That motel price is nuts for four hours. I've done the same thing at Midway, just found a gate with nobody around and passed out. Airport floors beat throwing money away on a bed you barely use.

Honestly "wet is worse than dirty" should be printed on every beginner chicken book. I did almost the same thing my first year, hosing everything down because it looked cleaner, and my girls kept getting the sniffles. Took me forever to figure out the bedding was never drying and I was basically making a swamp in there. Now I scoop poop every morning, toss in dry shavings, and that's it. Deep clean twice a year, same as you. Dry beats pretty every time.

That stinks, losing a vote like that is always a bummer. At least now you get to read it fresh and maybe pick up on stuff you missed the first time.