The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 3 letter word MOTOR INN
M
O
T
O
R
I
N
N
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "place to stay" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case place to stay = motor inn.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.