Healthcare Staffing Report: Feb. 20, 2014

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More agencies choose housing & extended stay hotels - Sponsor Content

Five steps to give your travelers the housing they want without breaking your budget

In 2013, our healthcare staffing customers increased their use of furnished housing and extended stay hotels by 6.8 percent year over year. To help you understand what types of accommodations your peers provide to travelers, we surveyed 52 of our healthcare staffing clients. The result: furnished housing takes the top spot, followed by extended stay suites and traditional hotels.

Click on chart to enlarge.

With demand for extended stay suites and furnished apartments on the rise, it might be a good time to take a look at few quick tips on how you can provide housing to your travelers without breaking your budget.

  1. Encourage cost-effective alternatives to traditional hotels. When you send your traveler housing options, make sure you include a low cost housing alternative like an extended stay or apartment. Though apartments take more time to find and setup, they are generally 35-45 percent less expensive than traditional hotels. Travelers will also appreciate being offered multiple options.
  2. Have your internal housing team compare rental rates with a housing supplier. By requiring your team to compare rental rates with a supplier before signing the lease, you can ensure your company is selecting the best option every time. This is a simple process that you can implement today and will not cost your company anything extra.
  3. Reduce your staff’s time spent searching for housing. Do your recruiters waste time looking for housing?  Why pay your staff to send housing options when you can get options for free? To provide housing options to all of your travelers without wasting your employees’ time, you can request housing and hotel options anywhere in the nation from a firm like, Travelers Haven
  4. Don’t wait until the last minute to find housing. If you don’t plan ahead, you’ll often find the need to place travelers in expensive hotels for a couple nights, which can really eat into a monthly budget. To keep costs down, try to avoid these costly hotels stays by selecting housing before the traveler has arrived to their new assignment.
  5. Shop for the best rates with housing and furniture vendors. Shopping rates can quickly help you reduce your rental rates. Call at least two furniture vendors and several property managers to ensure you’re getting the best rental rates.  Rates can vary significantly between vendors even in the same markets.

To learn more about how you can reduce Housing and Hotel costs through outsourcing, call (877) 592-9444 or visit Travelers Haven’s website.

Elia Wallen is President of Travelers Haven, the nation’s largest provider of housing to the healthcare industry.