3.4 Accommodation

The administration unit is responsible for making arrangements for accommodation for all emergency personnel, both those arriving in the country at the main office and in the field in the area of operations. Accommodation for emergency personnel is normally in hotels or in rented staff houses. Where neither option is available, it may be necessary for CARE to establish a compound with temporary accommodation (see section 7).

For the initial period of arrival, the CO should identify and book suitable hotels for incoming personnel, considering the following:

  • All CARE staff should be accommodated in the same hotel or closely located hotels.
  • It may be necessary to make a block booking if staff is regularly coming and going.
  • The administration manager should negotiate arrangements with the hotel management to ensure a good rate for CARE and guarantee that rooms will be available at short notice.
  • The hotel must be suitable, secure and close to CARE’s office and other facilities.
  • The hotel should have telecommunication and internet connectivity.

For longer-staying staff, the administration unit should establish staff houses rather than using hotels. This allows incoming staff to be housed immediately and is usually a much more cost-effective arrangement than hotels. However, it also requires greater attention from the administration unit to supply and manage the staff house adequately.

To establish a staff house, the Administration unit should:

  • select appropriate rental houses considering the location, security and conditions
  • negotiate lease agreements with landlords-ideally, fully furnished (a sample lease agreement is provided at Annex 18.4 Sample House Rental Agreement)
  • arrange for furniture, equipment and supplies. This should preferably be included in the lease agreement to avoid the need for procurement. A list of requirements is at Annex 18.5 Staff house furniture requirements
  • arrange support staff or services including cleaning, cooking and security guards
  • allocate staff to housing. Pay special consideration to gender and diversity issues when assigning a new staff member to shared housing. Wherever possible, maintain separate quarters for men and women.