Two years ago my elder daughter went off to Birmingham to university. Several times we have had to go and stay there.
There seems to be a lack of motel type accomodation ie Travel Lodge. Although there are some they are not in very obvious locations. I have driven miles round and round Birmingam and surrounding areas trying to spot one!
After 2 years I have them all sussed out, but you do need to book in advance as they seem to be mostly full and some don't have many family rooms.

Update:29 Aug 01

The two I used were the Ibis at Bordesley and the TravelLodge at Yardley.The Ibis is situated at Bordesley, opposite the Citroen dealer. It has it's own restaurant which was useful for breakfast, but the food was not much to shout about and the air-con made it too cold to sit in there for long. The room itself was fine. They didnt have a family room so they wheeled in a z bed. I wasn't enormously impressed with that as it was not the cheapest motel. The en-suite looked fantastic and we all got quite excited about it until we realised the huge drawback!
The shower had no tray. The floor was one level so that the water swilled around by the bath and loo. It was a miracle it didn't go under the door!! There was a drain under the shower but even when the worst of it had drained away the floor was soaking wet! I ended up with soaking socks on a trip to the loo later. Also, it had become slippery which could be dangerous for somone elderly or a small child. Other than that the Ibis was perfectly acceptable.
The Travel Lodge at Yardley was pretty much as any other. It was cheaper than the Ibis. Overall I prefer it. It has a nice Harry Ramsden's in it's car park with an excellent and reasonably priced breakfast menu. It also had waitress service. It made the whole experience much more pleasant. Also, it was a purpose built family room and therefore the sleeping arrangements were much better for my children.
Yes I think
Brum has improved- they have done some nice restoration around the canals where there are some very nice eating places and pubs. Of course Symphony Hall swings it for me- and it has the CBSO. I'd go just to hear them!