What "pppn" means, and how to compare accommodation quotes properly
In short
Pppn means per person, per night: the price for one person to stay one night. Multiply it by the number of people and the number of nights for the total, and only compare quotes that include the same things.
If you book accommodation for a team, you will see pppn a lot. It means per person, per night: what it costs for one person to stay one night.
It sounds like jargon, but it is the most useful number in the quote. A house that costs more in total can be cheaper per person, and a hotel that looks reasonable per room can be much dearer once you count every bed.
How to use it
Multiply the pppn by the number of people and the number of nights. Six people for twenty nights at a given pppn is 120 person-nights. That one figure lets you compare a house, a block of apartments and a hotel on equal terms.
What to check before you compare
- What is included. Bills, wifi, linen, towels, parking and cleaning can all be in or out. A low pppn with everything extra is not low.
- Who counts as a person. Some quotes price by room, with a maximum occupancy. Make sure the number of people you are sending fits.
- Shared or single rooms. Shared rooms lower the price. If your crew will not share, price single rooms.
- Minimum stay. Some properties offer a lower rate for longer stays.
Weekdays only
If the crew goes home at weekends, ask whether the property can be booked Monday to Friday only. A pppn is only useful if you are not paying for nights nobody uses.
Ask for it in writing
Ask for a plain list of what the pppn covers and what it does not, along with the dates it applies to. If anything changes, you will both know what was agreed.
Common questions
What does pppn stand for?
Per person, per night.
How do you work out the total cost from a pppn?
Multiply the pppn by the number of people and by the number of nights. Six people for twenty nights is 120 person-nights, so the total is 120 times the pppn.
Does pppn include bills and wifi?
It depends on the quote. Ask for a written list of what the pppn covers, such as bills, wifi, linen and parking, before you compare options.
Related: Contractor accommodation. Shared houses and flats near the site, sized to the team and priced per person, per night.