Below, we take a look at what makes a good hotel for a business traveller.
Location – When you have meetings in any area of the country, it is frustrating to end up in a hotel that is miles from any transport connections or from your meetings. It is vital that the hotel has good road, bus and train links so that you can easily use the hotel as a base and get from A to B, quickly and cost effectively. There is no point paying for a really cheap hotel yet being 20 miles away from your meeting if you are going to get a taxi or then have to travel even further, so it’s important to weigh up location and cost when booking your hotel.
Price – If you are on the road regularly for business then you know the cost of the travel can soon mount up, especially if you require hotels for the majority of the week nights on your away trips. You need a hotel that is affordable and can maybe offer you some sort of discount for multiple nights when booking and also a hotel that doesn’t really hit the single traveller with supplements because they are on their own.
Comfort – After 3 hours on the road, 3 hours in meetings and then a train ride to get to your hotel, you don’t really want a bad nights sleep before you do it all again in the morning. The least you want is a comfortable bed and a clean room, with maybe some luxuries like a nice TV and tea and coffee ready to settle in for the evening. Even if the hotel is cheap, make sure you read the reviews online to make sure it’s clean and will give you a decent night’s sleep.
Facilities – It is vital for most business travellers to have free WIFI and other types of facilities, including somewhere to eat and maybe even a sneaky drink or two to relax in the evening. Most business travellers have to work on the road after a long days drive, typing up notes and getting orders back to headquarters, so its vital that any hotel a business person stays in has WIFI that is freely accessible throughout the hotel and its premises.
Parking – If you are a regular business traveller then you will know how often you have turned up to hotels and really struggled to park, which drives you not only mad but also makes the cost of your trip even more expensive. Having a hotel with free or very cheap parking is a must for most business travellers, because you need to know you won’t be hunting around for hours at the end of a long drive trying to find somewhere to park.
Richard Johal runs the Java Hotel in Nottingham.
Conveniently located at Junction 25 of the M1 and only 10 minutes from Nottingham, Derby and East Midlands Airport, the Java Hotel offers everything you need for a comfortable, yet affordable, night’s stay.