Hotel or apartment rental: which costs less for your group
The short answer
Neither is automatically cheaper. Compare the final total for the same beds, nights and location: an apartment can compete when a group would otherwise need several hotel rooms or wants a kitchen, and fixed cleaning and service fees weigh more on a short stay. MTC does not price apartments, so it cannot say which wins for your trip.
The worked example uses MTC's hotel model — one room per two travellers — to show how the stay grows in steps as the group grows. That step is where a single apartment can compete.
Read the apartment's total at checkout, not the nightly rate: cleaning, service and security deposits, and local taxes may be added. Check cancellation terms too; they are often stricter.
How to do it
1Fix the beds you need and the area you want to stay in.
2Price the hotel as the number of rooms your group really needs.
3Price the apartment at its checkout total, fees and taxes included.
4Weigh the extras: a kitchen can cut food costs; breakfast, daily cleaning and a front desk are hotel services.
Worked example
The same trip priced for two, four and six travellers in hotel rooms.
Scenario: Portugal · departing Riyadh · June · 7 days · 4 travellers · Mid-range · SAR · flights included
Travellers
Getting there
Ground spending
Whole-trip total
Ground cost per person per day
2 travellers1 room
5,250–8,150 SAR
7,800–12,300 SAR
13,050–20,450 SAR
550–900 SAR
4 travellers2 rooms
10,450–16,350 SAR
15,450–24,400 SAR
25,900–40,750 SAR
550–850 SAR
6 travellers3 rooms
15,700–24,500 SAR
23,100–36,450 SAR
38,800–60,950 SAR
550–850 SAR
What this example assumes
On-the-ground costs come from the site's cost bands, whose data reference is 2026-08-23. Loading this page does not refresh that data.
Rooms are one room per two travellers. There is no children's pricing and no age-based discount anywhere in the model.
Airfare is modelled from the departure metro and the travel month. It is not a quote, and if you already hold a real fare you should enter it in the calculator so it replaces the modelled one.
Cost data reference: 2026-08-23. Opening this page does not refresh it.
Where this goes wrong
Comparing an apartment's nightly rate with a hotel's total.
Choosing a cheaper apartment far from where you will spend your days, then paying the difference in transport.
Missing a stricter cancellation policy or a security deposit.
What this guide does not do
Every figure on this page is a modelled estimate built from typical costs for the stated scenario. It is not a live fare, not a live room rate, not an offer and not a booking.
MTC does not price apartment rentals; the table shows the hotel side so you can compare it with a real apartment total.
