There’s not a lot of content on the Internet about the cost of living in hotels full time. Most people who adopt a nomadic lifestyle opt for some combination of AirBnb, monthly leases, or extended stays in hostels.
The purpose of these updates is to provide a picture of what it actually costs to live in hotel rooms. You can find all of the semi-annual updates at this link.These numbers aren’t hypothetical. All of these hotels were what I felt was the best available choice for a variety of reasons including cost, ongoing promotions, specific locations, etc. In all cases these are last minute bookings, two weeks or less from arrival.
Eventually I’d like to gather enough data to compare typical rooms across hotel chains or by continent. But this sample is fairly representative of what to expect for anyone contemplating the cost of living in hotels while traveling for an extended period.
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Cost of Living in Hotels Nightly Breakdown
From July 2024 until the end of the year the nightly breakdown was as follows:
- 116 in hotels
- 29 at sea
- 26 visiting family
- 12 lodging at a union training facility
Out of the 116 nights in hotels, the breakdown was as follows:
- 19 in Hilton hotels
- 24 in Wyndham hotels
- 27 in independent hotels
- 6 in Choice hotels
- 33 in IHG hotels
- 7 in APA hotels
Points earned through hotel stays were:
- 122,854 IHG One Rewards Points
- 103,113 Hilton Honors Points
- 41,758 Wyndham Rewards Points
- 33,300 Choice Privileges Points
- 15,481 Citi Thank You Points
- 18,088 Capital One Miles
- 1,702 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
Overview of the Numbers
Keeping the cost of living in hotels economical enough to make sense depends on my job as a merchant mariner. Spending a night at sea costs $0. Over time the cost of living in hotel rooms is averaged to about half when nights at sea are accounted for.
Total cost for that 182 day period was $10,591.30. Average total cost of a room in the second half of 2024 was $92.10 with the most expensive room coming in at $151.68 (Hampton Inn Dania Beach). That average includes 16 nights paid for with points. (204,000 Points redeemed between Wyndham and IHG.)
At the most basic level The average cost per day over a 182 day period was $58.19. That’s equivalent to $1745 in total monthly household expenses. It’s a few hundred dollars’ savings over the cost of rent and bills, not to mention all the hotel rooms I booked last year while paying rent. Overall 116 nights in hotels during this period was a lot. I typically work more than that.
Best and Worst Hotels
The best hotel I stayed in during this period was the Aonang Villa Resort in Krabi, Thailand. $80.28 per night. It’s right on the beach and has full resort amenities.
The worst hotel was the Baymont by Wyndham in Norcross, GA. It was an adequate roadside motel. I was forced to book it last minute during a large hurricane evacuation when hotels were booked solid all over Georgia.
