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Contract Staying Away: Hotel Tips

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  • drob1984
    replied
    Funnily enough I'm now contracting in the Basingstoke region.

    I was staying in a Premier Inn, however they really started bumping up their prices from £60 a night to £110+ on some nights and I rarely had a good nights sleep (the walls are paper thin). The Free wifi is useless and the ultimate wifi had been down for 3 weeks. I'm temporarily staying in a b&b and I can walk to work. Post-Christmas though I am looking to sort out a room share where I'm able leave stuff there at weekends and do laundry and ironing during week.

    I notice earlier in the thread, a poster said they have friends who rent out rooms in Basingstoke, is this still valid? Anyone else recommend any rooms to rent in Basingstoke primarily on a M-F basis.
    Last edited by drob1984; 1 November 2016, 16:30.

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  • NetContractor
    replied
    Check out spare room. (SpareRoom for flatshare, house share, flat share & rooms for rent).

    I found, when working away that it was considerably cheaper to rent a room for the duration of my contract. You will find that a few of the people will be flexible as to the times and duration of rental.

    If you dont like the idea of sharing a house, then try booking somewhere for the first week, using booking.com or laterooms, and then ask around in the smaller local pubs as I also found you could get better deals directly with independant pubs & b&bs....and it is great to have a few drinks at the end of the night.

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  • quackhandle
    replied
    Apologies if it's been mentioned but been using this site for past few weeks and been saving a bundle (ie over 70 notes every time, B'ham - Exeter return)

    Fare Splitter

    qh

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  • LondonManc
    replied
    Originally posted by js2008 View Post
    Thanks. For the room option, it is likely to be a room that is advertised as Mon-Fri or possibly 7 days, in any case I will be travelling Sunday, returning Friday for all the usual hassles of modern driving, not to mention the distance! So to claim the rent back, 5/7 (I am assuming means 5 days out of 7 being solely for business use), do I need to get some kind of receipt from the landlord? If so how do you go about this, in some cases they are just live in owners with spare rooms, although I imagine they should declare as income tax, they probably are not a business.
    Ask your accountant; I asked mine and they advise each time. I don't make the decision based on cost as I previously said; I make the decision based on distance to client.

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  • northernladuk
    replied
    Their tax issues are of no concern to you. You've got enough to get your head around without worrying about their situation.

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  • js2008
    replied
    Originally posted by LondonManc View Post
    For a room in a house, you'd typically be able to claim 5/7 of the rent back (assuming you're travelling back up north for example at weekends). Quite a few of us do that; travel down Sunday evening, back on Fridays. If it's pure cash only and you don't want to expense it, you'd need to figure out how much take home you'd need to finance that. It's a cheaper option, has home comforts and means that you can travel lighter.
    .
    Thanks. For the room option, it is likely to be a room that is advertised as Mon-Fri or possibly 7 days, in any case I will be travelling Sunday, returning Friday for all the usual hassles of modern driving, not to mention the distance! So to claim the rent back, 5/7 (I am assuming means 5 days out of 7 being solely for business use), do I need to get some kind of receipt from the landlord? If so how do you go about this, in some cases they are just live in owners with spare rooms, although I imagine they should declare as income tax, they probably are not a business.

    Leave a comment:


  • LondonManc
    replied
    Originally posted by js2008 View Post
    I am new to contracting, I will need to find accommodation 5 nights a week for several months. I operate through a limited company.

    Looking at hotel costs it will be approx 1000 a month. I can get a room in a house for around 450 a month. The room will likely be cash in hand to the landlord, or rather I am assuming I won't be able to get a receipt that could be expensed.

    How can I weigh up the actual costs of expensing the hotel through the company or just taking the hit and paying out of my own money for the room. I guess it will partially be based on turnover and what dividends I take etc... just looking for a rough guide.
    For your hotel, you'll get £1000 claimable and payable directly to you as a business expense from your Ltd company. Don't forget, though, that £1000 will be coming out of your own profit margin; it's simply £1000 that you don't have to pay CT/divi tax on.

    For a room in a house, you'd typically be able to claim 5/7 of the rent back (assuming you're travelling back up north for example at weekends). Quite a few of us do that; travel down Sunday evening, back on Fridays. If it's pure cash only and you don't want to expense it, you'd need to figure out how much take home you'd need to finance that. It's a cheaper option, has home comforts and means that you can travel lighter.

    Personal preference if you can afford the more expensive option. I've done both and have no preference; I just go for what's decent price within easy commute of the client site so that I only have two crap journeys a week.

    Leave a comment:


  • SlipTheJab
    replied
    Originally posted by js2008 View Post
    I am new to contracting, I will need to find accommodation 5 nights a week for several months. I operate through a limited company.

    Looking at hotel costs it will be approx 1000 a month. I can get a room in a house for around 450 a month. The room will likely be cash in hand to the landlord, or rather I am assuming I won't be able to get a receipt that could be expensed.

    How can I weigh up the actual costs of expensing the hotel through the company or just taking the hit and paying out of my own money for the room. I guess it will partially be based on turnover and what dividends I take etc... just looking for a rough guide.
    Get a receipt from the Landlord and expense it, I would be wary of renting a room off someone who wants to be paid 'cash in hand'.

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  • js2008
    replied
    hotel vs private room

    I am new to contracting, I will need to find accommodation 5 nights a week for several months. I operate through a limited company.

    Looking at hotel costs it will be approx 1000 a month. I can get a room in a house for around 450 a month. The room will likely be cash in hand to the landlord, or rather I am assuming I won't be able to get a receipt that could be expensed.

    How can I weigh up the actual costs of expensing the hotel through the company or just taking the hit and paying out of my own money for the room. I guess it will partially be based on turnover and what dividends I take etc... just looking for a rough guide.

    Leave a comment:


  • SlipTheJab
    replied
    Originally posted by psychocandy View Post
    Greggs bacon roll sat on the sofa watching jeremy kyle = perfect day.

    Leave a comment:

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