If you are booking accommodation for a team working on a Bromley-area project, the first question is usually the cost. The honest answer is that it depends on the length of the stay, the number of people and the size of property, so a fixed price would mislead you. What we can do is explain how serviced accommodation is priced, where the savings sit against a hotel, and how the numbers move as a stay gets longer. We already cover the broader case for contractor stays in our pillar guide on serviced accommodation for contractors in Bromley. This page is the budgeting companion to it.
Nightly, weekly or monthly: how serviced accommodation is priced
A hotel sells you a room one night at a time, and the nightly price moves with demand. Serviced accommodation works differently. It is normally quoted as a flat weekly or monthly rate, set for the whole booking, with a nightly figure used mainly for shorter stays. That single change matters more than it first looks. A flat rate does not spike on busy weekends or around events, so the cost you agree at the start is the cost you pay.
Across the UK market, serviced houses and apartments aimed at work stays typically sit in the region of £40 to £75 per person per night, against roughly £60 to £90 or more for a budget hotel that holds the same nightly price whatever the length of stay. Bromley sits outside central London in travel zones 4 and 5, so rates here are more affordable than a comparable apartment in the centre while keeping a fast train link in. We do not publish a fixed figure because the right number depends on your dates and headcount, so the sensible step is to ask for a quote against the actual job.
Why weekly and monthly flat rates beat per-night hotel pricing
For a medium-to-long assignment, the per-night hotel model is the expensive way to do it. Three things drive that. The nightly rate itself is built for one or two nights, not weeks. There is no kitchen, so meals are bought every day. And the small extras a hotel adds, parking, breakfast, laundry, mount up across a stay.
A serviced flat replaces all of that with one weekly or monthly figure. Industry comparisons put the total accommodation and living cost of a well-chosen serviced apartment at roughly 30 to 50 per cent below a comparable hotel stay once meals, parking and laundry are counted in. The self-catering kitchen is a big part of that, because a team cooking after a shift is not spending £25 to £50 a head a day on restaurants and takeaways.
How length of stay lowers the effective day rate
The single biggest lever on cost is how long the team stays. Serviced operators routinely discount as the booking lengthens, with weekly rates better value than nightly, and monthly rates better again. The effective day rate, the total divided by the nights, keeps falling the longer you book.
There is also a tax point worth knowing for longer contracts. Under HMRC's reduced value rule, when a guest stays for a continuous period of more than 28 days, from day 29 onwards VAT is no longer charged on the accommodation part of the price, only on the services element. This is set out in the government's VAT Notice 709/3 and can reduce the effective cost of a multi-week assignment. If your project runs past four weeks, it is worth asking how the rate reflects this.
Solo contractor or full crew: how cost scales
The maths changes with the size of the team, and there is usually more than one sensible way to house people.
- A solo contractor or site manager normally suits a one-bedroom flat. You pay one weekly or monthly rate for a private base with a kitchen and laundry, rather than a hotel room you are tied to night by night. Our 1-bedroom flat in Bromley is set up for exactly this kind of stay.
- A small crew of two to four often comes out cheaper, and more comfortable, in one larger property than in separate hotel rooms. A house gives everyone a shared kitchen and living space and lands on a single invoice. Our 2-bedroom house in Petts Wood works well for a pair or a small team who are happy to share a base.
- A larger team can be split across more than one property near the site. Whether one bigger place or a couple of flats works out better depends on the headcount and how close the rooms need to be, so we are happy to price it both ways.
Sharing one property is where the saving is clearest. Splitting a multi-bedroom house between three people generally costs well under three separate hotel rooms, while giving each person more space than a hotel room would.
What is included in the rate
A serviced rate is close to all-in, which is part of why it is easier to budget. A typical booking with us covers:
- Utilities. Heating, electricity and water are part of the rate, not a separate bill to chase at the end.
- WiFi. A connection that holds up for video calls, drawings and uploads, included as standard.
- Parking. Included or arranged nearby at most of our properties, which matters if the crew drives to site.
- Weekly cleaning. A regular clean with fresh bedding and towels keeps the place liveable over a long stretch.
- A fully fitted kitchen. A proper kitchen so the team can self-cater, which replaces a daily restaurant bill.
- Laundry. A washing machine on site, so work clothes get washed rather than piling up.
The hidden hotel extras you avoid
The headline hotel rate is rarely the real cost of a work stay. By the time a contractor has eaten out every night, paid for parking, sent laundry out and bought breakfast, the daily spend is a good deal higher than the room rate suggested. A serviced flat folds most of that into one figure: cooking at home instead of eating out, parking that is already covered, and laundry on site. For a fuller side-by-side on the practical differences, see our piece on why a short-term rental beats a hotel.
Clean invoicing for project budgets
For anyone running a project budget, predictable cost and tidy paperwork matter as much as the headline number. A flat weekly or monthly rate is straightforward to set against a job and to forecast. We can bill per stay or monthly, with one clear invoice per booking, which keeps expense claims and project accounting simple. You are not reconciling a stack of separate nightly hotel folios with variable extras at the end of the month.
Get a tailored quote for your Bromley project
The accurate way to know what your stay will cost is to price the real job. Tell us your project dates, how many people you need to house and roughly where the site is, and we will set out what we have and the weekly or monthly cost for the length of the assignment. Start from our homepage or send the details straight through our contact page, and we will come back to you with a figure you can put against the budget.
Frequently asked questions
Is serviced accommodation cheaper than a hotel for contractors in Bromley?
For a stay of a week or more it usually is. Serviced flats are priced at a flat weekly or monthly rate that works out lower per night than a comparable hotel, and because there is a full kitchen the team can cook rather than pay for every meal out. The longer the assignment, the bigger the gap.
How is the rate worked out, per night, per week or per month?
Short stays can be quoted per night, but most contractor bookings are priced as a weekly or monthly flat rate. A flat rate is easier to set against a project budget because it does not jump on busy weekends, and longer bookings bring the effective day rate down.
What is included in the price?
A typical rate covers the furnished flat, utilities, WiFi, a weekly clean with fresh bedding and towels, and a fully fitted kitchen and laundry. Parking is included or arranged nearby at most of our properties. There are no separate nightly extras for the kinds of things hotels often charge for.
Is it cheaper to book one larger property or several flats for a crew?
It depends on the crew size and how close the rooms need to be. A larger house can house several people under one roof and one invoice, which often works out lower per head than separate hotel rooms. For a couple of people in different roles, two flats may suit better. Tell us the headcount and we will quote both ways.
Can you provide a single invoice for the project?
Yes. We can bill per stay or monthly with one clear invoice for the booking, which makes expense claims and project accounting straightforward.
Does VAT change on a long contractor stay?
For a continuous stay of more than 28 days, HMRC's reduced value rule means VAT is no longer charged on the accommodation part of the price from day 29, only on the services element. This is set out in VAT Notice 709/3 and can lower the effective cost of longer assignments.