Buy, lease, or hotel: which costs less for your crew?
Last updated 2026-10-19 · Sources listed at the bottom
The three options side by side
| Hotels / per diem | Leased camp (operator) | Owned units | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | None | Low to none; sometimes mobilization fees | Units, freight and set, site work |
| Ongoing cost | Nightly rate per room, rises with local demand | Contract rate per bed, often with a minimum commitment | Your operating costs only |
| Services | Included (hotel) | Often bundled: meals, housekeeping, laundry, security | You arrange or contract them |
| Distance to the job | Wherever rooms exist; often long drives | Usually near the site | As close as you can lease land and permit |
| Control | Low | Medium | Full |
| Commitment | Night to night | Multi-year terms are common | Until you sell or move the units |
| At the end of the job | Nothing left | Nothing left | Units to move or sell |
Buy, lease, or hotel calculator
Enter your own numbers. Leave unit price blank until you have a quote; the calculator then shows the most you could spend per bed and still beat hotels.
Nights = months × 30.4. Hotel math assumes one room per worker every night. Default hotel rate is the GSA FY2027 standard lodging rate ($113, effective October 1, 2026); many Texas counties are higher. This is a planning tool, not a quote or tax advice.
Worked example: 200 workers for 18 months near Abilene
Abilene (Taylor County) uses the GSA standard lodging rate of $113 a night for FY2027. Eighteen months is about 547 nights.
| Option | Math | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Hotels at the GSA rate | 200 × $113 × 547 nights | $12,366,720 |
| RV sites (workers supply the RV) | 200 × $675/month × 18 (Elmdale RV Park’s advertised rate) | $2,430,000 plus the RVs |
| Leased camp | 200 × lease rate × 547 nights | Enter a lease quote in the calculator |
| Owned units | 40 × 5-bed units × (price + freight and set) + site work + operating − resale | Enter your quote in the calculator |
The useful number is the ceiling: at the hotel rate, the camp can cost up to $61,834 per bed all-in (before operating costs) over 18 months and still match hotels. Every dollar of resale at the end widens that margin. See what a bed costs to own for public reference points, and the Stargate Abilene housing page for local options.
When leasing makes more sense
- The job is short (a few months) or the end date is uncertain.
- You want meals, housekeeping, and security handled under one contract.
- You cannot secure land or permits near the site.
- You have no next job for the units and do not want to resell them.
When owning makes more sense
- The job runs a year or longer, or you have back-to-back jobs in Texas.
- You control land near the site, ideally with utilities.
- Hotels and RV parks are full or far, so commute time is costing you labor hours.
- You want to set the house rules, rotations, and room assignments yourself.
Hybrid plans
Many contractors mix the options: hotels for the first few weeks while pads are built, owned units for the core crew, and leased or hotel beds for the peak. Owning the base load and renting the peak keeps the owned units full.
Taxes and accounting
Whether units are expensed, depreciated, or treated another way depends on your entity and use. Employer-provided lodging can also have payroll tax effects for workers. Talk to your CPA.
Longer read: how contractors decide between buying and leasing.
Common questions
Is it cheaper to buy or lease workforce housing?
For jobs of a year or more, or for back-to-back jobs, owning usually costs less because the units are paid for once and keep resale value. For short or uncertain jobs, or when you want meals and housekeeping bundled, leasing or hotels can cost less overall.
How do I find the break-even point?
Divide your upfront ownership cost (units, freight and set, site work, minus expected resale) by the monthly hotel or lease spend you avoid, net of your own operating costs. The calculator on this page does the math.
What hotel rate should I use?
Use what your crews actually pay. If you do not know, the GSA FY2027 standard lodging rate of $113 a night is a neutral default; Midland/Odessa is $136 and Pecos is $125.
What does a camp lease usually include?
Operator contracts often bundle beds with meals, housekeeping, laundry, security, and transport under a multi-year minimum commitment. Compare the bundled rate against owning plus the cost of those services.
Do you lease units?
Ask us. We quote unit purchases; if a lease or buy-back option is available for your project we will say so in writing.
How are owned units treated for taxes?
That depends on your entity and how the units are used and titled. Talk to your CPA before you decide.
Sources
- GSA Per Diem Bulletin FTR 27-01: FY2027 standard CONUS lodging rate $113 (up from $110), effective Oct 1, 2026 (Sep 2026)
- GSA FY2027 per diem rates file (Texas non-standard areas: Midland/Odessa $136, Pecos $125, Big Spring $133) (downloaded Oct 19, 2026)
- Target Hospitality, “Second 400-Bed Expansion to Data Center Community” (press release) (Feb 24, 2026)
- Elmdale RV Park website: 2,300 sites, $675/month with utilities, “6 minutes” from Frontier (checked Oct 2026)
- West Texas Tribune, Frontier Cottages: 399 sq ft one-bedroom units at $1,850/month (Mar 30, 2026)
- Texas used-unit reseller hot list: used 16×76 5-bed, 5-bath unit at $65,000 (2 available) (Oct 2026)
Last updated 2026-10-19. Figures are as published by each source on the date shown; re-check before you budget.