How does the Sea Containers London ‘Commuter Club’ hotel subscription work?

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• Olly says:

  14 May14 May 05:57

  Which other hotels/groups are still offering something similar?

  • aseftel says:

    14 May14 May 07:21

    I think most hotels will do you some sort of deal if you’re planning to stay that much. Most common would be some sort of custom fixed rate that effectively puts a ceiling on your cost per night (as you can book a public rate if it’s cheaper).

    • Save East Coast Rewards says:

      14 May14 May 08:41

      I did something similar with the Hilton in Bournemouth when I was working in Bournemouth a lot and needed to be there around 3/4 days a week. I like the idea of the special trunk though as it would double as drawers/wardrobe whereas I just had a regular set of luggage they kept for me between stays. They also ended up storing my bike for me for free during COVID letting me collect it once I was able to.

• aseftel says:

  14 May14 May 07:17

  I did a bit over a hundred nights at a hotel in a year, based on that experience I don’t think they have the proposition dialled in.

  The trunk is a nice idea, but I’d want pretty iron clad guarantees about it being in the room upon arrival and the safety of its contents between stays.

  The granola bar is a big miss. I did tend to have a small, quick hotel breakfast, such a a coffee and croissant, but I really valued the variety of a buffet. I assume it’s a cost reduction play but I don’t think these sort of customers will be heavily utilising the budget – time or volume of food – anyway.

  Availability, cancellation and using nights flexibly with friends/elsewhere is good. I had same-day cancellation but I know hotels have tightened up on cancellation terms.

  I’m not sure what the gym/steam room/pet things are about. These seem to be standard for all guests, rather than part of this package. Possibly useful if you can use the amenities even when not staying.

  Important features not mentioned: Rapid check in/out. Upon arrival, I was greeted by name and handed a room key (this was before digital keys). I could check in in under a minute if I didn’t have time to chat. Getting the same room every time (subject to availability) – this was something I requested when I’d figured out the best one in the category. What I didn’t anticipate was how much this helped me feel ‘at home’. Access to GM – they were interested in my feedback as a regular and I knew any issues would be sorted efficiently. Loyalty scheme – this was a chain hotel so I was soon top-tier with the perks that brings on-property and elsewhere in the group. It’s going to be a consideration if you’re doing a lot of nights.

  • Andrew J says:

    14 May14 May 07:56

    Agree that to make it attractive, breakfast needs to be included.

    • Save East Coast Rewards says:

      14 May14 May 08:48

      When I was staying 3/4 nights a week in Bournemouth for work one of the things that kept me using the Hilton rather than find a short term letting was the thought of getting a cooked (or healthy some days) breakfast at the start of the day. I got that anyway as Hilton Diamond but if I ever have to do a similar thing in London I’d want something with breakfast included (I’m sure you could negotiate something with them)

  • Colin MacKinnon says:

    14 May14 May 10:17

    @aseftel A friend used to take a Golden Rail break – remember those? – from Bath to Edinburgh every week, with two or three nights in the Caledonian.

    After a few weeks, he was asked which room he preferred (and was told it was his, except for the three weeks of the Festival).

    When they noticed he was getting deliveries of laundry, they offered to do it “in house” and “on the house” – and did the whole week’s worth for him. Since he was obviously away from home so much they wanted to be his “home from home”!

    And, of course, in those days it was the same staff all the time. So he felt part of the family – to the extent he gave them Xmas gifts rather than expecting ones from them.

    Now that is service and a way to encourage loyalty.

    He ended up moving to live in Edinburgh, and instead spent two days a week in Bath!

  • Bagoly says:

    14 May14 May 11:44

    When I did 4-5 nights a week for four months (at the Kamp in Helsinki) I agreed to just leave my clothes in the wardrobe for them to move (and the laundry bag for them to process – this was on expenses)
    On those weekends when they were not letting the room to someone else, they never did move them!

• lumma says:

  14 May14 May 08:42

  What do you get for the half night on the middle subscription? Kicked out at 3am?

  • Save East Coast Rewards says:

    14 May14 May 08:48

    Looks like the nights included are per year so just averaged out per month

• The Savage Squirrel says:

  14 May14 May 08:45

  Looks extremely unlikely that the trunk will remain that way up at all points of transport and storage, which would defeat the point of hanging stuff up.

  Putting in 120 nights in a year and not even giving you breakfast free? When you write it down you realise how ridiculously mean that is. As above, the stayer would barely touch the buffet most days anyway. With one quick Email, every hotel in London would probably offer free breakfast and much more for that many nights…

  • Andrew J says:

    14 May14 May 09:45

    Even more comical when you read “granola bar” – as if that’s a suitable offering for someone spending that much with you a year. I think this hotel needs a crash course in loyalty recognition.

• SammyJ says:

  14 May14 May 09:06

  Anyone seem a trunk similar to that for sale? It would be great for road trips, to save having to either live out a suitcase or do the pack/unpack every couple of nights!

  • Londonsteve says:

    14 May14 May 11:01

    Excellent point! I’m with you on that, it’s a seemingly old-fashioned solution but so practical. Having to efficiently pack a suitcase on departure day (which might be everyday on some trips) is a real downer.

  • Bagoly says:

    14 May14 May 12:02

    Louis Vuitton sell new ones!
    Or you can pick up an old one at an auction house or eBay.
    They do tend to be heavy (else fragile, like the one shown)

  • kitten says:

    14 May14 May 20:10

    Louis Vuitton, Goyard,or just possibly Harrods as they used to do trunks for kids going away to school and might have adult versions.

    Steamer trunk would be the English search term

• CamFlyer says:

  14 May14 May 09:18

  At that price, I agree that breakfast (for 1) and a 15% F&B discount should be included. For their target audience, it would drive more revenue, in the form of breakfast/dinner meetings and drinks.

• sxparkin says:

  14 May14 May 09:20

  Most hotels including 5 * MO and FS will do a deal on a rate if you agree to stay a certain number of nights per year and you get Club Room access etc I did this in Singapore KL and other international cities a lot in USA – they will back charge a higher rate if you do not as part of the T&Cs…..Personally I do not see this as a good offer as it lack flexibility – personally prefer to approach a hotel chain myself, get points and perks that way Or rent/share a flat with someone/ colleague etc as £3k goes quite a long way even in London to rent a place for your sole use for the entire month……The Barbican has services apartments from £ 190 per night as a random example Hope it helps.

  • Save East Coast Rewards says:

    14 May14 May 10:08

    It’s something I may have to think about sometime in the future. I’ve been based in Italy since mid 2020 and more recently I’ve had to come to London once or twice a month for meetings. So obviously a hotel makes sense in this situation. But if the requirement comes that I need to spend more time in London but not enough to warrant moving back there I’d have to consider my options. I quite like the idea of having an arrangement with a hotel like I did in Bournemouth (now I’m lifetime diamond it doesn’t have to be Hilton) the Sea Containers offer was interesting for the trunk idea but let down by the granola bar (I assume tea can replace the coffee).

• tony says:

  14 May14 May 10:01

  Yep, that seems punchy to me. I stay in London (the City) maybe 2-4 nights a month and know my way around the various options well enough to have been staying in good quality hotels for under £300 a night, maybe with some creative use of points, discount codes or Amex rebates, but you’re definitely paying a big premium for convenience here. I’d have thought you’d also want the ability to get clothes laundered and pressed in between stays.

  • Save East Coast Rewards says:

    14 May14 May 10:39

    Laundry is a good point! Negotiating something for this makes a lot of sense. When in Bournemouth if I knew when I’d next be back I’d often leave laundry and it would be ready for me in the room on my return. Unfortunately I never negotiated a better price on this, perhaps I should have.

    • Bagoly says:

      14 May14 May 11:48

      When paying for my own laundry as a contractor, I have taken shirts in on Friday, and collected them on Monday, to avoid both hotel markup and storage complications.
      I left second pair of shoes and a few other bits in the client office – made it easy to do HBO for the flights.
      Nowadays there are some laundry services which will collect from office (or hotel??)

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