Client Wants me to stay in an Apartment... Should I?

Nov 8, 2012
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Need some holy wisdom advice from ATOT.

So I started traveling for a new project that I'm on. Typical project implementation, fly in Monday, fly out Thursday. This is something I'm used to by now. Well, this client is apparently a cheap ass. They want everyone that travels in "long-term" (which they define as > 3 weeks lol) to be booked in an apartment in an effort to save money on expenses.


The Situation:

1) As said, client is a cheapass. Were currently in build phase and they still haven't signed a contract with a required software vendor. Anyone with a half a brain realizes that when you delay the start of an implementation, it's only going to kick the can down the road. For every dollar you save in negotiating your software license, you will be paying $20 in consulting costs for a delayed go-live and overbooking of hours. Stupidity at its finest as I'm sure most here will know.

2) This project is... overall... in a non-cheap city. That is simply a fact. They want to book us into apartments in an effort to drive down expenses - which by the way, simply pale in comparison to our hourly consulting costs. The only cost this will affect obviously is hotels. This won't affect meals, this won't affect airfare, this won't affect taxi costs.

3) Here is the kicker: They want to book us in these apartments with a fucking rooommate. I'm sorry, I'm past the age of 19. I'm no longer in a college dorm. I'm an adult living in a professional world. Is it so much to fucking ask that I be entitled to an enclosed space with no one else?


My Arguments:

So what is ATOTs thoughts here? Would you go for it? Would you fight it? Would you give in?

Below are going to be my main arguments that I will pass on to my management (which will then have to fight on my behalf - which they likely will have no problem doing)

1) As stated above, I feel like as an adult working in a professional world as a consultant - bare minimum requirements is a standalone living area in an enclosed space without other people. If you want to argue dollars, that's fine. Give me the cost of how much the apartment is per month and I can (probably) easily stay within the ballpark of that. I may not be able to book the same hotel every week, but that's no issue for me. Maybe this is just my introverted self saying this, but I don't go for this shit. When I work I get enough of working colleagues when I'm in the office 40-50 hours. I don't need to come home to coworkers.

2) Here is my biggest problem: I've never met an apartment complex that charges by the day. That's because they simply don't exist. So they want us to lease these for long durations. Here is my problem: I have a family back at home. With all my previous projects, I tend to have some fairly simple demands: Assuming we aren't busy, I like to work 3 weeks on (locally) for every 1 week that I work remotely at home. I've never had an issue with this with previous jobs. Obvious exceptions are acceptable - such as near go-live, intense testing periods, etc...

I also tend to do other things - for example, sometimes I'll have a week where I'm in a training and need to work remotely. For Thanksgiving there is no shot in hell that I'm coming in for Mon-Wed. You get the picture. For hotels? That's not a problem, I'm not paying for those days. For an apartment? You have to pay for those regardless. My problem is that project management will be more likely to try to prevent me from working remotely if they are paying for an apartment. I don't want to put myself in that kind of situation.

3) This isn't an argument I can really make because it likely won't help me... But I have the highest status with a hotel company. There is no way in fuckville that I'm going to give that up for you to try and save a buck. GTFO. People that work for my company that work locally have tried to argue that people that work remotely get a monetary advantage to travel via airfare points and hotel points. While that may be true, I also sit on a cramped ass plane and a cramped ass living space in a shitty client office on a tiny ass desk. That is the very least you can ask for is to give me some sky peso equivalent points for all that shit. Typically we get home @ ~10:00 on Thursdays. Oh boy that was so worth the 1,000 airline miles!
 
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jpiniero

Lifer
Oct 1, 2010
15,652
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Sharing an apartment sounds better than being forced to share an hotel room. But in any case, you'll never come close in costs between a hotel room vs an apartment.
 
Nov 8, 2012
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Sharing an apartment sounds better than being forced to share an hotel room. But in any case, you'll never come close in costs between a hotel room vs an apartment.

Similar to sharing an apartment, I wouldn't go for sharing a hotel either.

You have to understand - That includes Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - that we will NEVER be there. Add on top of that weeks that I work remotely. This is a downtown expensive area, hotels NOR apartments are cheap.

Either way, still curious of your opinion and what you would go for.
 
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lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
58,540
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I'd go for a cash equivalent, and see if it made sense for me to stay in a campground, and pocket the extra cash with some fun gear left over I get to keep. I'm not like most people though.

Oh, and fuck those people in argument 3. You may get some more money by going out of town, but you're away from home. Any travel points earned, are earned, and not subject to use by the company. Work steals enough of your life in a regular 9-5. Going away? You earned whatever you got, and they still owe you more.
 
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KB

Diamond Member
Nov 8, 1999
5,406
389
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I would bail on the project entirely, unless its paying a ridiculous amount. Doesnt this company know software can be built anywhere? It would be cheaper if everyone worked from home And used Skype. And no way would I want a roommate. Extended stay hotel or not working on the project.
 
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rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,844
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Share with a roommate who's a complete stranger or someone you're working with? If it's the former, I'd laugh and ask WTF at the same time.

Also, "$20 in consulting costs"? Are you sure you're not missing a 0 in there?
 

DigDog

Lifer
Jun 3, 2011
14,076
2,560
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Id go for it.

Client is wrong but probably bigger headaches trying to explain it to him.
 

jpiniero

Lifer
Oct 1, 2010
15,652
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You have to understand - That includes Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - that we will NEVER be there. Add on top of that weeks that I work remotely. This is a downtown expensive area, hotels NOR apartments are cheap.

It's still a lot more expensive. That's why slumlords are buying up condos and renting it out on AirBnB and the like.
 
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KMFJD

Lifer
Aug 11, 2005
31,035
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What about airbnb, could that be an option, could make arrangements with the owner?
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
69,266
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www.anyf.ca
I can see how it would be cheaper to do apartment, but having to share? That's ridiculous. But so would be sharing a hotel room. That is a thing? My company is super cheap but any time people travel everybody gets their own room at least. I think it's just a common etiquette. Though I'm surprised big companies don't just have their own small hotels right on prem, for when employees travel. They would actually save a lot of money that way and they could even rent them out to non employees when nobody is booked for them. Even in my small city hotels are always booked solid, it seems like a gold mine industry to get into.

I would at very least insist that everybody gets their own apartment and not have to share. You need your own space at the end of a work day to go wind down and rest. If you want to make a stink about it check with the union, there might even be rules for that sort of thing.

One advantage of an apartment is you'll have a kitchen and laundry etc. Some hotels may have this, but not all. What I wonder is how they will manage to find apartment(s) for less than a month. Most of the time you need to sign for several months at a time at least. Then again if you give them money for a few months it's still cheaper than a hotel for several weeks. Hotels usually run at like $150-$200/day - maybe even past $200 in a big city like Toronto. ~1 week of hotel stay = renting a place for a month give or take.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
49,287
5,834
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Also, "$20 in consulting costs"? Are you sure you're not missing a 0 in there?

I misread that too initially, but it makes sense as part of the whole sentence:

For every dollar you save in negotiating your software license, you will be paying $20 in consulting costs
 
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Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
49,287
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Actually, this isn't unusual. I have friends in big cities who do the same thing...they have "roommates" they stay with while they are in town. It's almost like a ridesharing service like Via, but for apartments. It's weird, but welcome to the modern age, I guess!

I wouldn't do it. Quit being cheap & give me my own extended-stay hotel room lol.
 

Chaotic42

Lifer
Jun 15, 2001
34,149
1,305
126
I would absolutely not share an apartment unless this were some true emergency and there was some civic duty behind it (hurricane, war, etc).
 

PowerEngineer

Diamond Member
Oct 22, 2001
3,575
744
136
Well, if they (either the client or your employer) are expecting you to take responsibility for finding and leasing an apartment (and with another person) then I would say no way in hell. If one of them is going to take on that responsibility then I might listen (being not a great fan of hotels to start with). If I was going to share an apartment with just one other coworker -- the same person every time -- then that might not be so bad, especially if I already knew that person. I would want to know where (what kind of neighborhood) this apartment would be in. I'd also want to know who was going to be responsible for changing the linens and regularly cleaning it.
 
Nov 8, 2012
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Well, if they (either the client or your employer) are expecting you to take responsibility for finding and leasing an apartment (and with another person) then I would say no way in hell. If one of them is going to take on that responsibility then I might listen (being not a great fan of hotels to start with). If I was going to share an apartment with just one other coworker -- the same person every time -- then that might not be so bad, especially if I already knew that person. I would want to know where (what kind of neighborhood) this apartment would be in. I'd also want to know who was going to be responsible for changing the linens and regularly cleaning it.


Our contracts always have expenses paid for in their contract. Typically it is a given % of our hourly consulting fees that the client is expected to pay for. The client ultimately only pays what is expensed, however - but the percentage is a benchmark for what we can expense as a maximum. I don't have the time or care to look for an apartment. I like my hotels, and with my status thats what I plan to stick with. If I have to keep it under a certain amount - that is fine. I can stay in a Marriott Courtyard one week and a JW Marriott the next week - it doesn't matter to me.

I mean at that point though, they might as well make statements like "In an effort to save money you may only eat out at McDonald's or places where all meals are < $10.". Does that seem reasonable? Because it's basically the same thing but in housing.

Also with my introverted self, I can't stand the concept of roommates. Fuck that shit, I just don't care for social interactions, especially after work. Also in the case of the apartment... My understanding is that they would expect me to do the cleaning and changing of linens.
 

Zorba

Lifer
Oct 22, 1999
15,613
11,254
136
I assume they would be getting you a corporate apartment. Most of the corporate apartments I've ever been in suck. They are in old, cheap complexes and have cheap furniture/kitchen crap. The last one I stayed in the AC broke 6 times in 30 days (more days without AC than with in the middle of the summer in Oklahoma) and the lower coil on the water heater was burned out so you only got 3 minutes of hot water and they wouldn't ever fix it. They also aren't cheap. The piece of crap ones in OKC run 3K a month, that's three weeks in a nice hotel right there.

There is no way in hell I would take on a room mate on a business trip. I also would not put an apartment lease in my name or find one myself.

You might find they want to fuck you on food expenses too if they get you an apartment, because in their mind you now have a residence there.

The one good thing about an apartment is you could leave stuff there from week to week and travel lighter or bring a xbox/blu-ray player or something.
 
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Nov 8, 2012
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Will last until at least 2020, but I will likely no longer be needed after the design/build in about 6 months.

Are apartments really that cheap when they are also located downtown?

Not that I care anymore, at this point I'm sticking to my guns, I'm not rooming with anyone else.
 

Midwayman

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2000
5,723
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I've shared rooms before on short work trips, but no way in hell would I be doing it long term. Its annoying enough being away from home without having a private space you can relax in. If I were sharing I would always have to be 'on'.