Whether you’re travelling for a meeting, or relocating for a new project, corporate housing is the most suitable accommodation for business people. First thoughts may steer towards the bigger hotel providers and comparison sites such as Booking, Trivago, and Expedia who offer specific corporate services to benefit businesses. If your company is booking for you, chances are they’ll use one of these platforms, because platforms such as Booking offer budget setting features so teams can find their own properties, as well as report functionality.
If you’re the one looking for accommodation, your mind may steer towards an accommodation marketplace such as Airbnb that offers greater options with a wider range of property types and budgets. Unlike hotels and accommodation marketplaces, there is another option that caters directly for business people for both short term and long term stays, often offering better quality for a better price.
Corporate housing solutions
Corporate housing solutions have evolved from business inclined hotels to concierge type services with nationwide networks that are accessible via online platforms. Earlier versions of this service were far more niche, whereas newer corporate housing platforms such as Comfy Workers feature thousands of properties on their website that are located all across the country. Some of the main drawing points of platforms that solely focus on providing serviced accommodation include:
Range
Large chain hotels typically offer hundreds of locations throughout the UK, and they are great to book last minute, but corporate housing platforms that include thousands of properties across the country mean that you’re going to have a much greater choice than hotels. Typically chain hotels are located in city centres, near airports, and near business districts, so for obvious reasons they aren’t located in every small town. As corporate housing platforms have a network of hosts that are either small businesses or individuals who list their properties, you get far more choice, and a far greater range of locations.
Reliability
Perhaps one of the greatest drawing factors of a corporate housing provider such as Comfy Workers is that you have a professional who does all the work for you, and you don’t have to pay a premium for that service. You don’t need to worry about dealing with hosts and problem solving when issues arise, it will get handled for you. It is this type of working relationship that you can’t get when working with large scale chains or hosts on Airbnb that don’t have a wide range of property locations.
Flexibility
Unlike many chain hotels that only offer rooms, corporate housing providers deal exclusively with whole properties, so it is easier to accommodate any requests that you might have. If you happen to be travelling as a team, the layout of the properties can be changed to suit your needs.
Price
It may not be applicable for short term stays, but if you are temporarily relocating or moving on a fixed contract, you benefit from long stay booking discounts. You get all the added benefits of having your own property and are able to cook, clean, and relax without the headache of having to manage that property and take care of bills. You also have the option to receive the same turn down service as you get at a hotel, so you don’t have to sacrifice the added creature comforts either. For those who are staying short term, the added flexibility of staying at your own property is that you can get better relative prices, with price per person per night dropping significantly when property layouts are changed.
Time saving
Tying into reliability, working directly with a corporate housing provider can save you a lot of time, and when you’re travelling for work or relocating, you want to spend less time finding somewhere to stay, and more time doing things that are important. When you consider the entire process of searching for the right property until the time you book, odds are you are spending at least an hour or two that could be passed onto someone else.
When looking for corporate housing, depending on who is going to be staying, guests are either looking for a good price or good quality. If a company is sending managers to Glasgow, you can put them in a nice hotel where they either have to order takeaway, room service, or pop down to a supermarket, but there is an alternative. If quality is the priority, guests can have greater control over where they’re staying, so they can get all the creature comforts of home in a serviced apartment or house, but they can also get beautiful views or get private amenities that you’re unlikely to find at a city hotel.
If securing a good price is your priority, you’re likely to find an even better price by booking a serviced property through a corporate housing provider such as Comfy Workers than you can at a hotel. Malleable property layouts means you can accommodate more guests and you also have the added advantage of being able to secure long term stay discounts.
Hotels aren’t all that bad, as they remain the best option for last minute bookings. No other accommodation types allows you to walk into a hotel on any given day of the year and find somewhere to stay. However, if you’re looking for more than a room, it’s worth challenging your pre-existing notions on corporate travel, and considering serviced accommodation by corporate housing providers who focus solely on that purpose.
