A Key To Reducing The Cost Of Employee Hotel Bills And To Increasing Employee Satisfaction

Sept. 7, 2009 - PRLog -- Adrian Leach – Director, Business Development & Marketing from the HCR Group uses his own experience and expertise to examine the alternatives.

Why do line managers and HR people allow it? Why has the finance department not put a stop to it? Why does the employee put up with it?

I’ve done it.  I lived out of a suitcase from the Monday night when I checked in to the Friday morning when I checked out.  I hated the packing on a Sunday, rushing the ironing to have 5 decent shirts in the carrier ready to go first thing Monday morning. I loathed lugging the suitcases into the hotel, the anonymous room, the noisy air con and the TV the size of a wrist watch.  I despised having to rely on a menu, the inability to snack when I wanted, which also went with the “don’t touch the mini-bar because you’ll never get it through expenses” emotion.  

I detested the lack of personal space. But most of all I hated having to repack the suitcases on the Friday morning knowing that I would be dragging 50% of the same contents back up to the same claustrophobic hotel room on the following Monday night.  I did it for 10 months before I finally had enough.

If the sheer grind of living out of a suitcase for months upon end wasn’t enough of an incentive to seek alternative accommodation, then the cost savings should ensure that any employer takes action. In this example, let’s say that a hotel in Bristol costs £85 per night and there is a ‘subsistence allowance’ of £20 per day whilst away on assignment. The hotel costs are £340 / week. Over 6 months that is a staggering £7990 in hotel bills (after taking off 2½ weeks for holidays).
   
A 6 month rented accommodation with a fully furnished 1 (double) bedroom apartment with kitchen, bathroom and living room, off street parking, payment of gas, water, electric and council tax; a 3 property homesearch, lease negotiation, accompanied move in, 24-7 emergency property helpline, maintenance support, accompanied check out and even damages negotiation, in Bristol [10 minutes from the City Centre], would cost £875 per month - an equivalent of just £5250 in 6 months; an mammoth saving of £2,740 over hotel charges.

Clearly there are drawbacks in living in rented accommodation – the employee will have to use the Dyson and a duster themselves, change the toilet paper and wash their own linen and towels. However, for about £160 a month, a maid service can be provided and it will still be cheaper than a hotel.

In these days of austerity and cost containment, it seems foolish to waste £4,000 - £5,000 a year per employee on hotels and make them live out of a suitcase. If you have only 100 ‘on assignment’ employees staying in hotels around the UK over 12 months, you can save £½ million a year. That is going to have a real impact on the bottom line and employee satisfaction.   I would suggest a chat with a financially sound relocation provider who can source suitable properties, look after the employee and give the employer a solid deal that saves stress, hassle and cash.

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HCR Group, based in Basingstoke, is the UK’s largest independent relocation specialist and a leading provider of rental accommodation for professionals and their families – UK and Worldwide. Its clients are corporations and government departments. HCR currently has 6,700 people housed under HCR tenancy, and pays in excess of £75 million in rent and utilities per annum on behalf of their clients. HCR has a 95% Credit Rating. It relocates approximately 10,000 people p.a. HCR provides a choice of services including funded Guaranteed Sales Price, Look See, Home Search, Policy Consulting, School Search, Managing Expenses, and Visa & Immigration.
http://www.hcr.co.uk