How Trade Stays Works

Send an enquiry with your location, dates and team size, online or by phone. We come back within 24 hours with a shortlist and clear weekly rates. Confirm your choice, receive one VAT invoice, and your team checks in. There are no agency fees.

That is a normal week for us rather than a problem. We hold listed property in the towns our clients book most, and everywhere else we go and find it. We approach owners in the area, agree the rate, confirm the parking and the practicalities, and it comes back as part of your shortlist within 24 hours. There is no sourcing fee, and the price we quote is the price on your invoice.

Most placements are confirmed within 24 hours, and same-day placement is often possible for urgent requirements. The more notice you can give for large crews, the better the cluster of properties we can source, but urgent means urgent and we treat it that way.

You can search without signing in. To send an enquiry you sign in with your email and we send you a link, so there is no password to set up or remember. It takes a few seconds, and it keeps your enquiry and your quotes in one place.

We shortlist on driving time to your site address rather than on which postcode looks nearest. Tell us your limit, twenty minutes is the usual answer, and if going a little further would save you money we will show you both and let you choose.

Yes, that is the default. We size the property to the headcount so there is a bed and a bedroom for each person. If you would rather share to bring the cost down, say so and we will quote it both ways.

Tell us how many vehicles and what size when you enquire, and we confirm the parking with the owner before anything is booked rather than leaving you to find out on arrival. Most of our houses have a driveway or free parking on the street outside. If you need secure or off-street parking for several vans we will say up front whether a property can take it.

No. Monday to Thursday and Monday to Friday bookings are normal for us, and you pay for the nights your team uses rather than the full week.

Yes. Crews of seven or more are usually placed across two or three properties as close together as the local supply allows, and it still comes back as one shortlist, one contract and one invoice.

Yes, and most of our bookings work that way. Teams extend, reduce or move as the programme moves, and you deal with the same person each time rather than starting a new booking.

Bookings flex with the project. Extend, reduce or relocate the team as timelines move. Flexible notice periods apply to business accounts, and there is no penalty for legitimate project changes.

Furnishing, an equipped kitchen, linen and towels, weekly housekeeping, utilities, council tax and broadband. The rate we quote is the rate you pay.

Per property, per night. The owner quotes a nightly rate for the whole property against your brief, so the figure reflects what you actually need: how many people are staying, parking, cleaning. You receive a total for the stay with VAT shown separately, so the number you approve is the number on the invoice.

We rarely take a deposit. A small number of properties do require one, and where that applies it is stated clearly on the property itself rather than appearing later. Cancellation terms are set per property as well, so you can see them on the shortlist before you choose anything, and your account manager will point out anything unusual.

Your account manager, and it is the same person every time. A crew changed at four on a Friday, a lock-out at nine at night, a boiler that has stopped: one call, not a conversation with the property owner. Your contract is with us, so putting it right is ours to sort.

Every property is reviewed before it goes live, and hosts confirm compliance on every listing. Parking, laundry and access for site vehicles are confirmed before you book.

Every booking gets a VAT invoice as standard, and a booking covering several properties comes on one invoice rather than one per property. Credit accounts are available subject to approval, with 30 days from invoice.

For anything beyond a short stay it usually works out lower. One whole house replaces several hotel rooms, a real kitchen replaces weeks of eating out, and longer stays attract lower weekly rates. Send us the dates and headcount and we will quote against what you are paying now.

In most cases accommodation for working away qualifies as a business expense under HMRC travel and subsistence rules, and Trade Stays provides VAT invoices as standard to support it. Your accountant should confirm how it applies to your circumstances.

Yes. A good number of our enquiries come from people booking for themselves rather than through a company. You get the same properties, the same fixed rate with bills included, and the same invoice. The only real difference is that a VAT registered business can reclaim the VAT and an individual cannot. We take payment by bank transfer.