Compass Furnished Apartments

A Q&A Smackdown: Furnished Apartment vs Hotel | Two Different People With Two Different Stories

Written by Maddy Khentigan | Mar 16, 2021 3:00:00 PM
 
The basic differences between staying in a furnished apartment versus a regular hotel room are pretty easy to digest, right? With a furnished apartment you get a complete apartment with all the furniture, housewares, linens, etc. that you could possibly need throughout a stay, whether it be for 5 weeks or 1 year. With a hotel room, well, you guessed it! A room with a bathroom, a bed, a tv, a cramped desk somewhere in the mix, and a few waters or sodas that cost $4 each to drink (...just being honest).
 
While hotels are definitely needed and make sense depending on certain travel plans, we hear a lot of horror stories/bad practices from our guests and corporate clients explaining how they've been staying in cramped hotels for prolonged periods of time, paying a fortune on UberEats every night, and feeling like a stranger in a city they're staying in for months! WHAT!? 
 
So, let's shake things up. We're going to look at these differences in a more relatable way. We have two individuals sharing their experience with us. One is answering after staying in a furnished apartment, while the other just completed a stay at the hotel around the corner. Let's hear what they have to say: 
 
 
How was your pre-move in & move-in experience?
 

Furnished Apartment

"It was really personable, actually! I requested a Compass apartment online and sent in all the details about what I needed. We ended up having conversations about what my routine was going to look like, better options and ideas from their team, and local insight and recommendations. Because of all this, by the time move-in day came around, I already felt comfortable and "seasoned" within this new location. It was a really good feeling."

Hotel

"It was fine! There really wasn't much to it. I looked online for hotels within the area of Boston that I needed, selected my dates, put in my payment information, and booked my stay. I looked through the website, saw some nice pictures, and that was that. When I moved in, I went to the front desk, got a key card, and went up to my room."

 

 
Tell me about your first impression of your space, things you've noticed, etc... 
 

Furnished Apartment

"My apartment was really....open. I was welcomed by the sunshine coming in from the floor to ceiling windows, a airy-open floorplan, a beautiful kitchen island, and even little goodies filling up my shelves and fridge. I had so much freedom with how my stay could go that you don't get when staying at a hotel. I could make pasta one night, eat out the next, do my own laundry whenever I wanted, and had the space to do a home workout instead of JUST going upstairs to the gym."

Hotel

"It truly was a great room. I walked in, there's the bed and the TV, a nice bathroom and walk in shower, I had a little reading chair and desk in the corner, which I thought would be good for me to open my laptop up and get some work done. On the nightstand I saw a little printout of the room service menu and little conveniences like what to do when needing extra towels, etc..."

 

Can you walk me through your daily routine?
How was your experience when thinking about your stay on a daily basis? 
 
Furnished Apartment

"The beauty of the trip was the freedom of having different "daily" routines. I would get ready and either cook some breakfast, have my coffee, and have a nice slow morning at home, then mosey over to my home office space, work throughout the day, have a break here and there to workout or go for a walk, figure out my dinner plans, and then have a relaxing night! This was a business trip for me where a lot of our clients I needed to meet with were about a 5-10 minte walk away, so depending on the day, I'd work from my apartment, or go in for meetings and end up working there or stopping and finishing work at a coffee shop or working space.

Hotel

"My office is walking distance away so that was super helpful on a daily basis. I'd wake up, get ready and grab something quick on my way to work. After spending the day at work, I'd come back, see if any treadmills are open in the hotel gym and if there were, I'd spend about 30 minutes there. Then I'd order some food to be delivered and watch TV or open my laptop up and watch my Netflix until bed. Pretty simple and easy!"

 

What were some limitations with where you were staying?
 

Furnished Apartment

"I'm trying to think of limitations, but I can't come up with a solid 'con' throughout my stay. I had space within my apartment to work, live, sleep, and cook - and still didn't feel cramped. When working from home, I had a beautiful desk with high-speed internet and a gorgeous view. Maybe the only limitation was that I know Compass has 'guest suites' within the same building for when family comes to visit, but there weren't any available at the time due to my short notice. My family ended up staying in one of their other furnished apartments across the street, which is still absolutely incredible (I'm so happy they were able to see first hand what a furnished apartment was like), but it would have been great to have them right down the hall. Does that count as a true con, though?"

Hotel

"Don't get me wrong, the room and employees were nice, but I never felt truly settled. I had a 3.5 week long stay and while I threw my clothes and what not in the closet, put my toiletries in the bathroom, etc..I felt like I was in a weird limbo of a bubble where I was almost confined to a room/building for 3.5 weeks until it was time to go home. It was the little things like not having a lot of space, having to call the front desk and get my laundry sorted, having to eat random snacks, chips, or meal delivery services when I was hungry, keeping all my bathroom products neat or putting them away in my toiletry bag."

 
 
Let's talk about pros! What were some benefits of staying where you were staying?
 

Furnished Apartment

"Having a ton of space, having a true area to work, being able to sign into my Hulu on the TV and watch my shows, having my own kitchen to cook, having a bunch of natural light, my own washer and dryer was seriously a game changer, and feeling like I was at home. I was comfortable. I truly didn't feel like I was 'traveling'.

Hotel

"When thinking about comparing this to a furnished apartment, I would say that the fact that I didn't have an entire apartment, or a kitchen, or a distinct 'living room' vs 'bedroom' space allowed me to have a simplified routine that I didn't even have to think about. I could focus on work and knew exactly what my night, next morning, etc. looked like...however as a proud outfit repeater I will say the not having in-unit laundry was definitely a bummer."

 
We know price varies with every stay and travel plan, but how did you feel about the price of your stay when thinking about what you received and the experience you had?                                   
 

Furnished Apartment

"Of course having an entire apartment can cost more than staying in a tiny hotel room, but the thing is, it's not only worth it price wise (and can even be more affordable than a hotel in some cases if you can believe that), but the entire routine of traveling, your comfort level, and your ability to have so much freedom within a trip is something that is so necessary and important when traveling today. I don't have kids or pets currently, but could you imagine having the ability to travel with your dogs or cats....or kids? Having them comfortable, giving them room and a fun experience like that? That's great."

Hotel

"Price was alright, traveling is always pricey in my mind these days, but opening my eyes to furnished apartments, thinking about how much more comfortable and inviting traveling would be that way, and seeing alternative accommodations available....the price for an experience like that would be 1000% worth it. Even for business travel, I think companies really need to start looking into productivity levels and employee happiness when using corporate travel to their advantage.Thinking about the safety of travel given 2020, the pro/con list of furnished apartments over hotels are a lot more in depth now. People are thinking about space, comfort, sanitization, freedom, etc...not just price or trying to get a bargain.

 
 
Final Thoughts 
 

 

Okay, here we are. The final summary. The end goal of seeing these two sides in a more human and personable way wasn't aimed to deem one 'better' than the other, but to get you thinking about which you would prefer depending on the travel details at hand. Maybe you want a hotel because of the simplicity and short length of stay. Maybe you want a furnished apartment because of the space, freedom, and flexibility.

 

Everyone prefers different accommodations, but one of the biggest issues we see is the simple lack of knowledge on what travel accommodations are available to you. Here are some resources that will compare, educate, and inspire you to think through what you want out of our next travel experience:

 

Cost Comparison: Hotel vs Compass Furnished Apartments

Why You Need To Rent A Furnished Apartment Post-COVID

Top 7 Reasons To Stay In A Furnished Apartment

Why You Should Stay In A Furnished Apartment Over A Hotel

 

 
 
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hey, guys! It's Maddy, the Content Creator at Compass. Find me here on LinkedIn and we'll connect!