Pilot to decline cheapest accommodation (8)
I believe the answer is:
steerage
'cheapest accommodation' is the definition.
(cheapest accommodation on a ship)
'pilot to decline' is the wordplay.
'pilot' becomes 'steer' (both can mean to direct).
'to decline' becomes 'age' (I've seen this in other clues).
'steer'+'age'='STEERAGE'
(Other definitions for steerage that I've seen before include "Cheap accommodation on a passenger ship" , "Cheapest accommodation in old passenger ships" , "Cheapest accommodations on old passenger ships" , "avoided by the "posh" set" , "Cheap seats" .)