When people talk about the carbon cost of business travel, they usually talk about flights and mileage. Accommodation gets far less attention. Yet a project team working away from home may spend many more nights in bed than hours on the road.

For a short stay, a hotel is often the easy answer. Once a trip runs to a week or more, though, where people stay starts to shape how far they drive, what they eat, how much laundry is done for them and how they feel by the end of the job. That is when serviced apartments and houses deserve a closer look.

Accommodation is part of your travel footprint

Many organisations already measure the emissions from business travel as part of their Scope 3 reporting. The UK government’s greenhouse gas conversion factors for company reporting include a separate set of factors for hotel stays. That is a good reminder that the nights away count too. They are part of the picture, not an afterthought.

Measuring is only the first step. The bigger gains come from decisions made before anyone checks in: how long people stay, where they stay and how many separate rooms you book.

A kitchen changes the way people eat

Serviced apartments and houses usually come with a kitchen, and on a long trip that small detail matters. When people can cook, they eat out less, order fewer takeaways and throw away far less disposable packaging over the course of a week.

It also gives people more control over food waste. They can buy what they need from a local shop, keep leftovers in a proper fridge and take a packed lunch to site instead of buying something wrapped in plastic every day. Many teams who use serviced accommodation for business travel find that cooking and eating together in the evening becomes one of the better parts of being away.

Less daily servicing, less laundry

Hotels are built around daily housekeeping, and for a short stay that is part of the appeal. Over several weeks, though, it can add up to a lot of fresh towels, washed bedding, cleaning products and hot water that nobody really needed.

Serviced accommodation usually works on a lighter schedule, with housekeeping weekly or between guests. Properties often have a washing machine, so people can wash their own clothes when it suits them. Fewer service visits also mean fewer van journeys, and less disturbance for someone trying to sleep after a night shift.

One property instead of several rooms

When a team travels together, a hotel booking usually means a separate room for each person, and each room is heated, lit and serviced on its own. A house or large apartment lets the same team share one property, with one kitchen, one living space and one set of appliances.

Sharing is not right for everyone, and people still need their own bedroom and somewhere quiet to switch off. For teams who are happy to live together, though, moving into one property is a simple way to cut the resources used per person. The admin is often simpler too, with one booking to manage instead of several.

Stay close to the job and travel home less

Location matters as much as the building. Serviced properties are spread through towns and residential areas, so you can often find somewhere closer to the project site than the nearest hotel. A shorter daily commute means less fuel and less time in traffic. It also gives people a better chance to walk, cycle or share one vehicle to work.

Comfortable accommodation can also cut the number of long trips home. When a place feels like a temporary home rather than a room, people are more willing to stay over the weekend. That saves a long drive on Friday night and another on Sunday afternoon.

Wellbeing is part of sustainability too

A sustainable approach to travel is about people as well as carbon. Weeks of eating out and spending every evening in a single room can wear anyone down. A kitchen, a sofa, a table to eat at and space to spend time apart all help people rest properly between shifts.

Teams who feel settled are usually better placed to do good work, and the trip feels less like an endurance test. That matters for retention, for safety on site and for the goodwill of the people you ask to travel.

Practical steps for your travel policy

Write sustainability into the policy

If your travel policy only covers price caps and approval routes, add a short section on accommodation for longer trips. That way the greener option becomes the default, not the exception.

Set a trigger based on length of stay

For trips of a week or more, ask bookers to consider a serviced apartment or house before they default to a hotel.

Put location first

Ask for properties close to the site. Then weigh a slightly higher nightly rate against the fuel and travel time it could save.

Ask providers the right questions

Ask how the property is heated and whether there are recycling facilities. Ask how often housekeeping happens, and whether it can be reduced. Good providers will be happy to tell you.

Consolidate bookings

Plan rotations together where you can, so the team shares one property rather than spreading out across several.

When a hotel is still the right call

None of this means hotels are the wrong choice. For a short visit, a client meeting or a late stop on the way somewhere else, a hotel is often the more practical option. Many hotels also run their own sustainability programmes, such as linen reuse schemes, and that work deserves credit.

The point is to match the accommodation to the trip. Short stays often suit hotels well. Longer stays, especially for teams, often suit a place that feels more like home.

Small choices, repeated over many nights

Business travel will always have a footprint. But accommodation is one place where small, sensible choices add up, night after night. On longer trips, look for somewhere with a kitchen, keep the team under one roof and stay close to the work. Your people will be more comfortable, and your next sustainability report will have a better story to tell.