With the 2012 Olympic Games rapidly approaching, the time to prepare your accommodation is now. With London already being the chosen place to host the event, those that are planning on attending are already starting to make provisions, meaning those that do not start soon will not get the first choice of places to stay. When attending the games there are a variety of options in terms of accommodation ? from hotels, to camping, to rented accommodation to Guest Houses.

Guest houses are becoming a very popular choice among holiday makers, and especially those that are attending events because of the advantages that they offer. The flexibility that they offer, coupled with the luxury and ease of making a booking make them perfect for anyone to take advantage of during their stay in London for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Advantages

When you stay in a guest house the atmosphere will be much different from a hotel, and as such you will not have to alter your plans to cater for the other guest's needs. If you want to wake up later for breakfast, or enter your guest house later on than the curfew, then they will be happy to accommodate. You may also be able to influence the menu to get the kind of food that you would like the best, rather than your choice from the options available on the menu.

Guest houses are much more private than a hotel and are much more homely too. You will not have to meet hundreds of guests like you would in a hotel; rather, they cater for a smaller amount of guests and deliver a much more personnel service.

When you visit a guest house you can get to know the people who own the guest house, and they will be able to give you great information on the area where you are staying, travel routes and nice places to eat out. This will be especially useful for the London Olympic Games ? it can be hard to find your feet in a new city!

Guest houses can work out much cheaper than a hotel because the people who own the guest house live there anyway, meaning there are less costs. Also, because guest houses are a less conventional means of accommodation, there will be less competition as a result of the games being on.

Disadvantages

Guest houses are generally not in the center of the city, and as such it will take you longer to get to the events which will be held in the city center. Because guest houses are generally on the outskirts you will also find that public transport will be less reliable as well.

Guest houses may be uncomfortable to stay in if you do not get on with the owners. The reason for this is that because there are less people staying there, you will have to experience more one on one conversation with them than you would ever have to in a larger hotel where you could easily go un-noticed.