Reply to: Dilemma - flat rental vs hotel

[vwdan]

Hotels you get your VAT back if you're not on a flat rate.

Yep, and this is well worth considering in your calcs. Often, once you take off the VAT element on a hotel you find that your average AirBnB etc isn't actually THAT much cheaper - especially in London.

[Eirikur]

Hotels you get your VAT back if you're not on a flat rate.

[SueEllen]

If you are lucky using that site to be a lodger you can find someone who works away or someone who works nights.

[FrontEnder]

Try https://www.spareroom.co.uk/

It's aimed at people looking for lodgers (which might be a good option for you) but there are also loads of properties that are rented out as single rooms in a larger property, with all bills included. I did that for over a year, but in Barrow, not London.

The advanced search is good and you can search by commute time to a tube station or on a particular line. A quick seach finds this for less than £200 per week with all bills included.

That's right near canary warf, I'm sure you could fund somewhere a lot cheaper if you don't mind a 20-30 min commute.

[TheFaQQer]

Monday to Friday dot com - find a nice place that you can leave your things over the weekend too.

Last one I did was walking distance to the office, had a cleaner who came in every week (paid her £5 a week extra to iron my shirts), and was lovely. And much cheaper than a hotel or renting my own place.

[SuperZ]

Done all before but these days prefer the hotel option. Food is there if you can't be a***d to go out, room made up and all cleaning done. If you take time off you have zero costs. You can leave at a moments notice not tied into a 6 month contract or 1/2 month notice period. There's also no deposit faffing around or leaving procedure (must clean every crevice).

I need to work Bristol soon and so far not having any look finding a hotel with availability for a decent price so may have to try another option like a Mond-Fri flatshare.

I got caught out in London last year where a 3 month contract likely to be 6 ended up being only a 3 monther so was 4months x £1600+ bills out of pocket - couldn't find another contract in London either!!! Was just unlucky but typical the most expensive flat I've rented with bad contractor market immediately post Brexit.

[BlasterBates]

If I were to work in the City I would stay in the Clarendon in Blackheath. Really is a fantastic hotel, facing on to the heath, and not too expensive. I could imagine staying there more than 1 night a week, in the Summer it's a 5 minute bus ride to Charlton Lido, and you can walk down to Greenwich and get the boat to work

[SeededLoaf]

+1 to renting. I've been doing the hotel thing for over 10 years but these days I deliberately look for longer contracts even if the rates a bit lower. The big thing for me is the food. When staying in hotels I slip into a bad diet with eating out etc

Renting -
Leaving stuff over weekends
Stay extra days without paying
More space and privacy
Kitchen and cooking. I can make my packed lunch

Hotels -
Exciting. Get to try new places
Someone makes your bed and clears the skid marks

[squarepeg]

Renting a flat is an expensive, but also a more convenient option, IMHO. I've had enough of living out of a suitcase.

[oliverson]

Maybe a guy who is feeling that way needs a change and the hotel is worth trying just to change things up.

Maybe I'll take a look after the summer season. You can stay at the Radisson Blu or the InterContinental (both nr Canary Wharf) for around £ 150 a night from late August. Both have gym/sauna/spa and probably £ 8 for a pint.

[WordIsBond]

Only a few months away now. I always swore I'd be retired by 50 but it's not looking likely. Still need the money, but my god am I losing the will. The thought of going through the motions for that next contract, being interviewed by people in their 30's (or less), fills me with dread, as does sitting down pair-programming with somebody young enough to be my son or daughter. Anybody else been through this?

Maybe a guy who is feeling that way needs a change and the hotel is worth trying just to change things up.

[oliverson]

How close are you to the 2 year expenses limit working in London ?

Doesn't apply if you're only on site 40% of the time.

[oliverson]

I've worked away from home for nearly 3 years now and I've tried everything, AirBnB, hotels per night, deals with hotels for periods, flats, bunking in with client staff. You name it.

After all that buggering about I'm all for the flat option now. In one case it was cheaper as I was there 5 nights a week, in other it wasn't but after being away for so long it's all about comfort and ease now. I've gone past the point I'm bothered about penny pinching. I'd much rather have a set base where I can leave some stuff if need be and give me flexibility when I need it. This time I rented one in the city center to enjoy a bit of the life as well. Expensive in comparison but to me it's about making staying away just that little bit easier. Think about it long term, if you burn out earlier because of the stress of hotels you are going to lose money when you jack it in earlier. If you are comfortable and can keep going you are going to earn more if you get me.

Staying in hotels just doesn't do it for me. You get a bad one that's too hot or noisy neighbours and I've wasted my money. Carrying everything in a bag is a pain as well.

For a couple of hundred quid extra I'm in for a flat no problems. The only caveat here is I'm not London based which might change the situation with the logistics but you'll know which bits you do and which bits you don't like about it.

I've being doing this since the start of 2007, initially in hotels for 6 months, 5 nights a week, then flats, flat shares and even a few weeks AirBnB. There's no way I could go back to hotels all week but 1 night? Think if it wasn't for the FRS changes and the thought of clawing back £ 2k a month it wouldn't be on my mind so much because everything works really. I've lived in that location of London mid-week for almost 6 years now anyhow so I know it well, especially my local boozers. Plus, the saving from the flat share would be offset by the increased travel costs and no, I wouldn't have the flexibility or the assurance that if current gig ends/goes wrong, something with a huge rate comes along, I can move on.

May have to up my rate a notch at renewal and then the thought of the lost VAT goes away.

Cheers

[adubya]

How close are you to the 2 year expenses limit working in London ?

[northernladuk]

I've worked away from home for nearly 3 years now and I've tried everything, AirBnB, hotels per night, deals with hotels for periods, flats, bunking in with client staff. You name it.

After all that buggering about I'm all for the flat option now. In one case it was cheaper as I was there 5 nights a week, in other it wasn't but after being away for so long it's all about comfort and ease now. I've gone past the point I'm bothered about penny pinching. I'd much rather have a set base where I can leave some stuff if need be and give me flexibility when I need it. This time I rented one in the city center to enjoy a bit of the life as well. Expensive in comparison but to me it's about making staying away just that little bit easier. Think about it long term, if you burn out earlier because of the stress of hotels you are going to lose money when you jack it in earlier. If you are comfortable and can keep going you are going to earn more if you get me.

Staying in hotels just doesn't do it for me. You get a bad one that's too hot or noisy neighbours and I've wasted my money. Carrying everything in a bag is a pain as well.

For a couple of hundred quid extra I'm in for a flat no problems. The only caveat here is I'm not London based which might change the situation with the logistics but you'll know which bits you do and which bits you don't like about it.