Any luck with Furnished Finder for extended (corporate) stays?

[AJ Vanderhorst]

Has anyone had luck using Furnished Finder to book extended stays (over 30 days)? 

I'm transitioning several STR properties to month-to-month in a desirable downtown Kansas City, MO location. I decided to give Furnished Finder a try, and after about a month, the only leads I've seen seem to be 1) sent to every host with a listing in the KC metro area, guaranteeing a deluge of responses, and 2) catering to folks (typically traveling nurses) who want to pay below market for a fully-furnished, all-utilities paid apartment.

Has anyone had luck generating leads this way? The idea of hosting medical professionals is appealing, but the budget numbers I've heard them quote are disheartening. For example, my 1BR downtown loft makes upwards of $2500 a month via short term stays. I get the impression I'd have to list it around $1200/month to attract traveling nurses, which is negligibly more than what I'd make with a traditional long term lease.

I've considered CHBO, but the reviews aren't great. Any other tips on breaking into the extended stay market would be appreciated! 

[David Bergmann]

We've been using Furnished Finder to fill our units during the down season (winter).  The revenue (and net profit) is greater than traditional rentals, but less than AirBnB/VRBO/etc.  We've been pricing the Furnished Finder units at ~1.25 - 1.5x relative to traditional rentals for the 3-4 months stays, whereas AirBnB nets somewhere between 2-3x (depending on month).  The obvious advantage to the 3-4 months stays is that you have a more passive and guaranteed income stream, so this is a trade-off you must weigh for your situation.  I think it works really well to limit the downside risk of a down season, but I wouldn't trade any of my good months for it.

I also wanted to mention that you may also want to take a look at posting your unit on Facebook groups.  There are a number of groups catering to travel nurses (Travel Nurse Housing - The Gypsy Nurse) that we've received several leads through (free).  

The other thing we noticed with the travel nurses, is it seems they are finding out about their assignments / locations at the very last minute (0-2 weeks in advance).  For instance, we got 3-4 messages in the 7 days before new years asking to move-in on 1/1...so something to keep in mind.