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Housing a crew of 40: a planning checklist

PlanningWritten by the Workbeds team · Updated · 3 min read

Short answer

Settle six things before you ask for offers: headcount and room rules, arrival and end dates with some margin, the exact site address and how far is too far, vans and parking, what must be included, and who pays and signs. Providers answer faster and more precisely when those are clear.

Why plan before you ask?

A provider can only quote what you describe. A request that says “40 people, Hamburg, October” gets forty different interpretations: singles or shared rooms, one address or three, with or without parking. The answers then take longer and are hard to compare.

Ten minutes with this list saves days of back and forth, and it makes the offers you get back comparable. See also how to compare quotes.

Who is coming, and how do they sleep?

  • Headcount per arrival date, not only the peak. Crews rarely arrive on one day.
  • Room rules: at most two per room is the common standard; singles for supervisors or foremen.
  • Whether men and women need separate rooms or bathrooms.
  • Whether the crew must stay together at one address, or two addresses close together are fine.
  • Smokers, pets and anyone who needs a ground-floor room.

Which dates, and how certain are they?

Give the planned start and end, and say how firm they are. Projects slip; a provider who knows that the end date may move by two weeks can hold the rooms or tell you straight away that they cannot. Ask for the extension terms in the offer, not after arrival. More in extending a stay.

Where is the site, and how far is too far?

Use the address of the site gate, not the city. Then decide the maximum travel: a radius in kilometres or a travel time by van at the hour the shift starts. A wider radius usually brings more offers and lower prices; see how far from the site a crew should stay.

Vans, parking and equipment

  • Number of vans and cars, and their height if the parking is covered.
  • Whether tools or materials stay in the vans overnight, and whether the parking is lit or fenced.
  • Space to dry wet work clothes and store boots.
  • Shift times, so the provider knows about early departures and late arrivals.

What must be included?

Write down what is a must and what is nice to have. Typical must-haves: bed linen and towels, a kitchen the crew can cook in, washing machine, WiFi that reaches the rooms, weekly cleaning of shared areas. Anything you do not name will be quoted differently by every provider.

Who books, who pays, who signs?

  • The company name and address for the invoice, and the VAT number.
  • The payment rhythm your finance team accepts: monthly, per term, or up front.
  • Who on your side can confirm a booking, and who the provider calls on site.
  • Deposit and cancellation terms you can agree to.

Questions people also ask

How far ahead should I book for a crew of 40?

As soon as dates and site are known. Large groups need several providers to answer, and in cities with trade fairs or big projects, beds for the same weeks go quickly.

Can a crew be split over two addresses?

Often that is what makes a large group possible. Say in your request whether it is allowed, and set a maximum distance between the addresses.

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