RV vs hotel: which is actually cheaper?

It depends on party size, trip length, and how far you drive. An RV combines lodging and transport into one vehicle, so it competes best for groups and multi-stop road trips where you'd otherwise pay for several hotel rooms plus a rental car plus meals out. It competes worst for one or two people staying in a single city, where a hotel is simpler and fuel for a 10–12 MPG motorhome erodes the saving. The honest comparison is your real numbers: RV all-in (host-set rental + fuel + campground + tax) vs rooms + meals + transport. Model both before you book.

Bigger groups (one RV sleeps a family that would need 2+ hotel rooms), longer trips, and itineraries with several stops where a hotel-plus-car combo would mean repeated bookings and city parking. Cooking in the RV instead of eating out is often the single biggest saving — it cuts the meals line a hotel trip can't avoid.

Short trips, one or two travelers, a single destination, or routes with long highway miles where motorhome fuel at 10–12 MPG outweighs the lodging saving. If you won't use the kitchen or the multi-stop flexibility, you're paying to tow a hotel room behind you.