How to house a crew of 12 on one invoice

A crew of twelve usually needs one of two things: a single large property that sleeps twelve, or two properties close together that sleep six each. Which one is right depends on the job, not the headcount — and the wrong choice is the most common way a good booking turns into a bad fortnight.

One property or two?

One property of twelve is rare and usually means a converted HMO or a very large house, which brings its own compromises around parking, bathrooms and who gets which room. Two properties of six, minutes apart, almost always work better: the crew still travels as one group, you get real bathrooms and kitchens in both, and if the job demobilises half the team, you are not paying for a twelve-sleeper that is now half empty.

The exception is welfare and safeguarding. Some contracts and some clients require the whole crew under one roof. If that is your situation, say so up front — it changes the stock we look at and it is not something to discover after the crew arrives.

What to specify before anyone gets keys

• Headcount and mix. Twelve men in bunk beds is a different product from twelve engineers who each want a single room. Say which.
• Van count and size. Six vans need driveways and hardstanding, not a hope and a prayer on street parking.
• Shift pattern. A night crew and a day crew in the same house is a fight waiting to happen. Separate them at the property choice stage.
• Bathroom ratio. Twelve people and one shower does not survive a week. We filter for the ratio, you should demand it.
• Laundry. Wet site, high-vis, winter. In-unit washing is not a luxury.
• One invoice. One monthly invoice to the company, not twelve workers each putting a card down.

The invoice question is the one that matters

The fastest way a twelve-man booking goes wrong is admin. Twelve workers claiming twelve lots of expenses, twelve bookings, twelve refunds when the end date moves. The whole point of crew housing is that it collapses to one: one booking, one house, one invoice, one person from the company accountable for it. If the provider cannot do that, you have the wrong provider — not a small problem to work around.

Extensions are where it really shows. The end date of a twelve-man job moves more often than it stays still, and a provider who treats an extension as a new booking has just doubled your admin at the worst possible moment. It should go on the same invoice line.