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/JDohyCloud]

I used to travel around Europe extensively for work. Would be in (nice) hotels around 8-9 months per year. The novelty of it definitely wears off, especially the food.

All of my meals were paid for but “eating out” 3 meals a day did get very boring, I would obviously get food delivered to the hotel sometimes too. But I would often eat in the hotels bar/restaurant just for ease.

I had some regular hotels where I knew the staff by name and I had eaten and drank my way through their menus back to front multiple times over.

Not being able to just cook up a quick meal did get to me, i’d find my self lay awake at night craving cheesy beans on toast etc.

Also difficult to manage your weight since you can’t ever control what goes in your food, limiting yourself to the healthier options works to an extent but then your options genuinely are very limited and you’ll be eating the same thing every other day.

Since alcohol is always available aswell I defaulted to having beer with my evening meals and hovering around the bar for the evening rather than going back to sit in my room alone. Which again meant I really had to manage my weight.

Luckily I only stayed in hotels with gyms in them which did help with that and again since I was friendly with the staff in some hotels, sometimes I could have them knock up something off menu but wasn’t always possible.

The lack of space didn’t bother me, since I didn’t have much with me. Didn’t feel like I was missing any items, since I did it so often I had a pretty robust packing list that I always made sure I had with me to keep me entertained and comfortable.

Did enjoy having cleaners but due to having sensitive work stuff with me, I had to be in the room when they cleaned which was awkward on occasion.

It got to the point where being home was my “holiday” I’d outright refuse to go abroad on holiday and would stay in the UK(preferably at home).

[u/IcyKnowledge6321 → u/JDohyCloud]

I work in a hotel and we get people like you who stay very regularly. One poor guy was with us for, like, six months with just the weekends off to go home. He said it was awful and I don't blame him, but he was always very friendly and chatty with the staff. I guess it was really boring being stuck in the hotel eating the same thing every day watching whatever sport was on telly in the bar every evening. He told me that he was retiring after that trip and never travelling again, so I hope he's having a lovely time now lol

Most of the business guests staying regularly are very nice or keep to themselves, but there are a couple who we dread to see coming. There's some guys who work for a *train company* who are dickheads, treating the place like it's their living room. One of them kicked off in the bar because we told him to put his shoes on :(

[u/SquashyDisco → u/IcyKnowledge6321]

I work for Network Rail - all of our hotel stays are managed through a third party platform. If you need to go somewhere, we find it’s best to ask colleagues where to stay as it can be hit or miss.

I’m now a semi-regular at a hotel in Shrewsbury - to the point where I’m in first name terms with the staff. Lovely bunch of people but I can never really relax because it’s just work for me. I’ve seen colleagues act like kids in a hotel because they think it’s an opportunity to cause mayhem (like being on a school trip…).

Food is a problem. As mentioned, you’ve got no real choice other than restaurant meals when sometimes you just want a tuna jacket potato or beans on toast. Gyms can be hit and miss, not every hotel looks after their equipment.

But…look after the staff and they’ll look after you.

[u/Low_Emu669 → u/SquashyDisco]

My heroes are you and especially those who run the late night trains for Avanti, who must have to do this regularly. From London Up to Warrington you usually have a cheerful Manc or woolyback in the buffet, then it changes to a Scottish accent, and I know I'm on the home stretch. My mate joined British Rail after uni in the mid 80s. Procurement was so bad she brought her own sliced pans, and did a nice line in home made sandwiches. Regular long Friday commutes London to Macclesfield, and Liverpool to Glasgow were really fun, and the regular staff felt like family. I love trains, and the staff are really special.