I'm not a hotel owner but I travel a lot for work.

Loud bathroom fans, paint, and hiding the TV wiring in the wall are completely optional -- it does not change habitability and it doesn't make anything last longer. 

I was just willing to travel far for a deal that seemed like a sure thing

Next MREE event is June 1st and of course I'll be traveling for work and can't make it :|http://1031mree.com/MREE events require membership or a $20 drop in fee, so that is a disadvantage compared to the free TCREI as @Travis Sperr mentioned.

When traveling from state to state  I can see considerably more residential quadruplexes being  built than self storage  facilities .

Lumping it all into one line of credit or into your house mortgage won't change your habits or mindset.  

Travelling to and spending time at the properties is the biggest time suck.

I have heard of calling police station to ask about the address/ recent crimes and stating you are investor, but this is obviously not the routine when initially checking on many potential out of state investment properties at once. im sure some of you have your 4-5 websites in order that you use to analyze an out of state property. as of now I use google maps and the 360 view to cruz the nearest streets and intersection. then I go to rentometer dot com to look up avg rents. and their claimed accuracy. then I look comps on Zillow for value. even any sites used when checking on rental potential or the growth in the area for solid rental occupancy in the future would be extremely helpful. thx :)other than that im very curious what are routine habits for others!!  

im trying really hard to make this a habit, i just need some help doing it.maybe i need to find my "big why"

But I will warn you I have spoken with other investors from California who have had upwards of 30-40k stolen from them by property managers.I see that you may already be invested in the midwest I would focus on one city and build a strong team that you can trust and buy more properties their so that when you need to fly in to check on things you ar spreading the cost of your travel against 10-15 properties rather then 3 or 4.