Stingy company ends up spending a lot for hotels

Two of my ex-colleagues were coming to Singapore for 2 months and their boss called me for advice to find a short term accommodation for them. I have given him some serviced apartment and short term rental I have known. He has concluded that it was quite expensive and requested low end hotels. I told him that accommodation in Singapore is expensive and currently it is very expensive. Anything below 100 SGD per month is most likely very bad. Since he was stubborn to find a cheaper place I have given up. I told him they can check internet for cheaper options but they had better check the place with me before booking.  I did not hear from him, even until the arrival date of the guys.

This weekend I thought about them. Since the company will go for the cheapest I thought is there a way that they end up booking a hotel in Geylang. Then I said “no, they are not that stranger to Singapore and they would check it before they book”. Wishful thinking? Two days ago one of these two people called me. He told me the company booked them a cheap hotel in Geylang. I laughed “oh got why the hell you didn’t check with me before booking? I hope it is not one of those with hourly rental rate”. He was afraid it was one of them so they had rushed out of the hotel after only 1 hour of arrival at 5 AM in the morning. Since they were so tired of 11 hours of flight, they could not look for a place. In the evening they have managed to book Orchard Hotel on Orchard Road. “Wow very nice but isn't it quite expensive?” He said it was expensive but they had no choice. Following they could not find a place; most of the hotels were fully booked for the next week. I have started to call the serviced apartments for them with no luck. All were also fully booked. They have then managed to find a room in Beach Hotel. Later I have given them the phone number of Bencoolen Hotel. This is a very nice and central one and I often advice it to people on work trip. This time they could find a room for one they and the hotel was fully booked until July 20th.

Tomorrow they are hopping to another hotel, this time Fragrance Hotel Ocean View. All of the rentals are between 138 and 168 Singapore Dollars per night. They seem to jump from one hotel to another for a long time until the firm bookings they could secure. Lesson here is clear:

If you will stay in Singapore, book your place from 1 or better 2 weeks before.

Check the place in internet before booking. I personally find the quality of hotels quite disappointing compared to the overall wealth of the country. Do not make mistake there are some horrific hotels here and if the price is in the lower end, it is always better to google the place before booking. Some think it is hard to come by a bad hotel in Singapore. It is easier then they think.