Group accommodation apartments: planning a multigenerational or friends' trip

What counts as group accommodation apartments?

There is no formal category. In practice, the term covers any apartment-style stay where several people share one booking or a linked set of bookings. Wikipedia describes apartment hotels as similar to renting an apartment, with a hotel-style booking system, kitchens that usually include at least a sink, refrigerator, microwave oven and stovetop, and self-serve laundry in extended-stay properties.

That combination is what makes the format useful for groups. A shared kitchen and living room replace the restaurant table and hotel lobby, and several bedrooms avoid the need for everyone to share. Hotel Dive reported in 2025 that multigenerational trips often entail guests booking multiple rooms for multiple nights, which is also true of apartments: a group may need two or three units, not one.

Why are apartments popular for multigenerational family trips?

Because group accommodation apartments separate the sleeping from the socialising. NBC News, in a 2012 article of tips for multigenerational travel, advised that a vacation rental offers the best of both worlds: separate sleeping arrangements with common living spaces. It added that rentals work well for families with infants and toddlers because there is always a quiet space for naps.

Demand for the trips themselves is well documented. A 2015 AARP survey of 1,221 people aged 45 and over, fielded in late January and early February 2015, ranked bringing the entire family together as the top benefit of a multi-generational trip, cited by 83 percent. AARP also reports that about 40 percent of grandparents say they travel with their grandchildren, with about one-third taking skip-generation trips without the middle generation.

More recently, the 10th annual US Family Travel Survey, run by the Family Travel Association and NYU's Tisch Center and reported by Hotel Dive in October 2025, found that 57% of parents were planning to travel with grandparents and children in the coming year, and that another 50% said they would seek lodging with kitchen and dining facilities for in-room meals. The survey covered 1,596 US parents and grandparents, so it describes American respondents, not every market.

One big unit, adjoining apartments or separate flats?

Choose the layout of your group accommodation apartments before you choose the property. The Skills You Need guide on holidaying with adult children says that, as a principle, it is likely to be better to get a bigger villa or house than you think you need, or more than one, and suggests adjoining but separate flats or villas so that families can spend time separately. Those ideas apply to apartments too.

The table summarises the three layouts. These are practical trade-offs rather than sourced findings, and each building differs.

How do you agree plans and money for a group trip?

Agree the principles before you search. The Skills You Need guide advises talking about money before booking anything, being explicit about how the cost will be split, and making sure everyone has a veto rather than going with the majority. NBC News similarly advises considering everyone's budget and discussing who will pay for what, and involving everyone in the planning.

Give each person a say on the sleeping plan, the budget ceiling and the length of the stay, and decide who handles the booking and the deposit. As practical advice, one person holding the booking is simpler, but only if the others pay them promptly. The same guide notes there is no need to spend every moment together, which is easier when the apartment has more than one living space or the group has separate units.

Friends, sports teams and colleagues: what changes?

Not every group is a family. Friends, a wedding party or a club often have a flatter structure: no obvious decision-maker, similar ages and a stronger need for equal shares. The same checks apply, but the money and sleeping plan need more care because nobody has the authority a parent or grandparent holds.

As practical advice, decide up front how rooms are allocated, whether anyone pays more for a larger bedroom, and who is responsible if something is damaged. Check whether the operator allows parties or events in the unit, since house rules about noise and visitors can limit a large gathering. If the group is a work team and the stay is arranged by an employer, corporate serviced apartments for teams covers how businesses source and manage that kind of booking.

Whatever the group, put the plan in writing: who is in which bedroom, how the cost is split and who holds the booking. A short message to everyone avoids disputes later and gives the operator a clear list if it asks who is staying.

What should you check in the unit?

Group accommodation apartments magnify small faults, so check the details for the actual unit, not the building. These are practical suggestions, not findings from a source.

• Maximum occupancy, and whether children and infants count toward it.
• Number of beds, sofa beds and bathrooms, and who realistically sleeps where.
• Stairs, lifts and step-free routes for older or less mobile relatives; see accessible serviced apartments for the questions to ask.
• Kitchen capacity: cookware, crockery and table seating for the whole group, plus a full-size refrigerator.
• Laundry: a washing machine in the unit or building, which matters on a longer trip. See laundry in aparthotels.
• House rules on noise, visitors and quiet hours, which can restrict a large party.
• Cots, high chairs and extra bedding, if infants or young children are coming.

How do you book several units for a group?

Booking several units usually means more paperwork. Ask whether they can be confirmed together, whether the operator will place them next to each other and what happens to the rest if one person cancels. Cancellation, deposit and payment terms can differ between rates and between units, so read them for each. The guide to aparthotel cancellation policies explains what to look for.

Timing matters for groups because larger or linked units are likely to be scarcer, especially in school holidays. As practical advice rather than a sourced finding, check availability for your dates before you commit the whole group, and see when to book an aparthotel. For the choice between a hotel and an apartment, aparthotel vs hotel sets out the trade-offs.

Where do groups look first?

Groups looking for group accommodation apartments tend to choose places with space, things for different ages to do and easy transport. The following are examples of places to browse, not recommendations of any operator.

In Europe, look at Barcelona, Rome and London. For beach and warm-weather trips, Lagos, Tenerife and the Gold Coast are examples. For a city break with a mixed-age group, New York and Sydney are two more. Each country hub, such as Spain, lists the cities where aparthotels are available.