Something anyone coming to Clearwater should know at the moment, there is a lot of roadworks going on. It's a bit of a pain and parking is a problem during busy times. If you can find a hotel that is close to most places, and in the beach area they tend to be OK, then go for that and walk.
Ask local tourist board for inexpensive inns. If you are going just for a couple of days and so teens don't need tons of nightlife, clubs etc, then a little farther south, sand key to St Pete Beach, theres a few miles of beach with nice little hotels, in October you can pretty well find vacancies in small places anywhere.
Good luck and have a good time