance and referring residents to Suites 4 Less, but this is not a City-owned property. We’ve reached out to a few people in real estate and none are aware of the below claims.”
Management said its elevator maintenance company is in contact with the Department of Labor.
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