cheap lodging; flophouse; doss-house
Colloquial term, originally an inversion of 宿 (やど). Refers to very cheap, often run-down accommodation, especially in areas like ドヤ街 (day-laborer districts).
See also: 宿
That day I had no money, so I stayed at a cheap flophouse.
That area is a flophouse district, lined with cheap lodgings at 1,000 yen a night.
Back when I was out of work, I once stayed in a doss-house.
Since losing his job, he has been living in a flophouse.
宿屋 just means an ordinary inn or guesthouse, while どや (an inversion of 宿/やど) specifically implies a cheap, squalid flophouse.
Hiragana spelling is standard for this colloquial term.
Katakana spelling is also seen, often for emphasis or in informal writing.
Slang inversion of 宿 (やど), meaning lodging. The exact origin is uncertain, but it likely arose in informal speech among day laborers or in working-class districts.