There are people who choose to separate themselves from the “normal” everyday issues/bills/responsibilities so they choose to wander around. They have some money that they use for the occasional hotel room.
I read about some of the punk kid runaways who aggressively panhandle people places like San Francisco and Portland. They really think they have a right to what’s in your pocket just short of taking it from you. If they weren’t punked-out scrawny kids, they’d probably try that too.