YOUR HOME AWAY 
If you’ve ever had to find temporary housing for yourself or been responsible for finding it for your workers, you know that it can be a challenge. Finding options that fit the budget, meet your needs, and provide the necessary amenities and comfort isn’t easy. It can make it feel like you are trying to find a missing puzzle piece.
Finding housing for construction workers during projects that are far from home is a prime example. Thankfully, a solution has been growing in popularity and availability: accommodations in extended stay hotels.
Never looked into this option? Read on and see why extended stay hotels are the best option for housing for construction workers.
An extended stay hotel is distinct from a regular hotel. They are set up specifically for stays of weeks or months and built to be more homelike than a typical hotel room.
For example, extended stay hotel rooms will have a kitchen (or kitchenette). These will be equipped with cookware and tableware so that guests can prepare their own food. They are also usually a bit larger than normal hotel rooms, often feeling more like apartments than hotels.
Some regular hotels have extended stay accommodations. These might be corporate suites, studios, or one- or two-bedroom apartments with kitchenettes.
Generally, extended stay hotels have amenities like laundry services, cleaning services, and sometimes a lounge and dining area. Many provide continental breakfasts, included in the room rate.
They are usually located in urban areas and situated near public transportation hubs. Some are equipped with gyms and swimming pools.
The typical alternatives to extended stay hotels are regular hotels, short-term apartment rentals, Airbnb, or mobile temporary housing rentals. Each of these options has its pros and cons.
Hotels are often the simplest option for short stays away from home. They are easy to find, plentiful, and more widely available than most other accommodations. They also have frequent housekeeping, which can be a useful perk.
However, they aren’t especially affordable extended stay housing. Though some may have discounts for longer stays, they still tend to be considerably more expensive than other options.
They also usually don’t include kitchens. This translates to guests having to spend more on food and being unable to prepare for themselves. For longer stays, this is usually inconvenient.
Some hotels do have extended stay options that are comparable to extended stay hotels, though they are the minority.
Pros: Availability, services, flexibility
Cons: Price, lack of home amenities
Short-term apartment rentals can be a cost-efficient option for extended stays, with a handful of caveats.
If you know exactly how long you need to stay and you can find a short-term lease that matches that duration, this might be the cheapest option. It also provides a homey feel since you’ll be staying in lodging designed to be lived in long-term.
However, it generally doesn’t offer much flexibility – once you sign the lease, you’re usually stuck with it even if your project finishes early. Month-to-month rentals are largely becoming a thing of the past due to the ease of renting homes this way online via sites such as Airbnb, so modern short-term rentals tend to lack this flexibility.
On top of this, many such rentals aren’t furnished, which means you may be stuck transporting or purchasing furniture.
Pros: Price, home amenities
Cons: Difficult to find, lack of flexibility, may not be furnished, lack of services
Airbnb has flipped the travel accommodations market on its head since it began in 2008. It has greatly expanded the number of available accommodations all over the country and the world. With weekly and monthly discounts offered by many hosts, it can provide a homey feeling option for travelers at various price points.
Airbnb can provide flexibility because there is no long-term commitment. It also offers a wide variety of options, so you’ll likely be able to find something to suit your needs.
However, while Airbnb can usually beat hotel prices, it is still usually a more expensive option than other long-term stays. And while it provides the usual amenities of a home, such as an equipped kitchen, it lacks other conveniences, like cleaning services.
Pros: Flexibility, variety, home amenities
Cons: Price, lack of services
The last option for housing during construction projects is mobile temporary housing. These housing structures resemble shipping containers and can be brought directly to and set up at or near the worksite.
The most obvious upside of this sort of temporary housing is that it has workers staying right by the project site. It also tends to be a fairly inexpensive option and, depending on availability, can be set up in remote locations.
The downsides are that this sort of living isn’t very comfortable and it certainly doesn’t feel homey. Workers also tend to appreciate getting away from the site when the workday ends. While these mobile living quarters can be cheap and convenient, they’re on the low end of the spectrum for keeping up a crew’s morale.
Pros: Worksite access, cost
Cons: Lack of comfort, lack of services
For longer stays, extended stay hotels often hit the sweet spot in terms of convenience, cost, and flexibility when compared with the alternatives.
They are more widely available and flexible than short-term rentals and cheaper than hotels and usually Airbnb. They’re more comfortable than temporary mobile housing, have home amenities, and provide the right services for a temporary stay. They tend to make good financial sense, and there are ways to make them feel more like home, as well.
Extended stay hotels are also convenient when you’re looking to house a number of people at the same standard of accommodations.
Extended stay hotels are often the best temporary housing solution for stays ranging from weeks to months. Between their availability, services, and cost, they can be an ideal solution for housing construction workers or other longer-stay travel situations.
If you’re curious about extended stay hotel options, check out our guide to finding the best ones, even at a distance. Interested in booking a stay? Check availability here.