@Jim Johnson , crashpads are for out-of-town crewmembers that need a place to stay between trips, paid for out of their own pocket. Crashpads are NOT where airlines place their crews during scheduled trips (although many would love to do just that).
Brian, I never ran a crashpad (considered it a few times however), but I did rent a crashpad for a few months when I was based in Fresno flying for a large regional airline (I live in Orange County). I'm not an expert on them, but I can maybe help you fill in a few squares. (Forgive me if I go over anything you already know. I'm not trying to insult your intelligence, just cover all bases and explain to other readers what's going on.)
First off, your "tenants" are going to be what the airlines call "commuters". No, they're not "commuting" on the highway in their cars from the suburbs. Most of them are FLYING to and from their base of operation (your local airport) and their homes (several hundred, maybe even 1,000 miles away or more). If your local airline is going to hire several new pilots to replace those retiring/leaving, many of those new pilots will likely live out-of-town and several may NOT want to relocate, so they'll "commute" to work.
These commuters can be classified as either "reserves" (crews on-call to fill-in for other crews, often last minute) or "lineholders" (crews with a regular flight schedule). Many crashpads will often separate the two (provide them different rooms), so you might set up a reserve room and a lineholder room. The differences are subtle and explained below.
If they're on reserve, they most likely will have to stay somewhere local because the company is only going to give them so many hours to make their "call-out". For some airlines, the call-out can be as little as an hour or two, although for most major airlines it is typically on the order of 3-5 hours. Some airlines also have reserves with a "long" call-out of 9 hours of more. Those reserves, if they don't live too far away, will sit reserve at home because they have plenty of time to get to the airport once they're assigned a trip. You may still get some of these crews as crashpad tenants because they could get back-to-back trips, with maybe only 9-10 hours between them. It's usually not worth flying home (however short a flight) and flying right back after a few hours, so they'll need a place to stay in town. Then there's always crews that need to fly in the night prior to an early trip or those that get back from a trip after the last flight to their hometown has already left, so they need to spend the night until the next flight.
Anyways, getting back to reserve rooms in your crashpad. Usually, reserves will get their own assigned bed because they tend to spend much more time in the crashpad than the other type of crewmember, the lineholder (more on them later). That's because a reserve may not get used on some or many of his work days, BUT HE STILL HAS TO BE THERE, just in case. Reserves are sometimes even charged a higher rate per month since they tend to use the place more.
Now, lineholders are crews with pre-determined schedules. They already know in advance when and where they're flying, so they can plan ahead which days and nights they'll need to crash at the crashpad. Since they rarely sit around the crashpad waiting for a trip, they're not there as often or as long, perhaps 3-4 times a month tops. Some crashpads will provide them with their own assigned bunk, but several crashpads will "hot bunk" in the lineholder rooms. That means on the days or nights a lineholder has to stay at the crashpad, they just grab their bedding from the closet and sleep on whichever bunk is free at the time. Often times the room is all theirs.
Like you said, because the crashpad is a fairly transient stop for crewmembers, there are rarely more than 2-3 people staying there at any one time. If you find more than 4 or 5 crews in a 3 bedroom crashpad at the same time, you either have too many tenants or too small a place.
Other issues that will arise with a crashpad: These places are somewhere in between a hotel and a long-term apartment. You will typically rent month-to-month and have fairly high turnover, i.e., some crews will go from reserve to lineholder, some will move to the area, some will change bases to another one closer to their home, etc. You will have to juggle new tenants signing up and old ones leaving all the time. You will have to track payments, keys, etc. Some lineholders may even get a month of "commutable" trips. That means all their trips start late enough in the day they can fly in earlier and end early enough for them to fly home the same day. They may be a tenant in June, cancel in July, and return in August.
Many commuters may have a "commuter" car. This is typically an old junker they bought just to use while in town (while they drive some real nice metal back home). Parking could be an issue, although crews who are out flying or at home on their days off will usually have their commuter cars parked at the airport. The one crashpad I rented had a 2 car garage. No remote openers were provided and the garage was strictly first-come, first-served.
There is also the issue of cleaning, especially the kitchen and bathroom. I think most crashpad owners just bite the bullet and hire a cleaning crew to come in once a week or so and hose down the walls to keep the filth in check. You will also want to provide a stove, microwave, refrigerator, and maybe even a coffee maker and washer/dryer. Remember, this is home away from home for these crews and the better the amenities, the more attractive your crashpad, the higher rent you can charge, and the less likely they'll get "poached" by another crashpad owner. Hopefully, the tenants in your crashpad will "self-police" and keep the place running smoothly (disposing of old food in the fridge, replacing the toilet paper roll, turning out the lights, and so on), but you're asking a lot with different personalities, levels of maturity, etc.
You will also want to provide some modern conveniences such as cable/dish TV, wi-fi, and perhaps a few large tables (for crews to study, update their manuals, lay out their charts, whatever). Typically, you'll provide the place furnished (you can't have 20 guys showing up with their own sofa!).
So that's about all I can think of. Ideally, find a place nearby the airport so crews don't have a long drive to make. Some may not get a commuter car, so they'll have to use taxis or buses to get to the airport. Some crashpads provide transportation, but that usually involves a full-time tenant living at the premises providing on-demand pick ups and drop offs. A moderately sized place with about 3 to 4 bedrooms would be good and you can make half of them reserve rooms and the other half lineholder rooms, but it'll really depend on your mix of tenants. Bunk-beds are common with about 2 to a room (sleeps 4). The last time I contemplated a crashpad in Houston, I was thinking private rooms throughout the place for the older, more privacy sensitive pilots I knew (along with a much higher rate), but I never got that far. Furnish the place with a nice comfortable living room (this is where most people will hang out when not sleeping). A nice sofa, a few easy-chairs, a nice big screen TV with cable and you're all set. Equip the kitchen with a large fridge, a stove, a big microwave, and coffee maker. Crews will typically provide their own china and silverware or just make due with paper plates and plastic sporks. If you can manage a washer and dryer, you'll be a cut above the competition. Provide a good wi-fi router with a fast broadband connection (this is a must as most crews interface with their company via the Internet). Don't worry about providing a telephone land-line as most crews will simply give the company their cell phone number to reach them. One thing that will not be popular is a phone ringing every 30 minutes looking for a different person each time.
Sorry, I know it's a long post, but please let me know if I left anything out (probably something I just didn't know) or if you want me to explain something further. Best of luck if you give this a try.
