Are you sending an employee on assignment to Martinique, Guadeloupe or French Guiana, and looking for accommodation more comfortable than a hotel room, yet also compliant with your company’s accounting requirements? The aparthotel meets exactly this need. It combines the independence of an apartment (kitchen, workspace, several rooms) with hotel-style services, while allowing clean invoicing in the company’s name. In the overseas territories, where business trips often last several weeks and where the traditional hotel offering remains limited, this formula stands out as a particularly relevant solution. This article details what an aparthotel really is, what sets it apart from a standard holiday rental, and why it ticks every box for a well-managed business stay.
What is an aparthotel?
An aparthotel (also called a business tourism residence or para-hotel accommodation) is a furnished and equipped dwelling, rented for a variable period, from a few nights to several months, together with services that bring it close to hotel standards.
In concrete terms, it is a complete apartment: one or more bedrooms, a living room, a private bathroom, and above all a fitted kitchen that lets the traveller prepare their meals. To this are added para-hotel services that make all the difference on both the legal and practical fronts.
The four reference para-hotel services
Accommodation qualifies as para-hotel when it offers, in addition to the lodging, at least three of the following four services:
- The provision of household linen (bed sheets, bath towels)
- Cleaning of the premises, either regular or at the end of the stay
- The provision of breakfast or an equivalent service
- A reception or guest welcome service, even if not permanent
This qualification is far from trivial: it determines liability for VAT and therefore the possibility, for a company, of recovering the tax on invoices. This is where the central advantage of the aparthotel for professional use lies.
Aparthotel, hotel and holiday rental: what are the differences?
These three formulas look alike on the surface but follow very different logics, particularly for a company.
| Criterion | Hotel | Standard holiday rental | Para-hotel aparthotel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fitted kitchen | Rarely | Yes | Yes |
| Workspace | Limited | Variable | Yes |
| Invoice in the company’s name | Yes | Often no | Yes |
| Recoverable VAT | Yes | Generally no | Yes |
| Suited to long stays | Expensive | Yes | Yes |
| Services (cleaning, linen) | Yes | Often no | Yes |
The hotel offers the services and the invoicing, but its cost climbs quickly over a long stay and its comfort for working or living for several weeks remains limited. The holiday rental between private individuals offers space and independence, but often poses problems on the accounting side: invoice in an individual’s name, no VAT, non-compliant supporting document. The para-hotel aparthotel brings together the best of both worlds: the living space of an apartment and the administrative rigour of the hotel industry.
Why the aparthotel is ideal for business travel
A living environment suited to long assignments
In Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Guiana, business assignments (construction sites, audits, medical locums, administrative missions, industrial or space projects in French Guiana) frequently spread over several weeks. Over that length of time, a hotel room becomes wearing. An aparthotel gives the employee a real place to live: a kitchen so as not to depend on restaurants for every meal, a separate space to work or take calls, and the comfort needed to stay effective over time.
A budget kept under control over time
Over a long stay, the nightly rate of an aparthotel often becomes more advantageous than that of an equivalent-standard hotel. As a rough guide, the long-stay rates applied in our territories frequently fall within a range of 60 to 120 euros per night depending on the season, the location and the size of the dwelling, with possible reductions by the week or the month. The ability to cook on site also appreciably reduces the catering item of the mission’s expenses.
A strategic location
Our properties are spread across the areas useful to professionals: close to business districts, activity zones, healthcare facilities and the main routes. Discover our properties across the three territories to find the location nearest to your assignment site.
The decisive advantage: compliant invoicing in the company’s name
This is the point that truly distinguishes a serious para-hotel operator from a simple rental between private individuals. For an accounting department, a business stay must generate flawless supporting documents.
An invoice in the company’s name
We issue an invoice drawn up directly in the name and at the address of your company, with its business registration number and, where applicable, its intra-community VAT number. This document constitutes a proper accounting record, easily integrated into your accounts and expense reports.
Recoverable VAT
Because para-hotel activity is subject to VAT, the tax appears separately on the invoice. A liable company can thus, depending on its situation, recover the VAT on the accommodation, a direct financial advantage that does not exist with a standard holiday rental between private individuals. You should check the rules applicable to your regime, but the very principle of recovery is only possible thanks to a compliant para-hotel invoice.
Payment by bank transfer
For a company payment, bank transfer is often the norm: it makes accounting reconciliation easier, adapts to internal validation circuits and avoids the employee having to advance the costs. We accept transfers for business stays, in addition to other means of payment.
An expense report that goes through without a hitch
With an invoice in the company’s name, an identified VAT amount and a traceable payment, your employee’s expense report is validated without back-and-forth with accounting. Here are the items to gather for an impeccable file.
- Invoice drawn up in the name and at the address of the company
- Company business registration number mentioned
- Net amount, rate and VAT amount detailed
- Exact dates of the stay and professional purpose of the assignment
- Proof of payment (transfer or statement)
- Full contact details of the para-hotel operator
