Contract Staying Away: Hotel Tips

[chef]

I know somebody who rents private rooms out to contractors in Basingstoke.

I'd have to contact another contractor to get the details. If interested PM me.

Big Brenda and like contractors it's on an hourly rate by any chance?

[MarillionFan]

Big Brenda and like contractors it's on an hourly rate by any chance?

You also have the right to substitution!!!

[Mich the Tester]

Big Brenda and like contractors it's on an hourly rate by any chance?

I thought it was Horny Helga the Hamburg Heffalump in your neck of the woods?

[FiveTimes]

spareroom.co.uk is good if you are looking for renting a room in a shared house.

[ads1980]

I had to do this recently for a couple of years and I stayed in a number of different places.

I started off at a B&B at £30 per night which wasnt too good. I then moved into a DeVere Hotel which had an offer running over the summer. I managed to book for 3 months at £25 per night which was good but once the offer finished the price shot back up to £80 per night. I found the best thing to do was to email every large hotel that looked half decent and ask them what the cheapest price is they can do. Forget what they are offering on their website. The reservations manager will get back to you after a couple of days with a price. Tell them that you are on a contract for 6 months etc and that you want to block book for the whole time. Then, play them off against each other. I managed in the end to get in a 4* Holiday Inn for £40 per night. It was right in the centre and had a pool, bar,gym, restaurant etc. And I also collected up the priority club points and have used them to stay free of charge in a lot of other Towns/Cities/Countries.

I think it is very difficult working away from home and not even being able to cook yourself a hot meal let alone many other things so you want to stay somewhere that is comfortable.

[The Wikir Man]

Much good advice, I would also suggest mondaytofriday .com too

That's what I've done in central London - under ten minutes walk to work in the mornings, so don't need to worry about the tube apart from Monday morning and Friday lunchtime.

I found the best thing to do was to email every large hotel that looked half decent and ask them what the cheapest price is they can do. Forget what they are offering on their website. The reservations manager will get back to you after a couple of days with a price. Tell them that you are on a contract for 6 months etc and that you want to block book for the whole time. Then, play them off against each other.

Depending on who your client is, they may have decent rates negotiated with certain hotels that you can piggyback off. Some years back, the Oracle rate to stay in the Glasgow Hilton was £120 a night, room only. Working with National Savings got it down to £75 a night, B&B.

I managed to get £30 a night off the Hilton in East Kilbride because I was working with the local council - got a letter from the council to say I was doing a project with them for the next six months.

[darmstadt]

I vary depending upon where I'm working, who's paying, the town and length of contract.

- at the moment for the 3 days in Münster I'm primarily using Ibis and Mercure although this week I'm in the Trip (a Spanish chain.) I have tried a couple of others but they had tiled floors. What I look for is reasonably close to the center of the town so I can easily get to shops and food places. I'm not too bothered with a hotel restaurant but I do want a carpark, television, shower (not bath.) Wi-fi is okay but if they have T-Mobile hotspot then I have a flatrate for that, if not I have my UMTS stick. I try not to get conference or tourist hotels as they can be loud in the evening
- For the 2 days in Köln its once again Ibis or Mercure or Holiday Inns. As I have platinum cards for both chains and a business acount with Accor I get priority booking and upgrades

- If someone else is paying, normally when working abroad, then I'll go Marriott or Hilton or Sheraton, something a little better anyway plus I'll hit the bar

- Last year when contracting in Bonn I tried a lot of smaller hotels but when there is no parking or your room is on the top floor and there is no lift then it kind of puts you off. Plus I don't like those huge key fobs they give you

- Long term contracts such as the one I had in Stuttgart or Munich then I'll get either a second apartment or stay in an 'apart-hotel'

- I did do a long contract in Siegerland where I stayed in small guesthouses/inns as there was nothing else. The first one had excellent food and was over the road from where I was working. Occasionally I stayed in a rather posh one which was run by a TV cook and had all this wellness stuff going on and the last one was up in the hills with a great view, great food and they gave me a bottle of champers for Christmas for being a good guest. The trouble was, they were out in the country and you tend to get treated better than the smaller ones in towns and cities

I also have my little selection of stuff which I carry with me:

- a travel iron. They're pretty crap but okay for the emergency
- my ebook, a real lifesaver
- a Leatherman and a knife and fork kit
- a widescreen HD Dolby laptop
- snacks
- painkillers and antiseptic cream
- blow-up sheep
- 1 pair of pants and socks over the normal baggage
- emergency deo and toothpaste

[scooterscot]

Gosh people, SPARE ROOM for flatshare, house share, flat share & rooms for rent

Your sanity and energy levels will be all the better for it

[DrEvil]

if booking hotels through online sites then use quidco.com and book through hotels.com for example and get 10% cashback for yourself too.

[FGB]

if booking hotels through online sites then use quidco.com and book through hotels.com for example and get 10% cashback for yourself too.

Tried this route but Hotel.com has a booking fee that you don't notice straight away that wipes out the cashback advantage. Laterooms offer a 2% cashback and I've had up to 8% using Superbreaks.com in the past.