How much oversight and control does a corporation have over one of its franchises?

Recently, we took a road trip to the west (US). One the five day ride home, we stayed one of the nights in a Days Inn. It was such a nightmare. If it weren’t for the fact that it was after midnight and after driving and stopping at several hotels inquiring about vacancies and calling 30 other hotels and finding no accomodations, we wouldn’t have stayed there. The room and the cleanliness were not just poor, they were below anything that would be acceptable to most people.

I stayed at another bad Days Inn in South Carolina, this past winter. That was also dirty (hair in the tub, hair on the sheet, empty toilet paper roll) but was a palace compared to the one that we were just in a few days ago (Illinois). After the stay in the winter, I called Wyndham Corporate. Wyndham owns Days Inn, and the Wyndham name is on the Days Inn signs. Wyndham Corporate was very apologetic, and asked if I wanted them to have the owner of the franchise call me. I said no, because I didn’t want a chance of the owner obtaining my information. I realize it’s possible he may obtain it anyway, but I wanted to lessen that chance. I told them I would never stay in another Days Inn, but the only reason we did a few days ago was because we were desperate. When we checked in, and saw the conditions, I called another local Holiday Inn but it was 265 a night and I wasn’t willing to pay that at 1 in the morning. I was tempted to get back in the car and keep driving, but after calling 30 previously and finding nothing available, I didn’t want to take a chance. I really was between a rock and a hard place.

The experience a few days ago in the hell-hole makes me think that Wyndam has no oversight over its hotels, or maybe overlooks Days Inn because they’re concentrating on their more expensive brands. Even if they did spot checks, and saw how terrible it is, I am wondering what the outcome might possibly be.

I am wondering partly because I am debating whether it’s worth my time to call Wyndham Corporate again about our most recent experience, or not to bother. I know that i can write a bad review on TripAdvisor and I am probably going to do that, too.