I went to Bruges last year with four friends (after seeing the film!) and we stayed in a holiday apartment. It worked perfectly, for a number of reasons.
- Two of the evenings we sat together in the lounge, having a drink and watching TV before we went into the town for dinner.
- One morning someone went out and bought some pastries, crusty bread and cheese for breakfast, which we all ate together on the dining table.
- The five of us were all together in the same apartment instead of potentially being spread over a hotel, which made it easier to spend time together.
- Best of all, we paid only 20€ each per night to stay in the centre of Bruges!
View over Bruges
Within the HouseTrip team, we’ve all had many great holiday apartment experiences like these. That’s why we really want to get the message out that in many situations, holiday apartments beat hotels hands down.
But which situations?
We’ve always had the sneaking suspicion that holiday apartments are ideally suited to groups of friends or families, and it now looks like we were right!
Because HouseTrip enquiries and bookings go through the site, we have an amazing volume of data, even in the short time that we’ve been in operation. I was playing around with some numbers recently 
and I noticed something quite interesting. Around half our bookings are currently coming from groups of at least four people. If you compare that to hotels, you’re looking at totally different demographics.
We had a chat to some of our guests to get some feedback and work out why groups of friends and families prefer holiday apartments to hotels. There were of course many different responses, but there seem to be four main reasons:
- More space. Holiday apartments are normally over 50 sqm and include a lounge, compared to a cramped hotel bedroom or packed dorm room.
- More facilities. Holiday apartments normally offer excellent self-catering facilities including a fully equipped kitchen. This means that if you have a budding Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsay in your midst, you have the option of eating in.
- More options. Holiday apartments normally provide sofas and a TV, so you can relax together in the evening over a bottle of wine or a cold beer. You’re not limited to going out, going to the bar or huddling in each other’s rooms. You can always go local and order a takeaway!
- More cost effective. Last but definitely not least, it’s normally cheaper for groups to stay in a holiday apartment than a hotel.
And you can use the money you save on accommodation to buy all sorts of things. Like this 
Bizarre patented chocolate breasts in Bruges
If that doesn’t persuade you to book a holiday apartment (or go to Bruges), I don’t know what will!
Another Swiss start-up: HouseTrip.com
2 years ago[...] As well as great prices, you also get more space, more facilities, and more options! They are especially good for groups of friends or family, because you can all stay in the same place and relax and eat together. Beautiful loft apartment in [...]
Ben
2 years agoWhy else do you love holiday apartments? Please leave your comments here!