"I started saying, 'Why aren't you buying your janitorial supplies from me?' "

They decided on a US$6 nightly room rate that would cover building costs, land leases, and janitorial supplies; hence the company name "Motel 6".

Distributors of janitorial supplies that want an immediate Web presence can buy a license to the site for $3,000 a year and customize it.

The writer-director-producer is Mark Fraser, whose day job is selling janitorial supplies.

His father is the chief executive of Kagan Industries, a maker of janitorial supplies in Chicago.

"It was very pleasant," said Zulfiguar Ali, 25, whose company imports janitorial supplies.

The corridor behind the unmarked door was a plain narrow space that smelled of janitorial supplies.

The buckets, which originally contained such material as janitorial supplies, paint, spackling compound or food, are often kept for household use because they are durable.

He said the store lost perhaps $500,000 in inventory - mostly electrical and janitorial supplies - in the basement.