If you’re staying in London on business for a little while, on a project or secondment for example - and you need short term accommodation, but you don’t want to stay in a hotel the whole time, then your options are on the rise. There are more short term lets available than ever before across the capital.
This article will lay out the top ten reasons why a short term apartment rental is the ideal way to stay when you’re in town on business, for a few days or a few months - it ticks all the boxes.
What is a short term let?
If you’re coming to London for an extended business stay for more than 3 months then you are, of course going to need somewhere to live. You’re caught in the tricky spot that you need accommodation for a shorter period than most private rental leases (which are usually a year, or 6 months at a push) - but you’re in one place for long enough that you probably don’t want to be living in a hotel room long-term like Alan Partridge…
Look no further than the growing market of short term lets! Short term apartment rentals offer you a few months, often with a flexible lease that you can extend should you need it. There’s a wide range of providers, from cheap and cheerful to luxury at great value, serviced and non-serviced.
Short term apartment rentals vs hotels
1. Stable accommodation
While you’re staying temporarily in a new city and trying to concentrate on getting your job done efficiently, the last thing you want is to be moving about more often than you have to.
If you know you’re going to be in the area for three months, six months, twelve months or whatever it might be, you can easily extend your stay with a short term apartment rental. This means you don’t need to worry about uprooting and relocating in the middle of your secondment or project.
2. Save money
Thanks to getting VAT breaks, short lets (and serviced apartments particularly) can offer short term lets at a rate which reduces the longer your stay. So while an equivalent hotel room will stay at a fixed price each night, a short term apartment rental will get better value with every additional night. This means that you can end up saving a third of the cost that you would spend if you stayed in a hotel.
This can mean you have considerably more wiggle room in your budget and can spend that money on other aspects of your stay, like exploring your new city!
3. Enjoy your own food.
By choosing a short term flat you get all the perks of having your own fully equipped or pantry style kitchen - which means you can enjoy the freedom and flexibility of cooking for yourself, controlling what and when you eat or rustling up a decent snack when you’re hungry. This will save money (and your energy) on dining out for every meal and means you can go for healthier options, if you feel so inclined.
4. Privacy
One of the best features about short term apartment rentals is the privacy that they offer. With so much more space of your own to entertain and relax in, you don’t need to just stay in the small confines of one room like you do in a hotel, sharing most of your walls with strangers. It also means there’s no more having to try to work in disruptive public spaces or having to pay extra to rent office space.
5. Furniture and equipment
Many hotel rooms provide little more than a bed and a bath; a dresser, wardrobe, desk or small couch may be included if you’re lucky. Serviced apartments are fully furnished with all the typical furniture you’d find in a home. So you won’t have to eat takeaway sitting on your bed or spend your days tripping over the suitcase that you’re living out of.
Hanging up your clothes, having a sofa and coffee table to relax at and a kitchen to prepare food in may seem like small things before you get there, but they make a huge difference when it’s your home every night for a sustained period.
6. The family stays together
If your family is visiting or joining you on your temporary relocation then you will have space to all stay together, while still having your own space. If you choose a two or three-bedroom short stay apartment you can have a bedroom each and enjoy sharing the living room and kitchen with each other.
In a hotel, it’s likely you will either have to all squeeze in together or have to book an extra room, which could be a trek away or at the very least the other side of two automatically locking doors.
7. Additional parking
Some short term apartment rentals come with onsite amenities - this can include the option of a dedicated parking space, so if you’re driving, you won’t have to pay London’s car parking charges, with no risk of getting a ticket if you park in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Depending on the location of your short term rental you could leave your car there and head into central London on the excellent public transport links, avoiding the Congestion Zone.
8. Enjoy the whole space of a short term apartment rental
When you’re renting as a group, whether that’s with friends, family or colleagues - having separate rooms within your own private accommodation can transform the experience, making it more social and, with a work team, considerably more productive - without having to sacrifice the privacy of closing your own door at the end of the day.
A lot of short term rental apartments also have common areas, reception rooms and even gardens - so you’ve got even more space to play with. As well as getting a better rate each night, as mentioned above, serviced apartments also grant you an average of 33% more floor space than equivalent hotel rooms.
9. Feel like a local
Staying in a short let apartment allows you to see your destination through the eyes of a local. As well as having your own pad in town where you can entertain, it also gives you the opportunity to stay in more residential areas and get a true sense of what it would be like to live there. You might find your own favourite little cafe or walk along the river, really getting a taste of London life.
10. Home comforts
Short term apartments give you the chance to feel truly at home while you’re away from your own. Tasteful decor and freedom to be creative at making it your own space can have a significant positive impact on your mental health. Allowing you to feel more relaxed and settled, providing a better base from which to work more productively and thoroughly enjoy your time in your new city.
Dolphin Square short term apartment rentals
Dolphin Square has an excellent choice of rooms available, so whatever your needs you can find something suitable, including studio apartments, the popular one-bedroom apartments, two-bedroom apartment and even larger.
All of these serviced apartments are available as short term lets (with the flexibility to extend and even become long term) and best of all is that they all come with daily housekeeping; free wifi; 24-hour reception; maintenance staff and security - keeping things safe, convenient and as smooth as possible during your stay.
The incredible location gives easy access to Central London, a five-minute walk from Pimlico Underground station means you can get all over the city (and country!) with ease. Located in Westminster, Dolphin Square is also close to many of London’s wonderful parks and tourist attractions.
There are spectacular guest amenities including a fitness centre, swimming pool, Moroccan Spa, shopping arcade and beautiful manicured gardens. There are also excellent Events and Meeting Rooms available to hire for functions of all shapes and sizes.
Treat yourself to a home-away-from-home
So next time you’re travelling for business, give yourself the space to work productively, unwind and enjoy being at home while you’re away. Book a viewing at Dolphin Square today to enjoy the luxury, privacy and great value of a short term serviced apartment.
