Having worked in consulting & travelled for 95% of the time, I would not wish living in a hotel on anyone. I think my friends thought my life was glamorous flying all the time & going to different places.
Nope.
Nope.
It is my understanding, especially in New York, that it was not uncommon for people to have residency in hotels in the early 1900s. I've always found that a bit interesting. Even today, I know there are some condos you can buy in upscale hotels, where you have access to the amenities, such as the restaurant, laundry, and cleaning services.
Nope. It's stuff like:
Lack of space. Think how much smaller your hotel room is compared to an apartment. You want to buy your own TV, with a sound system, and do an Arduino project? No space.
Poor sound proofing: Lots of noise from neighbors.
No kitchen: It's fine if you're gone for a few days, but if you're in one for a month, you likely will need to cook something. Most people can't afford to eat out all the time (and it's not healthy to do so).
I recall once while in school, there was a new fancy apartment complex being built that students had signed a lease for. Unfortunately, there were delays so the company set them up in a hotel for 2 months till the apartment was ready. These are all the complaints those students had about the hotel experience. Nice in the beginning, but not a good long term solution.
When I visit the US I am always struck by how much stuff people own there, and a lot of that is kitchen stuff specifically. But most of the world -- including many other developed countries -- make do with less and don't necessarily even think about it.
You don't need a large variety of spices, and spices are compact as heck.
If you're going to cook, you can buy same-day or even a few days' worth of food.
It may surprise you to learn that most people want a quality of life exceeding that of a hobo.
Do you really think it's near impossible to endure hotel room or compact apartment living living unless you can absolutely have the tools and space of a full-blown suburban kitchen in there? Comments like these truly remind me of how removed a certain subset is from how billions of people can live comfortably for years on end by improvising modestly.
Similar to another example comment I saw by someone on this site who really thought that it was just impossible to make coffee at home unless he had a full-blown espresso/capuchino machine of the kind some commercial cafe might use.
It also helps if you know you'll be back in your house in a month or even two--and you're fine with just not doing some activities/hobbies while you travel.
[1] https://www.extendedstayamerica.com/hotels/il/chicago/westmo...
[2] https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/mspeihw-homewood-suites-edi...
[3] https://signaturemgmgrand.mgmresorts.com/en/hotel/one-bedroo...
Oh and of course the folks still had to pay their rent those months. It seems like a nice deal because the monthly rates for those rooms are a lot more than the rent they paid but in reality they're getting less than what they paid for.
It's not like these were a Holiday Inn or something!
The difference with modern hotel residences is that they tend to have a full kitchen etc, and be more of a condo building with a hotel at the bottom (usually).
My trips were always the Sunday night out, Thursday night home type, where probably the biggest issue is the disorientation. One Courtyard Marriott looks just like another, even across countries. Rental cars quickly lose any excitement. Stuck in some suburban office park with your choice of Chilibees or Ruby Garden? You can see where nutrition quickly drops to zero if you aren't really cognizant. And then there's the relationship part. If I'd been single it might have been awesome, but I had little kids at home and it was a tough few years for what in hindsight was limited financial and career gain. Glad we live in an era where more of the work can be done remotely.
i think it would be interesting to see more places lean into this. personally, I would gladly give up my apartment's kitchen in exchange for a staffed central building kitchen
the chefs there are probably better cooks than me anyway
I think some of the older ones had shared kitchens, more like a dorm setup.
I'd dare say most people are better off eating from such a cafeteria for 80-90% of their meals, so long as they have the option 10-20% of the time to go out and get something different to switch things up.
I’ve lived in apartment hotels for 1-2 months at a time for the past 6 month and it can be quite addictive coming home to a well made bed.
Learning to make your own bed like that couldn't take more than a few hours... Treat yourself.
Not to mention self-cleaning bathroom.
Time difference, doctor/dental visits, mail, family, and work life balance are brutal.
Getting a call when your partner totals a car, and ends up having one of their worst days, and just needs a physical person to see and comfort them really makes it seem pointless. Life happens and its hard enough when you're able to return home everyday.
Space considerations aside, the worst part is the noise. From hearing people next door due to thin walls, to people stomping around above you, to housekeepers letting each and every door they open slam shut, and more, the best takeaway I had was that if I rented an apartment and it was noisy, escaping to a hotel would not be the right solution.
However, I will 100% recommend booking a hotel over using a vacation rental website (I'm not going to name names to stem aby free advertising).
I do prefer to be home. But let’s not deny that going to a high end hotel in a top tier city is glamorous.
If the breakfast is expensive but you get it for free, it’s going to be a very nice experience
I avoid hotels and almost always rent an apartment.