Self-Catering Accommodation Peterborough

As a self-catering accommodation provider in Peterborough, with 3 properties we rent out to both commercial and domestic customers, we have put together some comprehensive information around self-catering, or as it’s better known: serviced accommodation, specifically in Peterborough and the surrounding areas.

Table of contents:

What is self-catering (or serviced) accommodation?

Self-catering accommodation (which is also regularly referred to as serviced accommodation) is, generally, a small property (such as a house or apartment) that is being rented out on a short or long-term basis to domestic or commercial customers.

Self-catering apartments or houses are typically listed on websites such as AirBnB or Booking.com and people can book their preferred accommodation there and then through those websites. You generally pay a small deposit or a percentage of the total cost of the whole booking to secure the date you like and the balance is taken automatically some time before your stay is due to commence.

For Letto Serviced Accommodation, we have our own online booking facility that allows you to book direct by entering the dates you would like to stay in one of our self-catering apartments and you can book your preferred property.

KEEP READING to discover why you should book direct with a self-catering accommodation provider than going through AirBnB or Booking.com.

We will also be comparing hotels to self-catering accommodation, in terms of the upsides and downsides to each.

Who is self-catering accommodation for?

Domestic customers are people looking to stay in Peterborough with their friends and/or family for an event or occasion.

With our self-catering apartments, we can offer up to 9 beds, which is much more affordable if you have a whole family looking to stay in Peterborough, as opposed to having to occupy 2-3 rooms in a hotel as each room may only contain only one bed. Having separate rooms may also not be preferred, as parents may want to keep a close eye on their children and it’s difficult or inconvenient to do this in a hotel.

Some examples of events in Peterborough are the Peterborough Mystery Treasure Trail, Planet Ice Arena Peterborough, Trapp’d Peterborough and Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery.

Commercial customers are generally businesses that have employees or contractors working on a project in Peterborough and it’s vastly more cost-effective to utilise a serviced apartment, than to cover the cost of fuel on a daily basis. And if you are a tradesman, there is a Jewson located in Peterborough also if building supplies are needed, whilst you’re enjoying your stay.

There may also be a conference in Peterborough that corporate clients may like to attend, such as The Peterborough Business Expo, Link4Business – Ramblewood, Peterborough or The Old Copper Kettle Business Breakfast Club.

Upsides to Self-Catering Accommodation

When discussing the upsides/advantages to staying in self-catering/serviced accommodation, we have to compare this to the main competitor: hotels.

Home From Home

Unlike hotels, self-catering apartments are much more home-like. You have access to a kettle, a dryer, washing machine, coffee machine, comfortable beds, a more ‘unlocked’ TV with Netflix, free Wifi (which most hotels charge for).

Free Wifi

If you’re a businessperson, for instance, paying for wifi and having to go through the set up of signing up for an account with the hotel is a major inconvenience. “Free hotel wifi is hard to come by” according to BBC Watchdog and in that same article, one hotel chain says “Charges start at 30 pence per minute to a maximum charge of £20 for a 24 Hour period”. Therefore, if you’re paying £50 per night in a hotel and you’re using Wifi every day for extended periods, your total cost will be £50 x 7 = £350, plus £20 x 7 (i.e. £140) = a total of £490.

The Wifi cost is almost half of the entire cost of the booking!

In our self-catering apartments, we offer Wifi for free – as it should be.

Parking

Furthermore, parking is another cost issue when staying at hotels. Some hotels don’t actually have their own parking. Therefore, you have to go through the hassle of not only finding a car park, but also finding a car park that allows you to drive out 24 hours a day, as most car parks close for in the evening.

If you take the Edinburgh Central Travelodge Hotel in Holyrood, a nightly stay is from £98.99 and conveniently, there is a car park right outside of the hotel, except it’s not owned by the Travelodge. The car parking charge for “up to 24 hours is £25”. Therefore, if you were to stay for 7 nights, that’s £98.99 x 7 = £692.93, plus £25 per night = £175, bringing the total to £867.93.  The car parking is around 25% of the total stay.

With Letto Serviced Accommodation apartments, our Hargate House and Davis Place apartments have private, free parking, saving you pounds when you stay as a self-catering guest.

Better standard of Care

Self-catering providers for leisure guests, contractors or businesspeople also offer a better standard of care for their guests. As the self-catering accommodation companies in Peterborough are typically smaller companies, they can offer a more personalised service and are but a phone call or WhatsApp message away to tend to any issues that you may be experiencing.

Dario Nigro, the owner of Letto Serviced Accommodation in Peterborough is also a highly experienced and highly qualified gas engineer and plumbing & heating expert, meaning that issues can be diagnosed and fixed much faster than having to call another expert out to the property. This also means that less tends to go ‘wrong’ in LSA properties, as Dario can spot anything that needs attention when guests have checked out from the properties, ensuring a more pleasant stay when guests do stay.

Cleaning

A misconception about most self-catering stays is that there is no cleaner, when that is not the case with Letto Serviced Accommodation.

We send in a cleaner on a weekly basis and after every guest checks out. You will be given fresh towels and linen also. If cleaning is inconvenient for you when the cleaner is due to come round, providing we have 24 hours of notice, we can postpone the cleaner’s visit also.

Centrally Located

Much like hotels, self-catering apartments are centrally located or located near A Roads or M Roads (ideal for contractors or businesspeople to get quick access to the road networks), which we think is highly important for you to enjoy your stay and not have to rely too much on public transport to get around.

Fire Alarms and Evacuations

From personal experience, if a guest at a Travelodge hotel burns a slice of toast, the fire alarm will activate and the entire hotel needs to be evacuated. It’s great that their fire alarm system works and it is always necessary to evacuate the building for everyone’s safety, but your stay in hotel is, essentially, influenced by guests that are not part of your booking and you don’t tend to encounter this in a self-catering property, which are always equipped with fire safety equipment and doors.

Downsides/Disadvantages to Self-Catering Property Stays

As with any example, there are always disadvantages, but these are the downsides we could objectively think of for self-catering properties in Peterborough.

Employee on the Ground Floor

Hotels typically have an employee on the ground floor that you can speak with directly through the phone in your hotel room. If you need another pillow or set of towels, you can call down and they will arrange for them to be brought to you. In the same flip of the coin, Letto Serviced Accommodation in Peterborough always provide an excess of towels, linen and pillows so that you have everything you need to enjoy your stay.

Bar

Most hotels do come with a bar where you can enjoy a beer or other alcoholic drink on tap. In the same stroke, it is less expensive to purchase your favourite beverages from a local shop and store them in your fridge at the self-catering property. Most hotels do not have a fridge in the room – merely a mini bar.

Mini Bar

We do all love a little nosey in the mini bar to see what sweet treats and Harrogate bottles of water lie in those subtle black boxes. They are convenient, of course, but more expensive to consume the food and drink from the mini bar than to purchase (typically larger versions of those items) from shops and store them in your own fridge in the self-catering property.

Breakfast Provided (or a Built-in Restaurant)

Some hotels do have a restaurant or breakfast set up, allowing you to get fed and on the road without having to locate a restaurant, particularly a restaurant/café that is open when you plan to leave to travel or to get to work. Some hotels such as the Indigo Hotel in Birmingham have a top floor dedicated to a Marco Pierre White restaurant, so you can enjoy some cocktails and some fine food (this is really only practical to go to once every so often if you are working the next day or want to save money).

Price Negotiation & Cost Savings

If you have a booking of 29+ nights or more, we can offer some amazing discounts on your stay, which is something you just can’t do when booking with a major hotel online. There may be more Travelodges around Peterborough, but when you’re staying somewhere long-term, firstly you need to be happy where you are going to be staying (and wouldn’t you prefer a more ‘homely’ atmosphere?) and secondly, you don’t want to be paying through the roof.

For the same Travelodge in Edinburgh in the example above, they actually don’t allow you stay more than 28 nights also:

And you can’t select more than 3 guests:

Therefore, if we base the price on 27 nights, 3 guests and the SuperRoom rates (as that’s the closest to feeling like a self-catering hotel) instead, the price comes to £3990:

Then you have parking on top at £25 per night, which equates to another £675 (£25 x 27 nights)!

Making the total cost of £4665.53. And that excludes free Wifi.

If you take the same dates for the same number of people, we have two self-catering apartments to choose from. Hargate House has a free parking space and free Wifi, therefore you’re saving £615.53 by staying with us in a self-catering/serviced apartment, complete with all the amenities you would expect at home, such as a kitchen to cook, washer, dryer, TV and more.

Reviews of Guests Who Have Stayed in One of Our Self-Catering Accommodation Properties in Peterborough

“It was a godsend that we found this property so close to Roxhill/Peterborough gateway. Booked it for a team working on the new Amazon warehouse who stayed for 9 weeks. Location was great, literally 5 minutes away and had plenty of space for everyone 👍🏻 Highly recommended to any contractors working in the area.”
– Frahana Rashid

“We’ve just stayed at Davis Place House and wanted to say a big thank-you to Letto! Dario made us feel really welcome, great check in and the property itself lovelier than the photos; excellent, clean, spacious and amazing wifi which pleased the teenagers. Super location and lovely and peaceful, lots of restaurants and shops nearby. Highly recommend.”
– Bren Parkins-Knight

“Working in Peterborough at alwalton hill, this property was within a 5 minute drive, the area was quiet and property was more than perfect for us 5 lads, ample parking aswell, would book again.”

– Paul Aubert

“We stayed at the Davis Place accommodation for 6 weeks whilst we were waiting for our new property to complete.  Dario really looked after us. He was very patient whilst we waited for an exchange date so we could confirm dates with him and that was so important as we could have been left without anywhere to go.  The accommodation is lovely, very spacious, clean, well stocked and furnished and very comfortable with great access to local amenities.  Would thoroughly recommend Dario as a host.”

– Terry & Ursula Young

“Stayed here for a couple of weeks with work and it was perfect! Very quiet and comfortable! Highly recommend”

– Alexander Ruggiero

“Perfect place for a weekend getaway with some mates, nice facilities and the host Dario has been great leading up to the visit, during and after. Honestly we’ll be back, thanks again!”

– Oliver Rimmell

“Booked this whilst doing some work in the area, was clean, spacious and great value for money.”

– James L

Some Facts About Self-Catering Stays

Self-Catering (or Serviced) accommodation is an industry that’s in demand from the consumer, now that holidays are allowed to be booked again, and what we’ve seen is a demand for UK-based holidays over holidays where people go abroad.

Price Increases on Major Booking Websites

“Self-catered accommodation in the UK is costing on average 40% more than in the summer of 2019, according to consumer group Which?.” According to the BBC. And one property owner explained “prices had gone up to meet the high demand, but added: “A lot of pricing we don’t have control over. “If you’re booking by third-party advertising website, they’re putting commissions on the actual end price.”.

In that case, it might become the norm where consumers try to find the property owner and book directly, as places like Booking.com and AirBnB are increasing their commissions to cover their own costs. This is not something that is advertised by those websites and so you can save money by going directly to a serviced accommodation company, such as Letto Serviced Accommodation based in Peterborough.

Consumers do Their Due Diligence

Furthermore, 73% of consumers check “reviews before booking accommodation online”, according to Statista. If customers see bad reviews, they will go elsewhere. And with such a high percentage of people doing their research before they stay, it makes self-catering property owners motivated to ensure that the care is given to the customer when they stay, that the property is in great condition when guests have checked in and the property is a nice, comfy place to stay, particularly for long periods of time where contractors may be staying in a property and they don’t want to be miserable where they are staying after a long day at work.

Lockdown Recovery

Each time we come out of lockdown, the hospitality industry recovers more and more, which is great to see, therefore bookings are more likely to be honoured as businesses are not going bust as much as they were through lockdowns.

July and August are the Busiest Months

We all know that people tend to go on holidays in July and August, so be sure to get your stay booked in advance if you know you will be needing self-catering accommodation in Peterborough in these months.

In Conclusion as to why Leisure Guests and Businesses Should Seek Self-Catering (or Serviced) Accommodation in Peterborough

We hope the above information has given you some insight into why people should seek self-catering properties if they would like to save money and have a more pleasant, stress-free time, whilst having the ‘home from home’ experience.

Peterborough is also a thriving city with many events and transport options, making your stay more enjoyable.

Enjoy self-catering accommodation in Peterborough with Letto Serviced Accommodation.

Call us on 01733 785188 or go to https://www.lettoaccommodation.co.uk to check availability and book your serviced accommodation in Peterborough.