Advice for hosting travel nurses for long term stays?

[Lesley60]

Hello, 

I'm curious about experiences in hosting travel nurses for long term stays. 

What kind of rates have you offered them, and what rental prices do they often look for?  I certainly understand that different locations and markets affect pricing here -- I would mainly appreciate some anecdotal details.   

I've had many contact me over the months to stay, and even when we offer them substantial discounts and price cuts for our listings, they typically never respond or negotiate.   I'm never too upset about not hosting them -- I keep good occupancy rates without long-term stays necessary -- but having a responsible, long-term guest can always be of benefit.  Any experiences or knowledge on hosting travel nurses would be appreciated. 

Thanks!

[Daniela1586]

Hi Everyone - This is a pretty spread out conversation.  I received a request from a travelling nurse today.  Price is below what my listing is for.  I asked if she could come up in price and she did.  However, she does not have any AirBnB reviews.  Is it acceptable for a host to ask for credentials?  How would I receive the credentials?  I don't mind giving discounts to nurses as they truly deserve it - especially now.  How can I validate if they are legit?  Thank you for reading and your feedback.  

[Sarah977]

@Daniela1586  I suppose you could ask her where she is going to be working, and then phone the facility to see if that's actually true.

Or you could just be straightforward and tell her while you'd be willing to consider her budget as a working nurse, you are aware that many hosts have been scammed by those claiming to be doctors or nurses when in fact they weren't and would she mind sending a copy of her credentials. If she's on the up and up, hopefully she would be understanding.

[Penny310]

@Sarah977 

In my area, it is not possible to confirm employment with the hospital - they use a third party for these types of inquiries, and the third party charges a fee.  I would love to be able to confirm employment, and more importantly, termination.

[Demi2]

Hello,

We use Avail.com to complete background checks. It costs them $20.00, paid directly to Avail. But it's helpful to have when you don’t have reviews to consider.

[Christian2893]

Airbnb should have a way to screen traveling nurses that ask for ridiculous long-term discounts.    I get two or three requests a month, telling me that their budget is literally 20% of my monthly rate and asking if I'll make an exception.  It's a waste of my time.  I've complained to Airbnb, to no avail.  I can understand someone asking for a 10 or 15% discount on my monthly rate (which is clearly posted to them), but come on.  Traveling nurses should leave me alone.

[Karol22]

I've hosted several nurses and they're mostly amazing. I researched the area for monthly stays and I offered a competitive prices and I'm able to still make a good return. It works for both sides.

[Danise5]

Scammers is my last experience. They  Tried to pay outside of the arbnb , guilt you into to lowering the price and then after you block the following month from bookings for them without a payment . They try negotiate and stay in the house without the new payment and booking. They then send mail addressed to them to your home without permission .  Write a bad review when i don't discount as much as off season but i did still discount . Then they left every light on in the house when they left and didn't clean the countertops in the kitchen during their stay and attracted ants  . Horrible , and unappreciated people in my experience. Don't get fooled and don't hive them a discount. Only book through arbnb . 

[Pramod22]

I have an enquiry from a travel nurse who says that they will book but not stay, they only need this booking for tax savings as they can show dual housing.

Do you think it is a scam?

[Pramod22]

BTW, I am in Arizona. and the travel nurse is also from AZ but from a diff city.

[Debra300]

@Pramod22,

At the very least, they have already admitted that they plan to scam the IRS.  I wouldn't host this person.

[Pramod22]

I think you are right Debra. I'll decline the request. Thank you for helping me do the right thing.

[Priscilla150]

I host a lot of medical people, including Traveling Nurses.  I enjoy them a great deal.  My only problem is that when their contract gets cancelled, I must refund them, which is good for them, but not for me as I have a room booked for 30 days and it is suddenly shorten to 2 weeks.  Causing me to repay a lot more than I am comfortable with.  I had thought of altering my Cancellation Policy, but really is that fair to them?  Afterall, it is not their fault their contract was shorten.  On the other hand, I just lost out of 2 weeks income, unless it rebooks quickly.  I have been considering a 50% reimbursement minus the Airbnb Fees, but I am still considering this.

Overall I do enjoy them.  They are extremely hard workers and come in very tired, if not exhausted after a 10-12 hour day.  Their days do not always go well either, some times they lose a patient and that is never easy.  I have had only one bad nurse in all of this time, but the rest have more then made up for her.  They are respectful, quiet, clean and very observant of house rules.  I see it as a win-win for both of us.  

[Debra300]

@Priscilla150,

Travel nurses usually are a tax-free given a housing stipend in addition to their wages, and probably aren't really out of pocket if they have to leave earlier than scheduled.  They should also have clauses in their contracts with their agency that pertain to the payment of completing a rental agreement in the event of early cancellation by the medical facility.

In the event of a premature contract cancellation, I may offer to give the guest a refund for any dates of their remaining reservation that are rebooked.

[Priscilla150]

Thanks.  I like that idea...

[Huma0]

@Priscilla150 

I don't understand your post exactly. The long term cancellation policy automatically applies to any stays of 28 days or more, so would be what was in place for your 30 day booking. There are two types of long term policy you can select from, flexible and strict, but the difference is only relevant to cancellations made before the trip.

If a guest cancels after the check in date, then the same penalties apply. That is, they pay for any nights already spent, plus 30 nights from the date of cancellation or the remainder of the stay, whichever is shorter. Therefore, your guest was not due any refund according to the cancellation policy. The only way this would have happened if that, instead of the guest cancelling, you either altered the dates or accepted a date alteration from the guest. If you do that, the guest gets refunded all remaining nights.

So, in this situation, the thing to do is to tell the guest that they must cancel and the cancellation policy, which was provided to them prior to booking, will apply, but you are happy to refund any dates that get rebooked. Explain also that the host does not get paid until after the guests have checked in, so you will only be able to refund after that, i.e. not as soon as someone books. You don't know for sure that the rebooked dates won't be cancelled too. Wait until the payout has been made.

I don't know how it is for the travelling nurses in your situation, but the ones that stayed with me got a housing allowance that covered their entire stay and there are certainly cheaper options in London if you need budget accommodation (my rooms are not basic), so this allowance seems to be pretty generous.