What Is ‘what3words’ And How Can You Use It To Your Advantage?

If you’ve stumbled on one of our properties recently, you might have discovered a heading on the left-hand side of our page. You may have thought ‘what in the world is this?’ (pun intended…we promise you’ll understand later) or even just scrolled past by accident…but prepare for this amazing piece of tech to change your life!

The heading is actually clickable, and it will take you to a website called what3words.

It’s a nifty gadget you probably didn’t realise you needed, and we’re about to give you a full brief on exactly what it is and the benefits to you. Warning – you might forget that Google Maps even existed.

Keep on reading to find out more…

What Is what3words?

Have you ever had the bother of trying to find the front entrance to a building you need to enter, or on the flip side, ever felt the stress of trying to find your friends at a festival? If so, what3words can help.

It’s a super clever location tool – available as a free app or website – that has divided the entire world into 3-metre squares, with each square having its own unique combination of 3 words: a what3words address

You might now be asking yourself the same question we asked when we first heard of it – what is the point (especially if you already have a maps tool on your phone)? Yep, it can seem a bit pointless at first but hang on…

what3words addresses are FAR more precise than street addresses, allowing you to pinpoint the exact entrance you need. A postcode is for the whole street, building numbers will just give you the location of the property. But with what3words you’ll know the EXACT SPOT you need to be at.

So, to put it simply, wherever you’re looking to go, what3words can give you the exact location of where you need to be in the world.

It’s more reliable and makes travelling in unfamiliar places safer – especially when you arrive after dark. Emergency services use it as well, so if you ever need to call them, just say your 3 words – they’ll know where to find you.

It’s EVEN available in 50 languages and the free app works offline, so you can find places abroad without expensive data roaming charges…what more could you want?

Where to get it? It’s easy… find it in the Apple Store  or download for free from the Google Play Store

If you want a full debrief on the app – check out their Youtube Video.

Why Is what3words Important?

As you can already begin to imagine, what3words is a versatile tool, which can be used throughout your everyday life. From sharing the exact location of your picnic with mates, to locating your lost friend group on a night out or finding the exact location of your student accommodation when you’re new to the city.

85% of the UK’s emergency services use what3words to know exactly where to send help – particularly if they are locating individuals injured in the countryside, at events and in remote areas.

Couriers and delivery drivers can use it to ensure they’re directing their parcels to the right address. This saves time, confusion and a whole heap of phone calls trying to locate your parcel.

Uber is another company making the most of what3words. This means to order an Uber to your exact location, you simply need to say three words and you never have to worry again…crazy – right?

Hermes, Premier Inn, Airbnb, Mercedes-Benz, BT Openreach and Domino’s are amongst the thousands of companies using what3words to get people. deliveries and services delivered exactly where they’re needed.

How Can You Use It Whilst Living At Your Student Accommodation?

When it comes to student accommodation, being able to find the exact location can come handy, especially when you’re new to the city or country. A bit less confusion, and a lot more safety – can’t complain really, can we?

Firstly, most student accommodation properties are huuuuge! Some have a few different blocks, and there might even be a whole student village. Surely, you don’t want to be parking too far away from the right building and dragging your suitcases around?! what3words makes it super simple to find the right entrance and beat the queues.

For example, maybe you’re heading to Birmingham for uni and you need to find the entrance to our property – Canalside…just type bleak.skinny.slips into the what3words’ app search bar and tap ‘Navigate’ to get directions straight to the front entrance. From here, you can spend time with your parents planning where to park the car to make the process easier for you!

It’s also a brilliant gadget if you’re trying to direct your new uni mates or visiting parents, who are planning to come by. It will allow them to pinpoint you, saving time and making them feel secure about their whereabouts.

what3words makes life a breeze, especially with all those adult duties you don’t fancy completing. It’ll make it much easier to find locations, meaning you’re not wandering around in circles!

Travelling in the dark? what3words can make you feel extra safe knowing you’re not going to have to fumble around trying to find the entrance to your student accommodation.

Overall, what 3 words is a completely versatile tool and a handy app with so many uses – we’re obsessed! Like we mentioned before, you can find the clickable link on our property pages underneath the ‘Get Directions’ heading. How amazing does it feel that you’ll NEVER have to worry about maps and locations again?