Revolutionizing Travel Nurse Housing: Introducing Nursesbnb
My path to innovation came shortly after I witnessed my colleague, a fellow travel nurse working the night shift, struggle to find suitable housing.
Keisha Manning, MBA, BSN, RN
The places that Dave (name changed) and I called were unwilling to accommodate his early check-in. Dave slept in his car for two nights before quitting. At the time of the Dave incident, I was a new traveler, still learning my way around the organization, and adjusting to my patients. I was also the charge nurse on a unit that was already short staffed. In my 14 years of nursing, that was one of my worst nights. I was saddened by the fact that all of this would be preventable if only the homeowner of the rental had adjusted the check-in time. I had heard similar stories and even experienced something similar myself. I couldn't shake off how all this could have been avoided. Three months later, while on my way home from work, the idea of how to solve this popped into my head.
Addressing the Problem with Travel Nurse Housing
I intimately know the problem of finding safe affordable housing, and that housing can make or break a travel contract. While there are other travel nurse housing sites, their original business models didn’t consider the unique needs of traveling nurses, physicians, and other health care staff. Over time, these platforms realized how lucrative this niche was and began marketing directly to health care professionals. But it’s like trying to fit a size 6 shoe on a size 9 foot. They do not focus on where travelers are going. I get messages from nurses who have declined contracts because of no available housing, and knowing how fast good contracts move, it breaks my heart. My goal is to remove the hassle and provide peace of mind for health care professionals who travel. With our zero-trust system, we vet our customers for the safety of the community. Travelers can feel secure knowing that someone has their back when they book. While safety is key, affordability is just as important. Nursesbnb recognizes that travelers have families on budgets, and moving away for eight or thirteen weeks requires them to have proper structures in place at home, which can cost money.
How is this work innovative and necessary for the nursing profession?
The innovation is that Nursesbnb is the first travel nurse housing finder owned by a nurse that comprehensively addresses the housing need for the health care community. Nursesbnb has made it easier to say yes to an assignment. We are starting a movement for health care professionals to come together to help solve the staffing crisis by listing their property on Nursesbnb, which in turn will help their colleagues who travel. A lot of health care professionals have expressed hesitation to list their properties on other housing websites because they are afraid of who might rent it. We recently rebuilt our web platform; it’s now completed and ready to list and book properties. The homeowners feel safe when renting to anyone via Nursesbnb because they know due diligence has been done by our team. The nurse also knows that we have vetted these homeowners to ensure their safety. They are particularly elated about the fact that their security deposit is safe and that their first month rent is prorated, in the event the contract doesn’t work out they would not have lost a lot of money that may prevent them from moving to another assignment immediately. Upon check-in, we still keep in touch with the renter and host, they are encouraged to update us within 24 hours of check-in, so we know the process went smoothly. At the end of the booking, both parties can rate each other. We have several unique features that are patent pending. I encourage you to check out our travel nurse housing website (nursebnb.com) and you can also become a part of the family by joining our crowdfunding at wefunder.com/nursesbnb.
What advice you have received that has been helpful?
My mentor, Sarah Mitran once said to me, "This is such a great business; some people will tell you that it can’t be done. You will get a lot of no’s but keep going."
Keisha Manning is the Founder and CEO of Nursesbnb and a thought leader in the health care travel industry. Her company has been the recipient of $200k infrastructure investment from Google, Keisha has over 100k in network travel nurses, locum tenens and allied health staff with a growing demand that includes international health care professionals.
