Kate Beckinsale had a difficult time working on the film with Luke Wilson who often showed up hungover, late and unprepared.
The Pinewood Motel was actually built specifically for the film and was not a pre-existing location. Moreover, the Pinewood Motel was actually two entirely separate sets, one interior and one exterior. Director Nimród Antal remarked that the attention to detail by the production designers was astonishing, since they were able to take an entirely new structure and make it look like a run-down dive motel. He remarked that, after shooting each day, he felt that he needed to "shower off" the feel of the set despite it actually being quite clean in real-life.
The advertising strategy for the film made use of the Internet as well as a toll-free phone number. The number was made to sound as if one is actually calling the Pinewood Motel. In the background, screaming can be heard accompanying the voice of the proprietor, who informs callers about "slashing" prices and the "killer" deals that the motel has, if it has a vacancy. The voice of the proprietor is none other than Frank Whaley's. The toll free phone number for the ad was 1-888-9-VACANCY (1-888-982-22629). The toll-free phone number is no longer valid.
The snuff films were all shot on the first day of shooting. The complete snuff films are listed on the film's home video release.
Wilson refused to stand off-camera during scenes in which Beckinsale needed someone to read her lines to, sending his stand-in instead. Eventually, an appalled Beckinsale refused to do her own off-camera work for Wilson's benefit, instead sending a photograph of herself to the set with a note which read: "Read your lines to this -- it will be better for the both of us."