Whether it be because of employment circumstances, moving, or even an extended vacation, an extended stay at a hotel or motel may be just the answer you're looking for when it comes to finding a cost-effective solution to your housing needs.
The big question becomes: are extended stay hotels a practical option?
How Extended Stay Works
Whether or not a hotel can accommodate extended stay patrons is often determined by the licensing requirements set forth by their local zoning authority. Each city or municipality has the right to set their own standards on this issue
Often, as is the case here in Duluth MN, special circumstances present themselves that are an answer to a local problem.
For example, snowbirds (people who migrate between the northern states for the summer months and southern states for the winter) are very popular in this area. Many live in RVs, while some simply come north during the hottest months. During the middle of the summer, the local college dorms are empty due to summer break. With these empty rooms being a financial burden when unoccupied, the solution became to rent them out to snowbirds for those summer months. It's a win-win for everyone.
Another example: construction workers. They typically travel from job to job, often staying put for a matter of months. Signing a year-long lease isn't practical and staying weeks at a time in a hotel becomes quite expensive.
What You Can Expect
Many motels, especially older ones, will have a percentage of their rooms set up as kitchenettes. With a kitchenette you can expect to have the ability to cook meals and store food supplies, removing the cost of restaurants and eating out from your budget.
You may find that staying in an older motel with a kitchenette is only modestly more expensive on a monthly basis than you would pay for a local rental with a year-long lease.
My own experience with extended stay motel living included a 3-month period between the sale of an existing home and waiting for construction to finish up on a new home. We were able to stay close to our neighborhood and schools -- which meant our routine was hardly disturbed while most of our household was boxed up and stashed away in a storage unit.
When staying for longer periods in most kitchenette motels you can expect to be more on your own as far as room service goes. Bed linens are usually changed out once a week, but you can forget about the maid making your bed each morning. It's very much like living in a completely furnished small apartment. The necessities of life are provided including plates, silverware, and adequate cooking utensils.
As you can see in this video tour of a hotel kitchenette suite, they can be quite comfortable and practical for an extended stay!
Tags : Extended Stay Motels, Stay, Apartement