What’s Happened to Travel Nurses?

[Kyle Swengel]

Hey BP,

I have a couple rentals that I have up on Furnished Finder for travel medical staff. So far it’s been awesome! I haven’t had a single day of vacancy this past year even though my rates are at or above market for that space. But it’s starting to dry up a bit...

Sounds like contracts aren’t being renewed and the funding for their contracts isn’t nearly as good as it was during the height of covid (makes sense) but now I think I need to get more guests from other sites or career fields.

Do you have other ideas of where to look for guests? I don’t want to do less than a month because I love the medium term rental space. I’m thinking maybe corporate housing? Or putting it up on air bnb/VRBO/booking.com as a month minimum stay.

What works for you or what have you seen? Thanks in advance!

[Rebecca E.]

@Kyle Swengel

I work in a hospital and the number of travelers that the hospital is willing to hire has plummeted in the past 2 months. The goal is to get to zero.

I have pivoted to offer my place to students for their rotations at the hospital. Look up your local medical, PA, NP, CNM or nursing school. Call and ask to speak with the housing or student services person. Typically there is one or two people who are responsible to help these people find short term housing. They often times will give your contact info as someone with housing available.

I pay all utilities, am responsible for landscaping, and have linens, dishes, etc like for an airbnb. I get almost triple what an LTR would get, not as good as an airbnb. When the students move out, you can't tell anyone has been there, since they spend every free minute studying. Often times, I haven't had to do anything for turnover and the students sell your house to the next group, so I don't advertise.