Working away from home - budget accommodationLater this week I’m off to London to start the Key Person of Influence programme with Daniel Priestley and Mike Harris, who set up Egg and First Direct. The offer to stay in a friend’s flat while he was away hasn’t worked out, so I needed somewhere to lay my head for the night, preferably in or near Bloomsbury, where the training takes place, and preferably budget-priced, bearing in mind I literally only need a bed.

Twitter’s always a good place to get a quick answer to an ‘Anybody know…?’ kind of question, and sure enough, I quickly got several responses, all of them worth bookmarking. But in the meantime I’d remembered a site called Crashpadder.com, where people with a spare room rent it out to weary travellers at a rate much lower than a hotel. What a great idea in these cash-strapped times – extra income for the householder and a pleasant, friendly bargain place to stay for those away from home.

I’ve booked a delightful-looking room a mere 10 minutes walk from the hotel where the training is held. I’ll let you know how my first crashpadding experience goes.

Thanks to my Twitter friends, here are some more suggestions for reasonably priced accommodation in London, in what I’m guessing is descending order of cost:

At Home in London – good quality B&B in comfortable, attractive homes, at out-of-town prices

20 Nevern Square in Earls Court where apparently you can get a good deal on B&B. (Website says small double from £79)

Soroptimist Residential Club on Bayswater Road (open to all despite its name)

Travelodges – probably a bargain if you book much earlier than me, as the site advertises rooms at £19 during the winter, but those available were from £160!

Easy Hotels – I walk past one of these on my way to and from Paddington station and would be really interested to know what they’re like

Tune Hotels – rooms here are very small, but from £9 a night for the room you can’t really complain, although I’m not sure how far ahead you need to book to get that price. You pay extra for literally everything else – towels, wifi, cleaning etc.

couchsurfing.org – similar site to crashpadder.com, with members all over the world

Oh, and I always book train tickets through thetrainline.com. Tickets are released 11 weeks before the travelling date and I keep checking after that to try and get them at the best price. I even travelled first class on one momentous occasion, although I’m not sure quite how it happened!