London Rates

[Scotchpie]

Hi

Could anyone advise me on whether I've quoted too low on a contract. It's based in London (Canary Wharf) and I quoted £400 per day. It will cost £90 per week in travel and will require accommodation for 4 nights which I'm hoping will be within walking distance. I'm working as a Ltd company.

First time I've worked in London and after looking at accommodation on the web I'm now wondering if it was enough and whether to renegotiate the day rate. Even the Contractor Accommodation Service were quoting over £100 per day and they are meant to get good contractor rates.

So with £90 per week travel (train down from the North and tube fare) and 4 nights accommodation, is £400 per day doable?

Andrew

[SpontaneousOrder]

Hi

Could anyone advise me on whether I've quoted too low on a contract. It's based in London (Canary Wharf) and I quoted £400 per day. It will cost £90 per week in travel and will require accommodation for 4 nights which I'm hoping will be within walking distance. I'm working as a Ltd company.

First time I've worked in London and after looking at accommodation on the web I'm now wondering if it was enough and whether to renegotiate the day rate. Even the Contractor Accommodation Service were quoting over £100 per day and they are meant to get good contractor rates.

So with £90 per week travel (train down from the North and tube fare) and 4 nights accommodation, is £400 per day doable?

Andrew

How is anyone going to know if 400 per day, given the expenses you've provided, is 'doable' if you don't?

[Old Greg]

Hi

Could anyone advise me on whether I've quoted too low on a contract. It's based in London (Canary Wharf) and I quoted £400 per day. It will cost £90 per week in travel and will require accommodation for 4 nights which I'm hoping will be within walking distance. I'm working as a Ltd company.

First time I've worked in London and after looking at accommodation on the web I'm now wondering if it was enough and whether to renegotiate the day rate. Even the Contractor Accommodation Service were quoting over £100 per day and they are meant to get good contractor rates.

So with £90 per week travel (train down from the North and tube fare) and 4 nights accommodation, is £400 per day doable?

Andrew

Yes it is doable. But you may have under-quoted against the market rate for your skills and the gig. Hard to say about that.

[pjclarke]

It is do-able because I am doing it. But be prepared for a shock when you look for City Centre accomodation, especially on a short let, I am paying £350 / week for a one bed apartment in Paddington, in need of decoration ....

Renewal is imminent and I shall be asking for a rise, based on an informal market survey ....

[psychocandy]

Stay bit outside travelodge £50. tube. Simples!

[BlasterBates]

If you look on jobserve they give the rates for banking contracts, so from that you get a feel. If they say "market rates" it's usually a low rate. If they give a range it usually ends up at the bottom of the range. Upper level is just a fish hook.

[SpontaneousOrder]

Stay bit outside travelodge £50. tube. Simples!

That'd be a long tube ride to get a room for 50 quid. Unless you get better deals bulk booking.

[Scotchpie]

Thanks for the replies. There is a travellodge just round the corner for about £70 per night and once you include breakfast and wifi for the week it becomes £90. I think I could go with that. But if they want to extend the contract, a pay negotiation is on the cards.

[kal]

That'd be a long tube ride to get a room for 50 quid. Unless you get better deals bulk booking.

Easyhotel normally charge around that for a night for a room with an en-suite, the room is tiny though but clean and central locations. May be a bit much for a regular Monday to Friday but fine for the occasional night or 2 when I've stayed there (especially if out on the lash after work and only requiring a crash pad )

[stek]

Thanks for the replies. There is a travellodge just round the corner for about £70 per night and once you include breakfast and wifi for the week it becomes £90. I think I could go with that. But if they want to extend the contract, a pay negotiation is on the cards.

You won't get a rate increase based on the fact accommodation is more expensive than you thought.

Also with these places the rates fluctuate, for example at clientco the local lowest rate you'll find now is about £200 a night for the next two weeks, due to Farnborough Air Show being on.

I once nearly had to sleep on the streets in Glasgow because there was a Diabetics Convention on, no rooms at all. Had to get the train home but they were cancelled because there was a suspected car bomb under Central Station railway bridge that caused a panic as this was the day of 9/11 and everyone was flapping. So I got a coach home, only to have to get off at Lockerbie for a reason that escaped me now. Ventured into the Bluebell Pub just before a Dutch news camera crew came in asking to interview people and draw comparisons with the Lockerbie Disaster.

Never seen a place close ranks so quickly, these guys ended up forcibly ejected.....

Another tale from the annals of stek, Contractor by trade.......