Cheap meal ideas in hotel for 1 week for work

[Boxshibe]

I'm staying in a hotel for work in a weeks time. I need some meal/food ideas. It's room only and I don't have the money to eat out every night and don't really want to eat sandwiches every night. ill have a kettle. Anyone got any ideas?

Please speak to your company, I would hate for any of my staff to be out of pocket for work trips

My friend had to do something similar for work, she reserved a small slow cooker from the nearest Argos to hotel, went to supermarket on night 1 and bout a meal for night 2, she cooked it over night whilst she was asleep, switches it of and wrapped in a towel ( to keep heat), then when she got back to her room plugged sc in again to reheat whilst she had a shower etc, was even better if she managed to get back to room earlier than planned... She then popped it all on a plate, filled the sc bowl with warm water, let that cook up whilst she lay on her bed and ate dinner and watched TV, ...she actually said it was the best, cheapest and easiest thing to do in a hotel.. could you maybe do this ?.

Can you just be honest and ask for a salary advance or petty cash? If you were one-off my staff I'd support it or give you £100 to tide you over and return once ex's paid.

That is mad they are expecting you to front the cost of the hotel then get expensed. Does your line manager not have a corporate card they can call up and prepay for the room?

@Boxshibe id you can cancel for free, look at booking an airbnb or self contained apartment? Might cost a bit more for the accommodation but you’ll save on food etc

You can get a reasonable feed in Wetherspoons for £10.

Ask for an advance, I had similar in covid where I was racking up accommodation, travel and Covid Test expenses of over 1.5k a month and waiting until next pay cheque for payment.
In the end I asked for advances on all prepaid expenses, it was agreed.

Does the hotel have a restaurant on site? Could your work pre-pay for your meals or pay on invoice?

Cup a soup in a large mug, break a cheapo noodle block over it. Hot water. Wait. Eat. Bloody lovely.

I do think in your circumstances asking your boss for an advance is absolutely reasonable

Sorry have I misunderstood and you have to pay for the hotel room and then get refunded by work? I would research air bnbs (rent room with shared kitchen) traditional b&bs nearby to hotel etc and tell work you can simply not afford to be out of pocket and if they want you to stay in hotel they need to pay for that and give you a food budget.

If this is not possible do you have a toasted sandwich maker at home that you could bring? Then you could make toasted sandwiches etc. Pot noodles/instant individual mash potatoes/cup of soup are also options. Hopefully there is a nearby supermarket, get things like quiche and a bag of salad leaves etc. Deli counter my have cooked chicken pieces and potato wedges or similar. Boil in the bag veg in kettle and maybe some instant gravy. Bring a plate, knife and fork etc.

Find out what your male colleagues do in this situation. I bet they're not going what you're doing!

Definitely ask for an advance to cover meals.

I had an employer like this - expected me to go to London for 3 days, they paid the hotel & flights but expected me to pay for travel in London & food then claim back on return. It was the week before pay day & I earned minimum wage.

FFS your employer shouldn't be expecting you to live on pot noodles and getting into financial difficulties while travelling for business, whatever your financial circumstances.

Speak up woman. There will be options and solutions that allow you eat properly each night. They'll be able to send you an advance, so ask them to do that.

Will your work let you claim supermarket stuff? Mine is funny about stuff that comes in multipacks for example because the tax rules are strict and so you can only buy stuff for one meal rather than a pack that can be spread over three. Even though it's cheaper for them.

It's normal to request an advance when it's so much. The cost of the hotel and travel at a bare minimum. I would look into a credit card, I put expenses on that

Not everyone can get / wants a credit card.
Depending on the employer an advance may not be possible or desirable.
There is no "just..." in some circumstances.

Thermos flasks are good... You can cook rice or pasta (not spaghetti) - Heat the flask with boiling water tip out the water add 1 part white rice/pasta and 2 parts freshly boiled water. Leave for 10-15 minutes at least.
Use stir through sauces for flavour. Noodles more water and shorter cook time. Also fresh filled pasta.
Vegetables also work well in residual heat cooking.
Cold meals.... Quiche, salads... possibly better in the summer.

Don't forget tea / coffee!

Thanks all . I'll pick up some coffee too

Have I read this correctly that you have had to pay £600 up front for a work trip and will get reimbursed the following month? That is madness!

Yes that's correct- trains- taxis to work and hotel come to £600. Then food can budget £100. So in total I'll be £700 out of pocket till they reimburse me most.

@Boxshibe if you like decent coffee, I find the single use filters better than coffee bags, but I'm a bit coffee dependant so I'd probably bring a cafetière if there for a week.

If you decide to buy a cool box get a Colman marine. They are more expensive than the cheap options but will keep ice for 3 days. Although at £50 it would blow half the food budget.

It’s absolutely appalling you are expected to shell out this much. Your hotel and trains should be booked for you in advance, and if you don’t have a company card then you should get a cash advance for food.

I would really talk to HR. This sounds like your accounts department letting you cash flow them, or just being idle (they always hate cash advances). But failing that you can get a card like Vanquis if you have a low ish rating, as long as you pay it off it’s fine.

Anyway, for me it’s Moma porridge sachets, tins of tuna with ring pulls, fruit, salad, tomatoes, bread cheese, ham, humous, those packets of pre-made lentils.

I’d probably get couscous sachets and cuppa soups to have something hot at night. You can boil eggs in the kettle if you want.

If it’s a cheap hotel they might have a guest microwave in which case you are golden.
They will give you crockery and cutlery.

Still not sure why you can't get the money before ( eg £50 per day or whatever their allowance is) or a credit card from company?

@BarbaraofSeville

£100 quid is not going to cover 3 meals a day if the OP eats in the hotel restaurant, or any restaurant - not even last year, never mind this.