Working away accommodation

[Logrover]

What are people doing for accommodation when working away nowadays? With fuel, food and accommodation expensive and rising I suppose the camper/caravan option is must likely! I'm talking about manually working away cutting or driving machinery not survey based work.

[daltontrees]

I do a lot of survey all over the place, I probably stay over about twice  a month. Hotels and the like have got really really expensive compared to a few years ago. I thought about camper van, but to be honest when I finish work and I am wet and dirty and tired I need a shower and a good night's sleep in a decent bed, and ideally the option of  a hearty breakfast. Can't cope with the thought of snorers, nowhere to hang up wet gear and trying to make dinner or breakfast on a daft wee gas hob. Not frequently anyway. I usually gamble on getting a last last minute hotel, with the fallback option of kipping in the estate car.

[Andrew McEwan]

Business account for Travel lodge is worth having for a bit of a saving, always pretty tolerant of sawdust and kit bags,.

[Canal Navvy]

Do motor manual fellers and machine drivers still live in vans on site ? 

Remember hearing wild tales and wondered if land owners still tolerated it 🤔😉

[Blackbriarwoods]

21 minutes ago, Canal Navvy said:

Do motor manual fellers and machine drivers still live in vans on site ? 

Remember hearing wild tales and wondered if land owners still tolerated it 🤔😉

When I first started I used to sleep in the truck cab. After a while I worked for a company that paid overnight money and arranged b&b's for us, life of luxury. The b&b's were nothing special, but beat the hell out of kipping down across the bench seat of a hilux

[Chipperclown]

To be honest when I work out of area (not often) I add the cost of all to the quote and make sure I eat like a king if I win the job! 

[Dan Maynard]

8 hours ago, daltontrees said:

Hotels and the like have got really really expensive compared to a few years ago.

 

I stay away on engineering jobs maybe once a month, looked at Premier Inn a couple of weeks ago and it was £180 for the night! Needless to say looked elsewhere.

 

Greene King Inns seem ok in the south, 70-80 like they used to be. If you need a few nights hard to beat B&B but you need to check in earlier so no good for traveling.

 

Always used booking.com but I know some folks using AirBnB for work trips as well.

[spudulike]

How about trying some B&Bs? Many ones now are pretty good with ensuite etc. I used to try to use Premier Inn as the rooms were decent and the breakfasts good but that was when they were around £80 a night. Used a few B&Bs and they were often good. Travelodges were cheap but never cheerful. 

Try Booking.com for prices and reviews.

[daltontrees]

21 minutes ago, Dan Maynard said:

 

I stay away on engineering jobs maybe once a month, looked at Premier Inn a couple of weeks ago and it was £180 for the night! Needless to say looked elsewhere.

 

Greene King Inns seem ok in the south, 70-80 like they used to be. If you need a few nights hard to beat B&B but you need to check in earlier so no good for traveling.

 

Always used booking.com but I know some folks using AirBnB for work trips as well.

I paid £315 last month for one night in Islay, there was literally nothing else. And that was a last minute deal discounted down from £390! I mean, it was good but there was a fire alarm at 3am, all of us out on the street, couldn't get back to sleep afterwards. I felt burst at breakfast time.

 

Travelodge doesn't use Booking.com.  Premier used to but haven't recently. Unfortunately the great prices if you book way ahead aren't available to me when I as usual have to turn a  job around in 2 weeks.

 

The options in rural Scotland can be slim, the next nearest available place at a decent price can be 20 miles away. Not too bad but I like a super early start. Especially in winter when there's short daylight hours.

[Spruce Pirate]

5 hours ago, Canal Navvy said:

Do motor manual fellers and machine drivers still live in vans on site ? 

Remember hearing wild tales and wondered if land owners still tolerated it 🤔😉

 

Yes, they do.  But some also get hotels, depends who you're working for and where the site is.  It's been years since I was staying away in the caravan, but it used to be OK so long as it wasn't all the time.  Most folk I know tend to get a mix of jobs close to home and further away so they're not staying on site year round.