Are travel nurse freezes a growing trend?

Question

I have a one-bedroom house I was planning on putting on Furnished Finder after the holidays. At a recent REI meetup, a fellow investor and ER doctor said his company is putting a freeze on travel nurses because of the cost. We were hoping to turn our other current rental and any future rentals into mid-term housing, but his feedback gave us pause. Are these kinds of freezes a growing trend in the healthcare industry?

Luke Stewart · Answer

I love what Conner and Mike said, but I also think its important to remember travel nurses are not your only renter! Stick with the MTR and get on airbnb, vrbo and FF. I am a travel nurse and your post is the first I have heard of a travel nurse freeze, and I will tell you the staffing at the hospitals I have worked at over the past year need help more than ever as many nurses are leaving the workforce due to burnout from the past 2-3 years. We have a 300k national shortage of nurses. Hospitals cant just decide to "not hire travel nurses" if they have no staff. It also depends greatly on where you are located and the number of hospitals around you. The more hospitals there are, the more nurses they need, the more travel nurses they also need. Best of luck!

Chris Allen · Answer

Everyone here has had great input and are pretty much hitting the nail on the head. I am a travel nurse as well, so from my experience, hospitals are still short staffed and in desperate need of nurses, but are trying options other than travel nurses (agency nurses). For example, many hospitals are doing "seasonal" contracts internally. So instead of nurses working for an agency, they apply directly with the hospital and are considered seasonal staff (I am working a job like this now). This allows hospitals to cut out the middle man, save money, while still paying nurses competitive travel rates. So even if hospitals put a "freeze" to hiring travel nurses, chances are that if the hospital is still in need of workers, there is still going to be nurses looking for furnished housing to fill those needs.

Mike Dymski · Answer

The travel nurse industry doubled during the pandemic.  With government funding gone and hospitals back to normal capacity, the industry has contracted a lot and the gold rush is over but the industry is still higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Sarah Weaver · Answer

Travel nurses won't be the only population in your tenant pool! Even if there is a dip in travel nurses, you can still find success with other tenants. I second the recommendation to cross-list your unit to maximize visibility. Best of luck!

Conner Olsen · Answer

Hi Nicole, I've heard there's a slowdown but make sure you're on FB and Airbnb! I've been listed on all 3 and personally never had a booking on FF.

Jared Hottle · Answer

My subjective view is it is slowing a bit but many states, especially rural states, will need travelers for a perpetual amount of time just to function. So I think there will always be consistent demand. Some of the bigger markets you may see a drop as they have a better shot to replace with full-time nurses

Joshua Messinger · Answer

Hey @Nicole Heasley!

@Mike Dymski really nailed this one right on. The industry had expanded during the pandemic and is still higher than pre-pandemic levels... I highly doubt they are 100% putting a freeze on all travel nurses since the industry has expanded so much. But, I would still take what he said with a grain of salt. If anything, I believe this is more of an indication for you to really make sure that you are securing real estate that is within close proximity to these hospitals so you can make sure you can have a scarce product for consumers (e.g. medical professionals)

Hope this helps and don't hesitate to reach out if you ever need anything!

-

Josh

Chris Allen · Answer

Something else to note, rates have gone down a TON for travel nurses. During the height of COVID, many travel nurses were able to get contracts paying $5-10k/week! Now rates have gone down to pre-pandemic $1.5-4k/wk (depending on location). So with that being said, many nurses are unable to afford what some landlords were charging to rent a place so having competitive/reasonable pricing is more important now.

Just as a bonus, I did a poll on one of the travel nurse websites I am apart of and a majority of nurses that voted said they would prefer to rent a private 1-2 bedroom property.

Jared Hottle · Answer

Yep that is true as well.

Luke Stewart · Answer

However, bigger markets are also the places with the most hospitals and the largest need. Just food for thought. I 100% agree about rural areas having less need.

Are travel nurse freezes a growing trend?

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