How To Find Short-Term Housing For Travel Assignments (2024)

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​​Congrats! You got a job as a traveling therapist! Now, you need to find short-term housing for your travel therapy assignment. Finding housing can be one of the most challenging parts of travel therapy.

You have come to the right place! As a therapist who has taken travel assignments for over 10 years, I have lots of advice to share to help make finding housing easier for you.

How to Find Travel Therapy Housing

To start, we are going to discuss two different paths that you can take to find housing for your travel therapy assignment. You can have your agency provide housing, or you can book it yourself with a housing stipend. I’ll break down the differences between these two options next.

Have your company provide housing

Did you know that many staffing agencies will provide housing for you on your travel therapy contract?

Having your agency find housing often isn’t talked about or used because it can end up being quite costly to your overall pay package.Learn more about pay packages here.

When your company sets up housing, they tend to place you in pricier hotels or corporate housing units. This means that you would receive less money weekly from your paycheck because some money would be allocated towards housing costs.

However, the benefit to this is that you would have no upfront housing costs and would not have to sign a lease, submit to a credit check or find housing yourself.

Take a housing stipend and find housing yourself

While this option is more work on your end, it offers greater flexibility to determine where you live. This is what the majority of travelers do to find housing.

It also gives you the option to spend more or less on housing than your company would. Whether you are minimalistic or a luxury seeker, these options allow for more flexibility to find what you want.

How To Find Short-Term Housing For Travel Assignments (1)

Where to find Temporary Housing for Travel Therapy Assignments

Here are some ways and websites to find short-term housing for your travel therapy assignment. When using these methods, especially sites that don’t verify landlords, like Facebook and Craigslist, I highly recommend being very aware of scams and misrepresentations.

Hot Tip:

When searching for an apartment in a new place as a traveling therapist, consider booking yourself in a hotel for the first week of your contract. By staying in a hotel, you know that you can get to your contract and relax in a place to stay. Then, you can use the first week of your contract to scout out apartments while you are on location at your assignment. You can also ask co-workers if they know of any open units.

Furnished Finder

Our first website, Furnished Finder is designed for traveling healthcare professionals to find housing on their assignments.

Furnished Finder acts as both a search engine for travelers to use to find housing, and as a reverse search for landlords to find travelers. So, on Furnished Finder, not only can a traveler search for units but they can post a listing for themselves. This listing is sent out to all of the landlords in that specific location with their contract details. Landlords can then reach out and contact the traveler.

I’ve used Furnished Finder a lot for travel therapy housing and am especially happy with the reverse search feature where landlords reach out to me.

Airbnb

When you think of Airbnb you may think of vacation rentals. However, you can also book longer-term month-to-month rentals from them. Yes, on Airbnb you can search for 3-month periods and often find discounted pricing for longer stays.

One of the positive things about Airbnb is that it has a great review system and you’ll find a lot of reviews on the units and hosts. These reviews are helpful to determine if a unit is where you want to stay or not.

Similar to Airbnb is Vacation Rental by Owner www.vrbo.com and Home Away www.homeaway.com.

Landing

Landing is a subscription model that has a network of apartments in over 300 cities across the U.S. You can stay in these apartments with flexible, short-term leases. You can either set a move-in or move-out date for a set fee. There is also receive more flexible pricing options. They also have a 7-Day Guarantee that if you are not satisfied with your home after move-in, they can move you to a new Landing or provide a full refund.

They don’t have application fees or deposits and you can transfer to any unit in their network with a 2-week notice if you are a member ($199/year fee). This is great for the fast-paced life of changing contracts as a traveling therapist.

With this SPECIAL LANDING PROMOTION, you can save $250 off your subscription. $250 off Landing promo automatically applied when using this link.

Craigslist

Craigslist is the OG (original) housing website and one that I remember searching through for hours to find housing for many assignments. You can use Craigslist to find an apartment, sublet, or a shared place with roommates. Like Furnished Finder, you can search for units on Craigslist, or post an advertisem*nt for yourself and have landlords reach out to you.

While Craigslist has a wealth of listings, because it is free to post there, it is full of scammers.

Other Apartment Listing Websites:

Contact local realtors/agents

In an era where the internet makes everything so accessible, it seems like every available unit should be listed online. However, that’s not the case. Not every landlord is going to list their place online. Some landlords prefer to list units with real estate agents or even post a “for rent” sign on a bulletin board.

You can search for “real estate agents + location you are working in” to find agents in your area that might be able to help you find a unit. Believe it or not, I have also found really amazing units by walking around apartment buildings and looking at their “for rent” signs on their building bulletin boards.

How To Find Short-Term Housing For Travel Assignments (2)

Extended Stay Hotels

Extended stay hotels offer the best of both worlds when it comes to the comfort of home and the amenities of a hotel. These hotels cater to long-term travelers and offer studios and even one-bedroom units with kitchenettes. Extended Stay America, Homewood Suites, and several chains by Marriott all offer extended stay units.

Extended Stay Hotels often come with weekly house cleaning, daily coffee and snacks, wifi and utilities included, and more!

When booking an extended stay hotel, look for special pricing on longer stays. You can call the hotel manager directly to inquire about a long-term rate or use the promotions that I have here. For Extended Stay America, I am happy to offer promo codes that offer up to 40% off stays.

For the most updated codes, please check out this blog: Extended Stay America Promo Codes

Other benefits of Extended Stay Hotels:

  • Often they accept pets
  • Weekly housekeeping services
  • Complimentary coffee, snacks, and sometimes meals
  • Hotel loyalty points
  • Perhaps a gym or pool on site

Ask Your Co-Workers

The struggle is real to pay bills as a healthcare professional.

As somebody who has taken a lot of travel therapy contracts and met a lot of therapists, I found many therapists and nurses rent rooms to travelers, especially in places that get a constant flow of temporary staff.

While living with a co-worker may not be your ideal, it is worth looking into. I have called managers, after accepting positions, to ask if anybody on staff rents to travelers. You can also rent a hotel room the first week of your contract and ask peers if any of them rent out rooms or know of anybody who does.

Facebook Marketplace and Groups

Last but not least: Facebook. Facebook has become the mecca of all things community buy and sell related. Love it or hate it, it is a place where you can list your unit for rent for free and this is enticing to a lot of landlords.

There are many Facebook groups that are dedicated to connecting traveling healthcare professionals with landlords. If you search for “Travel nurse Housing” many groups will appear.

Here are a few:

The benefit of using a travel nurse group to find housing is that the landlords are (hopefully) familiar with traveling healthcare professionals and understand a bit about our industry.

You can also change your Facebook Marketplace location to your assignment zip code and search for units off of Facebook Marketplace. Or, you can search for community groups that allow housing posts in your temp location and post/search there.

I can’t say this enough but BEWARE OF SCAMS ON FACEBOOK. Many of the sites I listed above in this article spend considerable amounts of time verifying who posts on their sites and ensuring that fake listings do not get posted. Facebook does not verify posts and is a hotbed for scammers to list fake units, or message you about a unit that they have when in reality they are scamming you.

To Conclude:

Short-term housing can be a significant challenge for traveling therapists.

If you select to take company-sponsored housing, you may make less money than if you find your own place. However, finding your own place can be a difficult task. Searching through listings, avoiding scammers, and taking a chance on a unit can all be stressful parts of an already hard journey.

Take a deep breath and relax while you do the search and decide on options.

When you find an apartment, check out my tips for making your short-term housing feel like home!

Related Posts:

  • How to Make 100k as an SLP
  • The Truth About Medical Speech-Language Pathology
How To Find Short-Term Housing For Travel Assignments (2024)

FAQs

How To Find Short-Term Housing For Travel Assignments? ›

What is the Average Travel Nurse Housing Stipend? You'll see travel nurse housing stipends as low as $700 per month and as high as $5,000 per month. Housing stipends vary dramatically between regions. They also vary with bill rates.

What is an average housing stipend for a travel nurse? ›

What is the Average Travel Nurse Housing Stipend? You'll see travel nurse housing stipends as low as $700 per month and as high as $5,000 per month. Housing stipends vary dramatically between regions. They also vary with bill rates.

Can I use furnished finder if I am not a nurse? ›

We are by far and away the nation's leader in traveling nurse housing. Our system is also open for other types of non-medical traveling professionals, such as athletes, engineers, military and relocating families.

How long do traveling nurses stay in one place? ›

How Long Are Travel Nursing Assignments? The standard travel nurse assignment is 13 weeks. However, contracts can range from as little as 2 to 26 weeks depending on the travel nursing agency and facilities. Many travel nurses choose to extend their contracts beyond the initial 13 weeks.

How do I find temporary accommodation in USA? ›

Airbnb and Vrbo are some great places to start your search for a short term rental property. Both sites allow you to search by destination and other specific criteria, such as the number of bedrooms and access to amenities like a pool or a gym. This makes it easy to find the perfect temporary housing for you.

What type of housing do travel nurses look for? ›

Many times, travel nurses will choose furnished housing. This way, they don't have to worry about moving their furniture every time they change assignments. On average, a travel nurse assignment will last for 13 weeks, and however, they can end in as little as 8 weeks or go as long as 26 weeks or more.

Do you pay taxes on stipends for travel nurses? ›

As a travel nurse you can qualify for non-taxable income called stipends. These stipends are not taxed since they are classified as reimbursem*nts for housing, travel, and meals.

Do travel nurses have to find their own housing? ›

Do Travel Nurses Get Free Housing? Technically, no. You can either choose between agency-provided housing or a travel nurse housing stipend. Either way, you're paying for housing.

Can you be a travel nurse without moving? ›

Absolutely! You can become a local travel nurse. This opportunity gives you all the perks of a travel nurse like higher pay, flexibility, and choosing your own jobs without needing to leave your home state (or maybe even your hometown).

Can you list multiple properties on Furnished Finder? ›

6.2 Adding Another Property Listing

You can add another property listing to the same Furnished Finder account by: Clicking on Add Another Property on your dashboard, Expanding My Properties on the left panel and clicking on Add Another Property, or.

What is the 12 24 travel nurse rule? ›

While there is no hard-rule on how long a travel nurse can work in one place, the general rule of thumb is to never work in one place for more than 12 months in any rolling 24-month period.

Can travel nurses bring their spouse? ›

If you have a family, you can still be a travel nurse. It's possible to go on a nursing assignment by yourself, with your spouse, or with your kids in tow. You can even be a local travel nurse!

Do travel nurses get to pick where they go? ›

Can travel nurses choose where they go? A. Yes. You get to pick the state, the hospital, and the healthcare setting.

What's the longest you can stay in temporary accommodation? ›

There's no time limit for the council to find you long-term housing. Some people might only be in temporary accommodation for a few weeks. But it's far more common to be months or even years. It can be longer if you need a large or adapted property.

Can you live in a hotel and pay monthly? ›

Monthly hotel stays with us are a great alternative to renting and will save you hundreds on utilities like electricity, gas, water, internet and more! Choose Extended Stay America for the best rates on long-term hotels near you.

How long is temporary lodging? ›

Temporary Lodging Expense (TLE) may be authorized for 7 or 14 days, depending on the location of the new Permanent Duty Station (PDS).

What state needs travel nurses the most? ›

According to Travelnursing.com, California has the highest need for travel nurses, and this will continue until 2030. California has specific laws regarding safe nurse-to-patient ratios so there will always be an increased need for nurses.

What is the difference between travel nurse housing and stipend? ›

Difference Between Travel Nurse Stipend vs. Housing Placement. The travel nurse housing stipend is a reimbursem*nt for nurses who choose to find their own housing accommodations. The housing placement is a benefit that provides housing for travel nurses paid for by the staffing agency.

Is renting to traveling nurses profitable? ›

Renting to traveling nurses can be very lucrative. However, as with any rental property, there are no guarantees of profitability. Think about this type of rental as short term with a more targeted audience. If you have experience in this area, you already know what to expect.

Why do hospitals pay travel nurses so much? ›

Hospitals use travel nurses to fill short-term staff and managerial positions. Travel nurses live away from home for 13-26 weeks per assignment. Additional compensation is paid to help offset related costs and difficulties.

Can I write off my car as a travel nurse? ›

Rather than working as a W-2 employee, most travel nurses take on the role as an independent contractor. While most independent contractors are able to deduct actual vehicle expenses, such as mileage, gas, and insurance.

What state is best for taxes as a travel nurse? ›

Presently Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming won't tax your travel nurse salary.

Does Aya pay for housing? ›

Aya Healthcare Housing Stipend

They offer fully-paid company housing. This provides travel nurses easy access to clean, comfortable housing. You can arrive for your assignment and walk into a fully furnished home for the duration of your assignment without having to do any of the leg work.

Where do travel nurses live in during assignment? ›

Utilizing a travel nurse housing website. Choosing to live in travel nurse agency housing. Getting temporary, furnished housing such as an Airbnb or extended-stay hotel, or. Staying with friends or family.

Can you live in the same town and be a travel nurse? ›

The answer: Absolutely!

Local travel nursing is possible, but there are some important things you need to know before you start. Keep reading to learn how to be a travel nurse in your own state, the benefits and drawbacks of hometown travel nursing, and more.

What is the 1 year rule for travel nursing? ›

The One-Year Limit Rule

One thing all travel nurses must remember is that there is a one-year limit to staying in one assignment. While you can extend the same travel nurse assignment multiple times, once you've reached a year, you must not only leave the assignment but the location itself.

What is the least you can make as a travel nurse? ›

Click here to see available high-paying travel nurse opportunities! Travel nurse salaries range widely across the country, with the lowest earners making $40,000 and the highest earners making $155,500 annually!

Is it harder to be a travel nurse? ›

Travel Nursing is one of the most rewarding experiences, but it also comes with hard work, long hours, flexibility, and the ability to adapt quickly to a lot of things.

Can you list on Furnished Finder and Airbnb? ›

Depending on your location, type of property, and target audience, there might be no real better option in the Furnished Finder vs Airbnb battle. In this case, it can be a good idea to list your property on both platforms.

Can you link Furnished Finder to Airbnb? ›

Add your link to Furnished Finder

From the Editing Calendar for drop-down menu on the right pane, select the property you want to add the Airbnb iCal link to. From the list below the property number, click the unit you want to add the Airbnb iCal link to. Click on Sync my calendar with my Airbnb or VRBO iCal.

Can you list a property on both Airbnb and VRBO? ›

Luckily, property managers and owners looking to list on VRBO or Airbnb don't have to choose between the two. If you wish to list a property type that is accepted by both platforms, you can list on both platforms.

Do travel nurses get audited? ›

This is one of the most common reasons for being selected. Due to the nature of travel nursing, your expenses compared to your income can look suspicious, even if there's no funny business. Your agency is audited and the IRS is checking out all employees. Your taxable wages are low enough that the IRS took notice.

How many times can you extend as a travel nurse? ›

Overall, a traveling nurse can take travel contracts in the same area or at the same healthcare facility for 12 months. This means you can extend your travel nursing job at the healthcare facility you're currently on contract with for an additional 39 weeks or up until the year mark of your first contracted day.

Can travel nurses take breaks between assignments? ›

And some travelers only want to work a few times a year. Travel nurses can and often do take unpaid vacation time between assignments. If driving from one assignment to the next, they can stop and see the sights. But that time remains unpaid.

What do husbands of traveling nurses do? ›

As a travel nursing spouse, you can help research and secure housing and get recurring bills transferred and established. You can also get ahead and help sort all your belongings, pack, and sell or store anything you're not taking on your move.

Do travel nurses pay Social Security? ›

If you fall into this latter category, you are essentially running your own travel nurse business. You'll need to make quarterly estimated payments on your business taxable income, including income, Social Security and Medicare taxes.

Can a travel nurse be fired? ›

Travel nurse contracts can be terminated for many reasons and both the nurse and travel nurse agency may be at risk. Sometimes a healthcare facility will terminate a travel nurse's contract unexpectedly.

What type of travel nurses are most needed? ›

Emergency Room (ER) Travel Nurses

One type of travel nurse specialty that is always in high demand is emergency nursing.

What hospital has the most travel nurses? ›

1. Stanford Medical Center – With almost 100 travel nurses on assignment per year, Stanford Medical Center offers plenty of assignment choices and an excellent clinical environment. The facility staffs travel nurses exclusively with AMN Healthcare companies.

Is travel nursing really worth it? ›

Ask any travel nurse is travel nursing worth it? They will likely tell you the money makes it worth it. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay for a travel nurse was $73,300 per year, but there are opportunities to increase that figure just by knowing some insider tips and tricks.

What are temporary accommodations? ›

What is temporary accommodation? Under Housing Law, if a person or family becomes homeless and urgently needs a home, the Council may provide temporary accommodation while helping them find long-term housing. This is called temporary accommodation because it is a temporary solution.

What is a self contained flat? ›

What do we class as self-contained flats? Under the Housing Act 2004 a self-contained flat is a unit of accommodation which: 1. Has access to all three basic amenities (personal washing, WC and cooking facilities); 2. These amenities are available for the exclusive use of the occupier; 3.

Does my local council have to house me if I am homeless? ›

The council must give you emergency housing while they look into your situation. They also must help you with a personal housing plan. The council does not have to give you emergency housing until you are legally homeless. They must still give you help and advice if you are likely to be homeless within 8 weeks.

Can living in a hotel be cheaper than renting? ›

Cost to Live in a Hotel

The short answer: living in a hotel is as expensive as you make it. It can be less expensive or more expensive than renting an apartment, depending on your standard of living and how you are able to deduct expenses.

How long can you stay in hotel during PCS? ›

Temporary Lodging Expense is paid to cover the cost of temporary lodging in conjunction with a PCS move. A service member is authorized TLE for 14 days during PCS within CONUS and seven days for moves between CONUS and OCONUS locations.

How many days of travel for pcs? ›

2. Official Travel Time: Generally, 1 day of travel time is allowed for each 350 miles of official distance of ordered travel. If excess is 51 miles or more after dividing the total number of miles by 350, one additional day of travel time is allowed.

Can you use AirBnB for TLE? ›

You now can seek additional lodging for TLE, such as AirBnB or VRBO, but only if you check out the government lodging availability first. If there are no rooms available, get a letter of non-availability from the government lodging.

How much is a travel stipend? ›

This is why many companies now cap the amount of the travel stipends they're willing to offer. My experience indicates that the most common cap these days is $700. In other words, most companies are only willing to provide a maximum of $700 for travel stipends.

How is travel nurse stipend calculated? ›

For example, if you are working 36 hours/week on a 13-week assignment, your hourly rate would look like this: Your non-taxable stipend pay is $20.83/hour. When you add that to your original base pay of $20/hour to calculate combined hourly travel nurse pay, you end up with $40.83/hour.

How are travel nurse stipends determined? ›

How Are Travel Nurse Housing Stipends Determined? The General Service Administration (GSA) determines the maximum amount for travel nurse housing stipends. These amounts are based on the location of the assignment and the per diem rates for federal employees.

What is the most lucrative travel nursing? ›

9 highest paying travel nurse jobs
  1. Pediatrics registered nurse. National average salary : $69,122 per year. ...
  2. Home health registered nurse. National average salary: $74,686 per year. ...
  3. Hospice nurse. ...
  4. Travel nurse. ...
  5. Oncology registered nurse. ...
  6. Labor and delivery nurse. ...
  7. Operating room registered nurse. ...
  8. Emergency room registered nurse.
Mar 3, 2023

Can travel nurses be millionaires? ›

Yes, many nurses can become millionaires by following some simple steps. For starters, nurses should strive to increase their income, manage their expenses, and save and invest some of their money. It's not easy (otherwise, everybody would be millionaires), but it's doable.

Why is travel nurse salary so high? ›

“Travel nurses may receive higher wages than their full-time counterparts because health systems are paying a premium to fill critical staffing needs,” Harris says. “However, travel nursing is generally only more lucrative than full-time staff roles when local cost of living is low relative to pay.”

What does $2000 stipend mean? ›

Colleges might pay stipends to graduate assistants. For example, instead of receiving an hourly wage of $13, a graduate assistant might receive a stipend of $2,000 to cover the cost of work they do during a semester.

How do I ask for a travel stipend? ›

How to ask for travel reimbursem*nt
  1. Start with a subject line. ...
  2. Address the recruiter. ...
  3. Introduce yourself . ...
  4. State that you have an interview. ...
  5. Ask about travel reimbursem*nt. ...
  6. Conclude with your contact information.
Jun 24, 2022

How much does Aya pay weekly? ›

Average Aya Healthcare weekly pay ranges from approximately $1,278 per week for Nursing Assistant to $5,931 per week for Director of Nursing. Average Aya Healthcare hourly pay ranges from approximately $27.93 per hour for Nursing Assistant to $125 per hour for Registered Nurse - Emergency Room.

Do travel nurses have to pay state taxes? ›

As a travel nurse, you will always pay state income taxes except in Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.

Are stipends taxable? ›

A scholarship/fellowship used for expenses other than qualified expenses is taxable income. Taxable scholarships/fellowships are generally referred to as stipends and are payments for which no services are rendered or required.

What is the difference between a stipend and a per diem? ›

Per diem refers to a daily allowance that an employer pays to an employee to cover their expenses while on a business trip or assignment. In a very similar manner, a stipend is a fixed amount of money that an employer pays to an employee.

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