For crews and site teams
Homes, serviced apartments and hotels near the site, for crews working away
Contractor accommodation in the UK, arranged around the site and the shift pattern. The aim is somewhere a crew can live properly while the job runs, close enough that the drive in does not eat into the working day.
The search starts from the site postcode and the dates, and when nothing close enough would suit the crew, you are told that plainly before anybody books. For the planning side, from crew size to mobilisation, read our guide to project accommodation.
Who this page is for
- Contractors and subcontractors working away from home
- Construction and project crews on a programme of work
- Engineers on installation, commissioning or survey work
- Shutdown and maintenance teams working to an outage window
Not housing a crew? Who we help covers the other situations we arrange for.
What we look for near the site
None of this is a promise about every place. It is what we look for, and the job decides which parts matter most.
Whole homes, serviced apartments or hotels
A whole house often suits a crew that would rather cook and eat together. Serviced apartments suit people who want their own front door. For a short job, a hotel near the site can be the honest answer, and we will say so.
Own rooms, or sharing
Some crews are happy to share a house and some are not, and the difference shows on the first night. Say who needs a room of their own, and we look for that mix.
A kitchen and a washing machine
Past the first few nights, cooking and laundry matter more than the room itself, so we look for a proper kitchen, a washing machine and somewhere to dry wet workwear.
Parking for the vehicles you actually have
Where the job needs vans on site, we look for parking that fits them. High-roof vans and trailers rule out a lot of city-centre car parks, so tell us what everyone is driving.
A drive to site that works at the real start time
Early starts and night shifts change the commute. We look for a drive that still works at the hour the shift begins, which is not always the nearest address.
Proper beds, Wi-Fi and some quiet
Physical work needs proper sleep. We look for real beds rather than sofa beds, Wi-Fi for calling home and, for anyone on nights, a room where sleeping through the day is realistic.
Sending a requirement
What to send, and what happens next
Stays run from a few nights for a survey to months at a time for a build. Crews run from a lone engineer to a full site crew, and often change size as the job moves on.
Send the detail through the enquiry form, where the Your message box takes nights, rooms and vehicles, or ring 01733 964574 if it is easier to talk it through.
We read it and ask about anything that changes the search, such as night shifts or a trailer. Options come back with the price for your dates, or a plain answer if nothing near the site will do. You approve one, the crew gets arrival details, and you keep one contact until the last person checks out. Each step is set out in full on how it works.
Is the site near Peterborough? It is where we are based and the city we know best, and there we can often use accommodation we have arranged before. See contractor accommodation in Peterborough.
Working in one of the two biggest cities? The vans, parking and clean-air rules are covered on contractor accommodation in London and contractor accommodation in Birmingham.
Worth sending us
- The site postcode, not just the town
- When the crew arrives, and when you honestly expect them to leave
- The nights you need: every night, weeknights only, or particular nights
- The headcount, and whether each person needs their own room or is happy to share
- What everyone is driving, including high-roof vans and trailers
- The shift pattern, if people start early or work nights
Gaps are fine. Writing one brief for several suppliers? How to brief an accommodation supplier includes an example.
Before anything is booked
- The price for the dates you gave us, for the whole stay
- What that price covers, and what it does not
- Invoicing to your company, with purchase order numbers if you use them
- No commitment until you approve an option
There is no price list, because the site, the dates and the crew all change the answer.
Once the crew arrives
Jobs change, and the accommodation has to keep up
Crews grow and shrink, people move between days and nights, and finish dates rarely hold.
An extension is routine on this kind of work, and the earlier we hear about one, the better the chance the crew stays where they are. Our guide to when project dates change covers extensions in more detail.
When something in the accommodation needs fixing, the crew comes to us rather than to you. We chase whoever has to do the work, and you hear what you need to know.
Crew questions
What people ask before housing a crew
Ask anything else alongside the requirement. For shared houses in more depth, read our guide to sharing accommodation on a project.
Can the whole crew stay together?
Where the crew wants that, it is usually the first thing we look for: a whole house, or apartments in the same building. If the site or the dates rule it out, you hear that before you approve anything, along with the closest arrangement that does work.
Does everyone have to share?
No. Tell us who needs their own room and who is happy to share, and we look for accommodation that fits that mix. Nobody should find out on arrival that they are in a twin room.
Where do the vans and tools go overnight?
Tell us what everyone drives and whether tools stay in the vans. We look for parking close to the door and, where the crew asks for it, somewhere the kit can be kept off the street. If the parking will not work, we say so before you approve the option.
The job is overrunning. Can the crew stay on?
Staying on depends on the accommodation and on whether anybody else has booked it after you. Tell us the moment the finish date starts to slip: the earlier we hear, the better the chance the crew stays put, and if they cannot, we look for somewhere else near the site.
Can we book weeknights only?
Where the accommodation allows it, yes. Say which nights you need, every night, weeknights only, or particular nights, and we look for accommodation that suits the pattern. Some places are only let by the full week, and if that limits what we can find, we tell you.
Crew starting on a new site?
A postcode, some dates and a rough headcount are enough to get it moving.