If you're the one sorting beds for a crew, you want it settled in one go and not to hear about it again. Here's how to brief us, what to check before the team travels, and how a longer job in Edinburgh tends to run.
Contractor accommodation in Edinburgh: what to send us first
The quickest way to get the right homes is a clear first message. You don't need every detail, but the more of this you can give us, the better the match. It saves a round of questions and lets us reply with real options within one working day.
- The site address or postcode. We'll suggest homes by travel time to the work, not by how close they are to the Castle.
- Dates, even rough ones. A start date and a likely finish is enough. Tell us if the job might run on.
- How many people, and the beds they need. Single beds and twin rooms matter more on a work booking than anywhere else. Say how many of each.
- Shift pattern. Early starts, nights or a mix. It helps us suggest a quieter street for day sleepers.
- Vehicles. A car, a van, or more than one, and roughly how tall. Parking varies a lot by home.
- Who pays. The crew, the contractor, or the client. If the company pays, see our page on company accommodation and invoicing.
Send it through the form above, or contact the team by phone, WhatsApp or email. We'll come back with the homes that fit, with photos, prices for your dates and how far each one is from the site.
If you're booking for one engineer rather than a crew, the same list still helps. Our page for visiting professionals covers single-person stays in more detail.
Where to stay for work in Edinburgh: matching homes to the site
Edinburgh is compact, but the morning traffic isn't. A home twenty minutes from the site at 6am can be forty-five at 8am. Picking the right part of the city does more for a crew's week than almost anything else.
North and the waterfront
For work around Leith, Granton and the port, homes in Leith keep the commute short. Parking can be easier than in the centre, though it varies street by street, and the tram runs down Leith Walk into town.
West of the centre
For jobs near Haymarket, Fountainbridge, the Exchange or out towards the airport, look at Haymarket and Dalry or Murrayfield and Corstorphine, where some houses are bigger and parking is easier to find.
South and east
For work around the hospitals, the university or the south side, Southside and Newington is often the best fit. For jobs to the east of the city or along the coast, homes in Musselburgh and East Lothian are worth a look.
The city centre
Central homes are close to everything, but parking is controlled and stairs can be long. They suit crews who walk or use public transport.
We won't promise a home on a particular street. Send us the postcode and we'll tell you honestly what we have nearby, and how long the journey takes at the time your team will be travelling.
Send us the site address and we'll suggest the closest homes. You can also browse all our homes or see how company bookings and invoicing work.
Vans, parking and tools before you arrive
For most crews, parking is the big question, and the honest answer is that it depends on the home. Getting it right before the crew arrives avoids a lot of grief on the first morning.
- Controlled parking in the centre. Much of central Edinburgh has controlled parking zones. Check the signs where you stop, and don't assume a free space overnight is free in the morning.
- Height limits. Many multi-storey car parks have height barriers that a high-roof van won't clear. Tell us the vehicle, and we'll steer you towards homes where it works.
- Narrow streets and closes. Old Town closes and some New Town lanes are tight. Loading outside a tenement door can be awkward at busy times.
- Homes with parking. Some of our homes have a space or a driveway, more often outside the centre. Ask for it in your enquiry, and we'll only include homes that have it if it's essential.
Tools and kit
Please keep tools and materials in the van or on site, not in the home or the shared stair. Stairs are shared spaces and must stay clear for neighbours and for fire safety. If the crew needs to dry wet gear, use the washing machine and the drying space in the home, and let us know if it isn't enough.
Muddy boots are part of the job. A quick wipe at the door, or leaving them just inside, keeps the home in the state you found it, and keeps the next crew's welcome as good as yours. Our page for neighbours explains how we look after the stairs our homes share.
Night shifts, early starts and a home that works around them
Shift work changes what a crew needs from a home. A great flat for a weekend visitor can be a poor one for someone sleeping from 9am to 4pm.
For night shifts and day sleepers
- Ask for a quiet street, away from busy roads and nightlife.
- Ask about blackout blinds or curtains. Not every home has them, and we'll tell you which do.
- A bedroom at the back of a building is often quieter than one at the front.
- If half the crew is on days and half on nights, separate bedrooms matter more than usual.
For 5am starts
Self check-in means nobody waits for a key. Once you've booked, we check ID for the guests, then send clear arrival instructions and a code on the day. The crew can arrive late on Sunday night and leave before sunrise on Monday without anyone needing to meet them.
Living together for a few weeks
A crew sharing a home for a month works best with a few simple habits: a shared shopping run, a rota for the washing machine, and somewhere to dry work clothes. A full kitchen makes a real difference to the cost of a long job, and to how people feel at the end of a long day.
Remember the neighbours. Quiet hours start at 10pm, and early starts mean doors and stairs at 5am. Closing the stair door gently is a small thing that neighbours notice. If you'd like to see what other guests say about our homes, read our reviews.
Weekly stays and the Visitor Levy on contractor bookings
Longer stays usually work out better value than nightly bookings, and we're happy to talk about weekly pricing for your dates. We'll send the actual price with the homes that fit, rather than a figure on a page that may not match your job.
How the Edinburgh Visitor Levy works on a long stay
Stays in the City of Edinburgh include a 5% Visitor Levy on the accommodation price. It applies to the first five nights of each stay only. Nights six onwards don't carry it. So on a three-week job, the levy is charged on five of those nights, and it's a small part of the bill.
- One stay, not several. Booking one continuous stay rather than a string of short ones means the levy applies once, to the first five nights.
- East Lothian is different. The levy applies in the City of Edinburgh only. Homes in East Lothian, such as Musselburgh, don't carry it.
- It's shown clearly. On a company booking, the levy appears on the invoice.
You can read the full details in our Visitor Levy explainer.
When to book
Outside August and the big events, there's more choice. During the Fringe, Hogmanay and rugby weekends, homes fill early and prices rise. If your job overlaps one of those dates, tell us as soon as you know. You can read about the busiest weekends on our page for accommodation near Murrayfield.
Licensed, checked and safe: what every home has
When you put a crew in a home for a few weeks, you want to know it's legal, safe and looked after. Every home we let holds a short-term let licence, and the licence number is on the listing.
What a licence means for you
Every short let in Scotland has needed a licence since October 2023. To get one, a home has to meet a set of safety standards, including gas and electrical checks, fire safety, and alarms. You can read the detail on our licence requirements page, or the overview on our licensing page.
What we do between stays
- Every home is cleaned and checked between stays.
- Linen and towels are fresh for every arrival.
- If something needs fixing, tell us and we arrange the repair.
On a longer stay
If something breaks part-way through a job, message us. The team answers from 9am to midnight, and there's an emergency line 24/7 for things like no heating, no hot water or a lockout. One number covers the whole booking, so the crew doesn't need to work out who to call.
If you'd like to know more about who we are, our about page introduces the team. We're based in Edinburgh, and we look after homes here and in East Lothian.
Booking several homes for a larger crew
Some jobs need more beds than one home can offer. Every home has a guest limit set by its licence, and we can't go over it. When a crew is bigger than that, we book two or more homes and keep the booking in one place.
How it works
- Tell us the full headcount. Include supervisors, visiting engineers and anyone joining for part of the job.
- We suggest a set of homes. Close to each other where possible, so the crew can share transport.
- One contact, one booking. You deal with one person at Stays In for every home on the job.
- Changes as the job changes. If dates move or numbers change, tell us early and we'll check what we can do.
Paying for it
If the company pays, we can invoice it directly, with the booking details your finance team needs. Tell us the company name, the billing contact and any purchase order number when you book. Our page on company accommodation explains invoicing in more detail.
If you work for a contractor that comes back to Edinburgh often, we'll remember what your crews need: the area, the beds, the parking. That makes the next booking quicker.
Own a flat yourself and wondering whether it could house crews between your own stays? That's a different conversation, and our page for owners is the place to start.
Placing a family after a flood, leak or fire rather than a work crew? Our page on insurance accommodation covers what to send us.
Message us on WhatsApp on +44 7898 116933, or get in touch. We reply 9am to midnight, and the emergency line is there 24/7.