Business travel isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be. Sure, you get to see new places, and often rack up air miles in the process, but it can also mean long airport queues, lonely hotel rooms, and disruption to your carefully honed routine. And for travellers away for five nights or longer, it can be even harder to feel at home.
That’s where longer-stay hotels can help. Specifically designed to make business travellers feel at home when on the go, longer-stay options — such as global leader Residence Inn® by Marriott — bring home comforts to the classic hotel experience, helping you maximise your stay.
One-third of global business hotel stays are for five nights or longer, and with more than 780 locations worldwide — including hotels in the UK, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands — Residence Inn is well-placed to serve the travellers booking them.
From in-suite kitchens to mapped running routes, here are five reasons to book a longer-stay hotel for your next business trip.
1. They have all the luxuries of a hotel room — and more.
Many business travellers book apartments for long stays, swapping a hotel room’s convenient luxuries for more space and amenities.
At a longer-stay hotel, however, you’ll get it all. Along with the comforts you might expect of a hotel — from a complimentary hot breakfast to housekeeping and valet dry-cleaning services — Residence Inn also offers its guests a series of studio and one-bedroom suites with full kitchens and separate working, living, and sleeping areas, so you can maintain your work-life balance while on the road.
2. It’s easy to stay productive.
Getting work done away from the office can prove tricky. Many hotels skimp on Wi-Fi and workspace, leaving travellers to battle unreliable connections while trying to find somewhere to take a video call from a spot other than their bed.
But Residence Inn does things differently, offering fast in-suite, free Wi-Fi and a designated desk area for when it’s time to knuckle down. But there are also residential-feeling public spaces downstairs that are designed for working and seeing clients, as well as socialising. Plus, travellers can also avail themselves of copy and printing services.
3. You can still keep fit.
Business travel can wreak havoc on your fitness goals. As well as early starts and shifting time zones, being miles away from your local gym can also sap your motivation.
Luckily, Residence Inn’s state-of-the-art 24-hour gyms make it easier to keep your fitness routine. They let you work out when you want to, while RI Runs — a Residence Inn partnership with Under Armour Connected Fitness — suggests mapped runs on the MapMyFitness app to help you explore the local area while staying active. So, you’ll have to start thinking of some new excuses to dole out to your PT back home.
4. You don’t have to eat out.
Eating out and expensing meals is one of the perks of business travel. But what if you actually enjoy cooking? Or what if you’re trying to stick to a diet that’s not catered for by nearby restaurants?
At a longer-stay hotel, you choose what’s on the menu, with an in-suite kitchen equipped with everything you need for a home-cooked meal. Each of Residence Inn’s suites features a kitchen area complete with a Nespresso machine, refrigerator, microwave, hob, oven, dishwasher, and cookware. Plus, after a long day in the office, you can drop by the on-site Grab ‘n’ Go market for snacks. Or, even better, you can have your groceries delivered straight to your door — free of charge.
5. You won’t get lonely.
Studies show frequent business travellers are more likely toexperience loneliness and stress, often as a result of having to leave family and friends behind for extended periods of time.
But there are ways to mitigate this. Not only will Residence Inn’s always-on, free Wi-Fi help you keep in touch with loved ones, but its hotels are the perfect places to make new connections, too.
More than five days of business travel isn’t anyone’s first choice. But a hotel like Residence Inn by Marriott can make the experience feel just a bit more like home.
Find out more about Residence Inn locations throughout Europe.
This post is sponsored by Marriott.