How to organise accommodation for a team on assignment: the method and the checklist

Friday, 5 pm: "The team leaves on Monday for three weeks, can you sort out the accommodation?" No final list, vague schedules, a budget to stick to. And you already know that if someone ends up without a bed on Sunday night, it's your phone that will ring.

Assistant, HR, travel manager: organising accommodation for a team is a real job in its own right, and rarely recognised as one. With a clear method, you avoid oversights, save time and become the person everyone relies on.

Step 1: get a complete brief

Before looking for anything, ask the right questions:

• Where: exact address of the site or premises;
• When: arrival and departure dates, dates still uncertain;
• Who: number of people, names, companies (employees, temps, subcontractors);
• Hours: day shifts, night shifts, 3×8 rotating shifts;
• Vehicles: how many, and which ones (cars, vans);
• Budget: allowance per person or overall.

An incomplete brief is a guarantee that you will be redoing everything two days later.

Step 2: turn the headcount into beds

What matters is the number of beds, not the number of "sleeping places". A sleeping place can be a sofa bed: unacceptable between colleagues over several weeks. Simple rule: one bed per person.

Think about staggered hours too. Don't put the night shift in the same room as the people who get up at 5 am.

Step 3: build the rooming list

The rooming list is the central document: who sleeps where, and when. It is used to book, to inform the team and to answer any question in ten seconds.

Rooming list template

Copy this table into a shared spreadsheet, update it with every change and date each version.

Step 4: choose the type of accommodation

For one night, a hotel is convenient. For several weeks, an equipped apartment (kitchen, washing machine, living space) is often better suited. It's all covered in our comparison hotel or apartment for a travelling team.

Go for a single address for the whole team: commuting, car-sharing and communication all become much simpler.

Is your team heading near Cattenom or Luxembourg? Send us your rooming list, even a provisional one, through the contact form: we will suggest how to split everyone across apartments.

Step 5: set the budget against the URSSAF scale

For employees on long-distance assignment, the French 2026 URSSAF scale sets the accommodation and breakfast allowance at €56.80 per day in the regions and €76.60 in Paris and its inner suburbs, with €21.40 per meal. After 3 months in the same place, these amounts drop by 15%.

These amounts should be checked on urssaf.fr before each assignment. All the details: 2026 French long-distance travel allowance.

Two reflexes: think in terms of total cost including VAT (VAT on employee accommodation is generally not recoverable), and include cleaning and linen in the comparison.

Step 6: secure the arrivals

Arrivals are the riskiest moment: late, often on a Sunday evening, after hours on the road.

• Go for self check-in (key box, door code) when the arrival time is uncertain.
• The day before, send everyone the address, the access code, their room and the on-site contact.
• Say where to park: it's the first question people ask when they arrive.

Step 7: organise daily life on site

On a long assignment, little things become big things:

• Laundry: a washing machine on site saves a trip to the launderette every other day.
• Meals: an equipped kitchen helps keep the meal budget under control.
• Cleaning: check how often it is planned and who does it.
• Wi-Fi: essential for evening reports and calls home to the family.

Step 8: plan for changes

A site always moves: one extra person, a delayed arrival, an extended assignment. Before booking, read the cancellation and modification terms. That's where the organiser's peace of mind is won or lost.

The checklist to copy

• [ ] Brief received: location, dates, headcount, hours, vehicles, budget
• [ ] Number of beds needed calculated (one per person)
• [ ] Rooming list created and shared
• [ ] Type of accommodation chosen (hotel or apartment)
• [ ] Budget compared with the URSSAF scale, as total cost including VAT
• [ ] Arrival times confirmed for each person
• [ ] Key handover or self check-in checked
• [ ] Parking identified for each vehicle
• [ ] Washing machine, kitchen, bed linen and towels checked
• [ ] On-site contact and emergency number shared
• [ ] Cancellation and modification terms read
• [ ] Access details sent to everyone the day before

Team coming from abroad? Add the formalities for posting workers to France.

Near Cattenom and Luxembourg: organisation made simple

If your assignment takes place in northern Moselle, matcha home ticks most of the boxes on this checklist.

• Beds known in advance: 10 apartments, 51 separate beds, for 2 to 12 people. Pick the apartment whose number of beds matches your headcount, and everyone sleeps in their own bed. We state the exact number of beds for every apartment.
• A single address: 7 apartments in the same building in Hayange; three large apartments for 10, 11 and 12 people in Hettange-Grande, approx. 10 minutes from the Cattenom nuclear power plant.
• Stress-free arrivals: self check-in at any hour, support via WhatsApp, parking a few minutes' walk away.
• Daily life sorted: washing machine, equipped kitchen, linen provided, professional cleaning, wifi.
• Changes without penalties: free cancellation and free changes to dates or number of guests up to 5 days before arrival, under our new booking terms.
• Budget under control: about 5% cheaper direct than on Airbnb and Booking, whatever the length of stay.

More than 500 guest reviews on Airbnb, and guests welcomed since 2020.

For one apartment: book online. For a whole team: send us a message through the form, and we will suggest how to split everyone up.

Frequently asked questions

What is a rooming list?

It is the list that shows, for each team member, their accommodation, room, bed and arrival and departure dates. It is the central tool for group accommodation.

How far in advance should I book?

As early as possible, especially in areas where several sites are running at the same time. The longer you wait, the less choice you have of addresses and beds.

How do I handle late arrivals?

Choose accommodation with self check-in and, the day before, send everyone the address, the access code, their room and the on-site contact.

What budget should I plan per person?

The 2026 URSSAF scale is a useful benchmark: €56.80 per day for accommodation and breakfast in the regions, €76.60 in Paris and its inner suburbs, and €21.40 per meal.

What happens if the headcount changes before arrival?

At matcha home, dates and number of guests can be changed free of charge up to 5 days before arrival, and cancellation is free within the same period.