'London 2012' bound? Take care of your accommodations now!

Once the visa and flights have been sorted, it's time to figure out where you will stay!

Nine times out of 10, you will have a friend or relative (long-lost as it may be) living in England. Now is as good a time as any to rekindle those ties because, however you look at it, accommodation in London is ridiculously expensive no matter what your budget. The Olympics happening in London is only going to push up those prices even more. So dust off those email addresses and BB PINs for your university flatmates or your auntie's cousin's friend in London and do a shout-out. Reacquaint and casually find out if they have any plans for next summer. My friend in London tells me that many people with homes or flats in London are planning on leasing their place for the Olympics, so who knows, you may find favour. Even if you don't stay with them for the duration of your trip, just a few nights would really help loosen the strain on your budget.

If you're more a free spirit and don't like imposing on people, then you need to book your hotel like yesterday! This may come as a surprise to you but anything below £30 and £50 for a single/double with shared bathroom and anything below £40 and £60 with private bathroom is considered 'budget' in London. These prices normally jump about 25 per cent in July, August and September.

There are seven hostels in central London which are affiliated to Youth Hostel Association (YHA). Central London's hostels usually get very crowded in summer, so I can only imagine there will be no availability if I were to call tomorrow to reserve for this coming summer. If you want to try anyway, they all take advance bookings by phone if you pay by Visa or MasterCard (which is perfect because BNS just changed out my debit card to their new debit Visa card). Rooms are dorm style with four to 10 beds in a room and communal showers. Double rooms cost more. Be prepared to pay between £19 and £25 per night. YMCA hostels are located all over the greater London area and range between £23 and £69 per night with breakfast.

cheaper hostels

London's independent hostels tend to be more relaxed and cheaper than the YHA ones, though standards can be pretty low. In fact, downright 'dodgy'. However, my hope is that because of the Olympics, standards may have improved and rooms may have been upgraded. Normally, rates are a minimum of £10 to £22 per night.

University halls of residence are subleased to non-students during holidays, usually from the end of June to mid-September. They are a bit more expensive than the hostels starting, at £25 and can go to as much as £165. But you usually get a single room. John Adams Hall is quite a grand residence in a row of Georgian houses and offers single or double. University of Westminster offers singles and doubles for people under and over 26 years of age.

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