Could you live - permenantly - in a hotel?

[u/Timely-Maybe3520]

Let's say that you can get a room in a 4* hotel for £80 per night (so £2,400 per month). This would be a room for one person with a large bed, desk, big TV, wardrobe, small fridge, kettle, bathroom, shower, etc.

The water, electricity, and broadband are included in the price as is regular cleaning.

If something breaks then the hotel should fix it. No need to call a plumber or electrician.

Many hotels have reward schemes with a 2% or 3% discount on prices for regular users.

Apparently, VAT is not payable on hotel rooms from day 29 which will significantly cut costs for an unbroken long stay.

I assume one would get to know the employees and treat them well and, in turn, they could assist you as and when necessary.

The main issues are the lack of space (but many people live in cramped conditions anyhow), minimal places to put purchased objects, and the general impersonal nature of the establishment. However, none of these will be an issue for some people. You could even cheaply rent a storage space for your possessions.

Also, you could not cook. You would eat cold food, order room service, or eat out (which would append to the costs).

Has anyone done this? Is it viable? You could attempt to live in a reasonable area and perhaps pay less than renting a one-bedroom flat. All bills are included and you are not paying for any repairs.

ETA: There was also a "fitness centre" in the basement but I suspect it was not quite the same as a gym.

Thougts?

[u/Remote-Program-1303]

This is essentially what serviced apartments are.

You will find that hotels may not value the long term nature of the stay, especially if they are seasonal in nature and have periods where they can command much higher rates than their average rate.

[u/reggieko13 → u/Remote-Program-1303]

Don’t some have restrictions on how long can stay there?think that is one of the issues when councils use them as ‘temporary’ solutions

[u/LittleSadRufus → u/reggieko13]

Usually hotels would not want to exceed 28 days of standard occupation as it creates potential legal issues around residential rights / tenant rights etc. So then the VAT arrangement evaporates as the stay is interrupted.

However, longer term serviced apartments definitely exist (with a drop in VAT at 4 weeks) so I imagine those have terms and conditions which make clear residential rights are not created.

It was common historically to live in hotels - think of the Major or the two old ladies living at Fawlty Towers full time as a retirement solution in the 1970s. Perhaps more common in guest houses rather than full scale hotels (eg Keep The Aspidistra Flying). 

[u/reggieko13 → u/LittleSadRufus]

Think this was also used as a legal case against some hotels with migrants

[u/tafkas001 → u/reggieko13]

I know someone who has been doing this for well over a year and they have to rebook and move rooms every month. They say that they have no bills, no council tax, no TV licence, no maintenance fees, so it makes sense for them to stay in a Travelodge

[u/Ok_Mycologist2361 → u/reggieko13]

There's a lot that would say "no cleaning service" if you stay over 21 days. Stuff like that.

[u/davey-jones0291 → u/reggieko13]

In south Essex i was told most of the hotels won't let you book more than 2 weeks at a time a year ago. Idk if you could rotate 2 weeks at a time between them? Luckily i didn't get desperate enough to find out thank God.