Okay, this is going to sound strange but please bear with me. I am a fan of Discovery's Travel Channel show, "5 Takes". Just in case you haven't heard of it, it features 5 travel journalists ("TJs") traveling to another part of the world on a $50/day budget per traveler. (Airfare is covered, but the $50 must cover ground transportation, lodging, food, admissions,
etc.) The first two seasons featured American TJs traveling to Europe and the Pacific Rim. Season 3, currently being filmed, features 5 Asian TJs visiting the US. They'll spend a week in each of 8 cities: Las vegas (already aired), Anchorage (already aired), Washington DC (airs Sat. Nov. 11), Miami/Orlando (they're there right now), Memphis, New York City, Austin, TX and finally either Los Angeles OR San Francisco (viewer's choice).

Still listenin'? :-) So, while the producers set up most of their itinerary, they also take suggestions from the 5 Takes message boards. People help them find lodging and suggest things for them to do. One of the TJs, Bevis, posted today that he couldn't find any hostels in Memphis and asked if anyone knew of a cheap hotel. I haven't spent much time in Memphis, but I thought I could at least help search online for cheap lodging. How hard could that be? Well, as I quickly learned, VERY HARD. I found out Memphis' largest annual convention (Church of God in Christ) is taking place this weekend and most of the hotels are booked up!

So then I did a Google search and somehow your website popped up. I thought it couldn't hurt to ask a Memphis resident for help. I'm wondering if you know of any place they could stay...even someone's house? I'm wondering if there's a chance they can stay in a dorm at the Univ of Memphis or something too. I might call the school tomorrow. The film team stays in a hotel (I'm sure they have reservations already) but the 5 TJs (in their 20s to early 30s) are looking for cheap lodging. They generally pay anywhere from $12-24/person a night for hostel lodging. They need a place for 7 nights from this Saturday Nov. 11 to Saturday Nov. 18. If you have any suggestions or thoughts for them, please let me know. Please check out the 5 Takes website and message boards as well.
(Look for my thread "Lodging in Memphis".)
http://community.discovery.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/7691913308
Thank you so much for any help you can provide!

Sincerely,