A Construction Manager’s Guide to Crew Housing

As the world settles into its new post-pandemic “norm,” the construction industry is taking off again. Hotels, apartment complexes, and other massive enterprises are building new structures and revamping their existing ones.

This is great news for the industry, but travel managers have new challenges to overcome as they house their crews.

Updated government policies, international restrictions, and other regulations mean the “old” ways of handling details aren’t always possible anymore.

However, if you’re a construction manager, these new changes can be a positive part of your travel policy.

We have you covered in this guide. We’ll walk you through every step, from finding lodging with the comforts of home to handling expenses to managing your crew’s travel.

1. Be Aware of Updated Safety Regulations

Most OSHA regulations aim to make the job site safer. However, it’s your duty to make sure every aspect of your crew’s business trip is safe. This is especially true if your crew is sharing temporary housing or transportation.

Check OSHA’s regulations regularly to make sure you’re operating according to the most up-to-date policies.

Related: How to Use Trip Risk Assessments to Keep Employees Safe

2. Finding Lodging

Your crew is your responsibility, even when they’re on the road.

You want to make sure they’re safe, healthy, and content, but you need to stick to a budget, too.

How do you compromise?

One thing you can do is to partner with professionals like Hotel Engine to streamline your lodging plans.

Using Experts to Book Your Crew’s Housing

Keeping your crew safe and comfortable is part of your job. And that means that you should know about the cities you’re sending them to.

Hotel Engine can answer these questions for you, saving you time on research and booking.

Our free hotel-booking software is designed to help travel managers find the right lodging for their crews.

With Hotel Engine, you can narrow down furnished housing for your crew members using dozens of filters:

• Length of stay (check for hotels that have monthly or weekly rates and extended stay availability)
• Cheapest corporate housing discounts or per diem rate comparisons
• Distance to the construction site
• Suites to cut back on expenses (kitchens and multiple rooms save money on meals and room taxes)
• Hotel safety protocols
• Free Wi-Fi, washer and dryer use, and other amenities
• Multiple rooms for crew accommodation in the same wing
• Nearby parking areas for large construction equipment and trucks

Hotel Engine also lets you pay for lodging through simplified automated monthly invoicing system. Plus, you can authorize users to book their own rooms and set travel policies so that each traveler books in-budget.

3. Handling Expenses

The lodging part isn’t the only necessity of managing housing expenses; you’ll also need a system in place to break down essential overhead versus the total cost of the job.

This is one of the first things you need to do to safely make a bid that won’t cost you more than you’ll earn.

To do this, start by creating a budget for job costs. Use a spreadsheet to define your consistent costs, then add any expenses specific to this job. Take the total plus your intended profit and cushion that into your bid.

Here’s an example of overhead and indirect costs to include in your budget:

• Rent/mortgage of office space
• Salaries for the crew, day workers, and other staff
• Office utilities, phone, and other essential bills
• Cost of vehicles
• Equipment financing
• Transportation costs and expenses for housing solutions for each crew member
• Per diem
• Cleaning costs for linens, uniforms, etc.

You’ll also need to account for job-specific costs, such as fees for permits for working in a shipyard.

Simplifying the Expense Process

Your job is important and complex. It makes sense to want to simplify it where you can so you can focus on the details.

Here are a few ideas:

Keep Accurate and Timely Data

Another time-saving tip is to keep up with the job’s expenses in real-time. Synch your customer relationship management apps to send you reports for any costs incurred throughout the day.

You may not get to balance it until later that week, but it’s better than waiting until the end of the month. Keeping your eye on spending lets you track how close to the projected budget you are and make changes as necessary.

Shop Around

Sometimes, you have to make purchases on the spot. But if you have a little time for research, you can find the lowest prices possible for your materials and other expenses.

When you find your preferred vendors and the best prices on regular items, add them to a spreadsheet, along with the contact and ordering info. As the prices change and you connect with new vendors, this sheet can easily be adjusted.

Add a column for any discounts you can use when buying from a certain company.

At Hotel Engine, you’ll gain access to exclusive savings up to 60% — but members also get the benefit of layering discounts using Hotel Engine’s loyalty program and specific hotels’ rewards program. If you use a credit card to pay the bill, you’ll get your credit card points, too. Win-win-win.

You can use Hotel Engine to compare prices for different types of housing options, too.

Shopping around makes it easier to stay within your budget and maximize your profit margin.

Set Up Your Team With Direct Billing

Our Direct Billing feature extends a line of credit to your company that your employees can charge to during their stay. At the end of each month, all charges are billed back to your company, which makes reconciling charges much easier for everyone.

No need to sort through a stack of individual credit card bills!