Monthly Archives: October 2024

A staycation is exactly what it sounds like; a vacation where you stay at or around your home. Many people choose to stay overnight in their own homes during a staycation. Others specifically stay overnight at a hotel to get away from home, but still stay within close driving distance.

Why Staycation?

• Save Money – A staycation can save a family money. For the most part, travel is minimal, so expenses such as fuel for the car, or airplane tickets, are mostly non-existent.
• Bring Revenue to the Local Economy – Local shops, restaurants and hotels reap the benefits of their citizens visiting them rather than traveling out of town.
• No Need to Take Time off from Work – A staycation can often be done over a weekend, as travel is minimal. Many parents can affordably go away for Saturday and Sunday with only the expense of a hotel room and babysitter.
• Easier to Plan – Since most people know the area in which they live, planning a staycation can be a great deal less stress and take a lot less time than a vacation that is far away.
• More Time to Actually Relax – Many vacations require a great deal of traveling, whether it be by car of plane. During a staycation, that time is basically cut down to zero, leaving people more time to actually relax during their time off.

How To Staycation – Get the most out of your vacation:

• Turn off your electronic devices. – Of course most of us will need to check our phones periodically, as we would do on any vacation, but checking email, Facebook and such should be kept to a minimum. Remember you are trying to unwind and not think about work and your daily life. A great way to do this is to spend some time disconnected from your everyday life.
• Pack light – Since many staycations are kept short, there is little need to pack too many things. It is often reported that people who have fewer possessions feel freer and less stressed, so try it while on your staycation. Only bring the necessities, and remember if you absolutely need something you forgot, you are still close to home!
• Plan, but don’t over-plan – Don’t overwhelm yourself with an itinerary. Choose a few local places to visit, or maybe even a spa day. But keep some time open to do what you feel in the moment. Whether that be taking a nap, or reading a book, time to just be can be extremely rewarding.

Staycation Ideas:

• Go to a local festival or free concert. Many cities and towns have events going on every weekend, so check online for them. Often they are free and don’t require time constraints; you can stay for as long or as short a time as you like.
• Rent bikes and go for a ride. If you have a river, canal or beach near you, there are often places to rent bikes and tour the area (that is if you don’t already have your own). If you enjoy being active, this can be a great way to sight see in your own town and burn some calories.
• Take a nap. With the stress of most people’s lives, naps are a rarity. If you like them take advantage and get one or two in while you can.
• Go to the drive in theater. Maybe your town has a drive in and you’ve never been. This can be the perfect time to try something new, and check out a good movie.
• Go shopping. This may seem like a funny idea, but if you are parents and try to shop with kids, you know how hard it can be. Book a sitter and a hotel near a mall or local outlet and spend time specifically to shop.
• Go to the beach or pool. This is a great way to relax, get some sun and even read. Many people live near the ocean or a lake where they can take advantage of the beach for free. If you don’t, try finding a local pool that you can visit. They are often low cost and you won’t have to travel far.
• Read a book. If you are an avid reader and find it hard to fit it in during the week, this is a good time to catch up. Bring something that has good reviews, maybe even two!
• Visit the local zoo. Especially for a family staycation, the zoo is a great place to spend an afternoon that is affordable, fun and educational.
• Play sports. Go bowling, play tennis or any other sport your family enjoys.

CONCLUSIONS

Staycations are a great way to not only save money, but also discover new places in your own town. Ask your friends for local recommendations and search the web. Many people are surprised by the hidden places right in their own home towns.

It is an unfortunate reality that some business travelers encounter unclean accommodation. While the brochures and online advertisements might make apartments look pristine, they can often be disguising the fact that their accommodation suffers from unclean bedding, germs, stains and unidentified odors. If you have experienced this before, you will know just how unsettling it can be to encounter this after a long day’s work or travelling.

A large part of the accommodation market is now catered to with serviced apartments, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend your stay fending off germs and potential bed bugs. Below are a few tips you can use to ensure you find a clean serviced apartment that is everything its brochure and online advertising claims it to be:

Research the venue – make sure you read a variety of reviews on sites, such as Trip Advisor, both positive and reviews offering constructive criticism so you can see what has been written about them. Give the serviced apartments a call to ask them questions regarding their sanitizing practices. If they are happy to answer your questions and readily have answers, they are probably more true to their word than those who skirt around the issue.

Make an assessment on arrival – if the entrance of the building is unclean and messy, chances are your room will be too. When you enter your room, quickly scan for cleanliness. You can also pull back the sheets and check for red and black spots on the linen which can be indicative of bed bugs.

Be vocal about your unhappiness – if your room is not up to the cleanliness standards you had in mind, speak to management about it and ensure they send a cleaner to rectify the issue. It is more productive to make your complaints known to the serviced apartments on arrival than to just write poor reviews about it once you have left. This will help them to make the necessary improvements.

Be proactive about cleanliness – there will always be areas where dirt can collect or be missed during regular cleaning routines of the cleaners. Pack some disinfectant wipes or sprays and simply give your room a spray to stop the spread of potential germs.

What is a serviced apartment and how are they rated?

A serviced apartment, as termed by the ASAP (Association of Serviced Apartment Providers), is a term used to describe a type of furnished accommodation available for short to long-term bookings, which provides amenities, housekeeping and a range of services for guests. A type of accommodation where most taxes and utilities are included within the booking fees.

Hotel bookings are frequently made based on star ratings of quality standards, but serviced apartments aren’t graded in the same way. So how do you decide whether to make a booking with a certain serviced apartment provider? One option is to search customer or guest reviews on sites such as Tripadvisor, Booking.com, eBookers.com or a serviced apartment provider’s reviews on their own website. Based on feedback you can make an informed choice.