Medely provided this article.
Once you have a travel nurse assignment lined up, you can focus on the next big decision: figuring out where you’re going to live. As part of a compensation package, travel nurses may be able to stay in company housing or receive a housing stipend.
Many travel nurses and allied professionals prefer the flexibility, comfort, and savings of finding accommodations on their own. And luckily, the housing reimbursement means you have options! Should you look for a rental property, or is a hotel stay the best choice for you?
First, consider your high-level requirements. These might include:
- Location. Maybe you need easy access to several facilities where you’ll be picking up per diem or travel nursing assignments, or you prefer to stay outside of the city.
- Budget. Finding accommodations that are cheaper than your housing stipend—maybe with a roommate or two—enables you to cut your housing costs and reach your financial goals more quickly.
- Features. Access to different amenities can help you make the most of your downtime.
- Family. Traveling with a spouse or kids can greatly impact the amount of space you’ll be looking for.
- Pet policy. If you travel with an animal, easy access to a yard or park may be essential for your new place.
With your particular preferences in mind, you can compare your priorities with the available housing options.
Housing options: furnished rentals vs. hotels
The pros and cons of furnished rentals vs. hotels
Undoubtedly, your experience with accommodations will vary—every property is different. However, we’ve broken down the usual expectations into potential pros and cons.
Staying in a furnished rental
Pros:
✅ More cost-effective
✅ More home-like feel
✅ More space
✅ Potential access to a yard
✅ Location in a residential area
✅ Full kitchen
✅ More likely to have in-suite laundry facilities
✅ Can be found in many different neighborhoods
Cons:
⚠️ Some rentals are only for short stays
⚠️ Some rentals are equipped for people on vacation, not professionals
⚠️ Fees can be unpredictable
⚠️ Quality of accommodations can be unpredictable
⚠️ Property management can be unpredictable
Staying in a hotel
Pros:
✅ Short term or long-term options available
✅ More amenities, like an on-site gym or pool
✅ Continental breakfast
✅ Housekeeping services
✅ More consistent quality standards
✅ On-site help in case of problems
✅ On-site parking
Cons:
⚠️ More expensive
⚠️ Less space
⚠️ Less comfortable
⚠️ Less privacy
⚠️ Not typically in residential areas
⚠️ May not be close to residential services (i.e., parks, grocery stores)
There is no right option for a travel nurse—some prefer hotels, others prefer furnished rentals and some plan for a combination of both. For example, you may be:
- Looking for a place to live. Book a short-term vacation rental for a few weeks while you get to know the city, learn about different neighborhoods, and get recommendations from colleagues.
- Waiting for a furnished rental. A hotel can be a stress-free option while you wait for long-term accommodations to be ready.
- Focused on work. A long-stay hotel, with all of its amenities, may be a solid option for your whole assignment if you don’t want the responsibility of a rental property.
As you’ll see from the list below, furnished rentals and hotels are two distinct categories, but there are a lot of ways for you to customize your experience. Check out these eight ways to find a suitable property during your next travel assignment housing option.
1. Airbnb — Monthly Rentals
One of the most recognizable brands for vacation rentals, Airbnb has created a category for furnished housing options that are available for 30+ days.
While you can’t apply filters to the monthly rental search results, you can use Airbnb to find various types of rental properties, from condos to guest suites to detached houses. Airbnb acts as an intermediary, offering some degree of protection to both owners and renters—but it is important to look at previous feedback and ask questions that may come up.
Airbnb also makes it easy for you to:
- Browse listing information and pricing without any commitment
- Check out reviews and ratings to feel more confident about your expectations
- Communicate directly with the property owner or manager about any questions you may have
Pricing on Airbnb can be more competitive than on other short-term rental sites, but the service fees can also add up. It’s also important to check cancellation policies; they vary by property and can be quite strict.
2. Furnished Finder
A popular site for travel nurses and other medical professionals, Furnished Finder is a niche site that helps travelers find a house, room, or apartment for 30+ days. It’s built with professionals like you in mind rather than catering to the vacation market.
While Airbnb serves as a bit of a mediator, Furnished Finder makes the connection, and there’s a lot less crowdsourced information from an established community. For example:
- Information about properties isn’t verified
- There’s a review and ratings feature, but it doesn’t seem to be widely used
With this more hands-off approach, it’s up to you to sort out the lease agreement and rental payments with the owner. In exchange, you’ll save on booking fees and markup—Furnished Finder charges the owner a fee for listing the property, but there are no fees for you as a renter.
3. ShortTermHousing.com
ShortTermHousing.com specializes in providing flexible lease options to workers on the move. One branch, in particular, is focused on connecting healthcare professionals with furnished properties for travel assignments, and they say they tailor their offerings to meet your needs. This includes housing options that are close to medical facilities or in a safe and peaceful location that can help you recuperate.
While it’s free to browse the site, you need to submit a housing request to the company itself in order to confirm what’s available and book a rental. This means that the search and booking process may take extra time. And, while you can ask about specific needs or requests, there’s less up-front visibility into each property.
4. Preferred Corporate Housing
For an even more hands-off approach than ShortTermHousing.com, there are no listings on the Preferred Corporate Housing (PCH) website. Instead, you contact them directly, complete their intake form, and they’ll get back to you with potential rental options.
PCH can be a great option if you just don’t have the extra bandwidth to research a new community and find a place to live. They offer professional management with ongoing support, compile all expenses into one bill, and meet set standards for accommodations wherever your rental is, so you’re left with a lot less guesswork.
5. Extended Stay America
If you’re working long hours and don’t want a home to maintain, Extended Stay America might be the perfect medium! Extended Stay America offers a hotel experience for long-term business travel—whether you’re there for a few nights, a few weeks, or longer.
Locations typically offer perks you’d expect with a hotel stay, such as:
- Continental breakfast
- Housekeeping
- On-site gym
- A loyalty program
Each suite includes a kitchenette, and they have pet-friendly rooms if needed.
There’s also something to be said about being in a “shared” environment where staff is always nearby if something comes up. Plus, with standardized facilities, there’s a lot less guesswork about what you can expect.
6. Zillow.com
The most popular real estate website in the U.S., Zillow.com, is known for buying and selling homes—but they also have a category for rentals that can be filtered based on location and amenities (i.e., furnished).
What makes Zillow.com a good option for travel nurses is that many of their listings are managed by corporations or property managers rather than individual owners, which can add an additional layer of reliability and professionalism to your experience.
Using the “Agent Finder” feature, you can also reach out directly to property managers in an area if you’d like help with your search.
7. Tripping.com
Tripping.com is an aggregator that searches numerous accommodation and travel websites, including vacation rental marketplaces such as Vrbo and FlipKey (but not Airbnb). It’s an easy way to quickly get a sense of what types of properties are available in a particular area.
Tripping.com is generally not ideal if you’re looking for a rental to cover your whole travel assignment. It’s better used for stays of one or two weeks, maybe to cover a short assignment or to have somewhere to stay while you find something longer term. While the vacation rentals it features are typically furnished, they aren’t necessarily equipped or priced for stays of 30+ days.
When you click on a search result, Tripping.com directs you to the partner site that hosts the listing. This means not only that rental conditions will vary from one listing to another but also that the policies and protections are different for each site.
8. Facebook Groups
Facebook groups are the “Wild West” when it comes to quality and protection and may not be the top choice for travel nurses and allied pros. However, there are countless traveler—focused groups. Facebook can be a good source for information and direct feedback—just proceed with caution.
To find a group, search for:
- The location you’re going to and travel nursing housing.
- Your specialty and travel nursing (i.e., med surg travel nursing)
- Travel nurse networking groups (i.e., Travel Nurse Housing from The Gypsy Nurse or Nurses Renting to Travel Nurses)
Your home away from home
Travel nursing assignments can push you out of your comfort zone—new facility, new city, new challenges. Whether you choose to stay in a furnished rental or a hotel can shape your day-to-day experience and ability to recharge when you’re not on shift. We hope the suggestions above help you explore your housing options.
Our job board is a great place to search for your next travel nurse assignment. If housing is an issue, we have you covered with our housing page. You can search for what you are looking for.
