Are you relocating to Austin, TX for employment, recreation, or adventure? Be prepared for a challenging rental market that is highly competitive. Due to a lack of housing alternatives in and around Austin, obtaining short-term accommodation can be difficult, even in the suburbs of Round Rock, Cedar Park, and Pflugerville.
Yet, Austin is the place to be in Texas if you’re looking for a short-term rental. With an average occupancy rate of 65% in 2021, Austin’s short-term rental market will continue to surpass that of other Texas towns. Austin’s occupancy rate increased to 72% in Q2 2022, above San Antonio’s occupancy rate of 64.1% for the same quarter.
Short-term rentals must adhere to strict city rules, which include getting an operating license, evidence of property insurance, and paying a non-refundable charge. Annual license renewal is required of owners of short-term rental properties; failure to do so might result in a fine of up to $2,000 and the loss of their operating license.
For the past 20 years, Austin’s popularity has continuously increased, and in 2022, it will surpass San Francisco as the city with the second-fastest growth in the nation. As of July 1, 2021, the Census Bureau anticipated that there will be 2,352,426 people living in Austin. Austin has drawn well-known Silicon Valley businesses like Amazon, Google, and Tesla because to its unique combination of a booming technological hub, a high concentration of venture capital, a pleasant environment, and a dynamic culture.
The Blueground is a huge player in the Austin area. They offer over 150 completely furnished month-to-month rentals. You heard that right, every single one of their apartments can be rented on a 30 day basis. In addition to a large selection and 30-day leases, their pricing is fantastic and un-beatable by nearly any other housing provider, including us. They serve the following neighborhoods in Austin: Arboretum, Bouldin Creek, Central, Cherrywood, Domain, Downtown, East Austin, Market District, Mueller, Riverside, South Austin, Triangle State, and Zilker.
Yes, that is indeed us. We offer fully furnished studio, 1, 2, and three bedroom rentals across the city and her suburbs. All of our rentals come with all linens, dishes, and utilities. Our Austin housing is truly turnkey. We have aggressive discounts for businesses and repeat clients. In addition to Austin, we offer furnished rentals in Downtown, Round Rock, and Pflugerville.
Similar to Blueground, Hello Landing has a very large selection and fantastic coverage across the Austin area, including the suburbs such as Pflugerville, Round Rock, San Marcos, and Cedar Park. They offer one-, two-, and three-bedroom furnished rentals with monthly leasing options. Utilities are charged separate but furnishings, linens, shower curtains, etc. are all included in rent.
Corporate Housing By Owner or “CHBO” is a different style housing site. Instead of being centrally managed like the first three providers above, this runs on the “by owner” type setup, similar to Air BnB where users pay a fee to have their homes and condos listed. This is a great website to use if you need something a bit out of the ordinary such as a house that can accommodate a large group or a tiny house you can rent for a bargain. Their coverage is decent and the prices range from super cheap to super expensive. This site really has a little bit of everything.
National is a corporate housing company similar to Blu in style. They offer fully furnished corporate apartments all around Austin through partnerships and agreements they have with apartment communities. They pre-furnished the rental which includes everything from linens to dishes, then they get all of the utilities activated and ready for your arrival. You will typically pay a little more here than on one of the “by owner” type sites, but the work is already done for you. This is a good option for business housing where the company doesn’t mind paying a little extra for time savings.
No list of furnished housing would be complete without the behemoth we know as Air BnB. Air BnB has it’s pros and cons, many of you already know what those are. The best thing about Air BnB is that they can offer a huge selection. Looking to live in a treehouse? They got it. Looking to live in a $10,000,000 mansion? Got that covered, too. The main downsides are cost and fees. Both of which are a little too much for some people to stomach.
We have a friendly partnership with furnished finder, we send them a lot of our nurses who have lower monthly budgets. Furnished Finder is similar to Air BnB but typically not as expensive. It’s the main self-serve website that travel nurses and medical staff use for their assignments.
There are several platforms where you can list your property for short-term housing, some of the most popular mainstream ones are:
Vacation Rental Websites
Airbnb: A well-known platform that connects property owners with travelers who are looking for short-term rentals. You can list your entire home, private room, or shared space for rent on Airbnb.
VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner): VRBO is a popular platform for listing vacation rentals, including homes, apartments, and condos.
Booking.com: Booking.com is a platform for booking hotel rooms and vacation rentals. You can list your property on Booking.com and start accepting reservations from guests.
FindHomeAway: HomeAway is a platform that allows you to list your property for short-term rental and manage bookings and payments through their website.
TripAdvisor: TripAdvisor is a platform that provides travelers with information and reviews of hotels, vacation rentals, and other travel-related businesses. You can list your property on TripAdvisor and connect with travelers who are interested in short-term rentals.
Home to Go:HomeToGo is a leading vacation rental marketplace that offers a wide selection of rental properties to travelers around the world. With millions of listings from thousands of trusted partners. HomeToGo provides travelers with a comprehensive and convenient platform for finding their perfect vacation rental.
These platforms generally charge a fee for listing your property or a percentage when your property gets booked, processing payments, and providing other services. Before listing your property on any platform, be sure to review their terms and conditions, fees, and policies to make sure you understand what you’re agreeing to.
Classified & Apartment Rental Websites
There are several classified websites where you can list your home for rent, these are usually free of charge. Some popular ones include:
Craigslist: A well-known classified website that allows you to list your rental property for free in the “Housing” section.
Zillow: Zillow is a real estate website that provides information on homes for sale and rent. You can list your rental property on Zillow’s rental platform and reach a large audience of potential tenants.
Rentals.com: Rentals.com is a website that specializes in connecting landlords and tenants. You can list your rental property on Rentals.com and reach a large audience of potential renters.
FB Marketplace: Facebook Marketplace is a platform that allows users to buy and sell items in their local community. It’s a convenient and accessible way to connect with local buyers and sellers, making it easy to find great deals on a variety of products. Whether you’re looking for furniture, clothing, electronics, or anything in between, Facebook Marketplace has you covered.
Apartments.com: Apartments.com is a website that specializes in apartment rentals. You can list your rental property on Apartments.com and reach a large audience of potential tenants.
Rent.com: Rent.com is a website that specializes in connecting landlords and tenants. It provides a comprehensive platform for landlords to list their rental properties and for tenants to search for available rentals.
Hot Pads: HotPads is a comprehensive real estate search platform that helps users find their next home or apartment. It offers a wide selection of rental listings, including apartments, houses, townhouses, and more.
Zumper: Zumper is a rental platform that helps renters find their next apartment or home. It offers a wide selection of rental listings, including apartments, houses, townhouses, and more. With its user-friendly interface and advanced search tools, Zumper makes it easy to find the perfect rental based on location, price, number of bedrooms, and other important factors.
Pad Mapper: PadMapper provides renters with access to a range of helpful resources, including detailed property descriptions, interactive maps, and landlord ratings to help them make informed decisions when searching for a rental.
These websites can be a great way to reach a large number of potential tenants quickly and easily. Be sure to include clear and accurate information about your property, such as location, amenities, rent amount, and lease terms. Additionally, be prepared to screen potential tenants to ensure that you find a responsible and trustworthy renter for your home.
Corporate Housing Websites
The final category of sites where you may be interested in listing your property are short-term housing and corporate lodging type sites. These sites are generally similar to vacation rental websites in that they will typically charge you a fee to list. The fee will come by way of a listing fee or a percentage-based fee upon each successful leasing of your unit.
The Blueground: An international short-term furnished housing website with locations in multiple continents.
Avenuewest: A very trustworthy corporate housing provider. Unsure of the exact terms and conditions to list your property.
CHBO – The cost to list your property here is a yearly fee that starts at $399 for the “bronze” package.
Furnished Finder: This is a very solid company with lots of U.S. coverage and strong traffic to their website. Furnished Finders is actually who we recommend to homeowners. If fact, if you call Blu’s 1-800 number and press #2 to list your property, the record tells you to list on Furnished Finder. We like these guys!
Zeus: I am unsure of the exact process to list with Zeus, I have never gone through the steps and their listing page doesn’t offer much info. They are, however, a reputable corporate housing provider.
National: National is one of the biggest corporate housing providers on the scene.
Travelers Haven: This is our parent company. There is no signup page, and they don’t accept property owners with less than 10 rental units. But if you have at least 10 apartments or homes, you can email them at app@travelershaven.com to discuss becoming a partner.
You don’t need a crystal ball to be able to predict that business travel costs are going to continue to rise further over the next 12-18 months.
With the current global financial climate and no end in sight for the current main influences, it’s difficult to envision a time when costs are likely to stabilize.
But just how much do we predict business travel industry costs will rise? Will price rises be across the board or concentrated in particular areas? Will both short-term lodging and travel costs increase? At the same rate?
Is it just global influences driving price rises or is there more to it than that?
All these questions and more are occupying travel managers and accounts departments across the country right now.
While we don’t have all the answers, we can help outline what we think the next 12-18 months look like for the business travel industry.
We will be using a combination of the 2023 Global Business Travel Forecast, published today by CWT and our own experience to shed some light on what the future may hold.
The headline numbers you need to know
The report makes for sober reading. Prices rises across the board with no end in sight.
Predicted price increases for key business travel areas:
2022
2023
Air fares
48.5%
8.45%
Transportation costs
7.3%
6.8%
Hotel rates
18.2%
8.2%
You’ll notice huge increases for 2022 as the world emerged from lockdown and began doing business in person again.
While prices are expected to continue rising into 2023, the rates are more in line with inflation. We do not currently expect any significant jumps in rates, although that is always subject to change!
Short-term lodging
A lot of the data in the 2023 Global Business Travel Forecast refers to hotel rooms as there is much less data around for corporate housing.
From our own experience, prices for corporate housing are rising but more slowly and more steadily than hotels.
This may partly be explained by the lower running costs associated with furnished housing. Fewer staff, lower bills and generally more modest outgoings as compared to hotels.
Mortgage rates are going up of course, but not all properties are mortgaged. Some that are secured against loans use venture capital rather than traditional mortgages, so are less impacted by headline rates.
Mortgage rates continue to climb as the Fed tries to cool down the real estate market and control inflation. As it increases the federal funds rate it has a huge influence on the mortgage market.
Zillow Vice President of Capital Markets Paul Thomas said, “Mortgage rates are likely to be volatile in the near term as markets are pricing in the competing influences of high inflation and Federal Reserve rate hikes against increasing risks of economic slowdowns and a potential recession. Considering the current situation, we’re more likely to see higher rates by the end of the year than lower ones.”
The positive news about mortgage rates is that they are widely expected to fall in 2023. Current predictions are that they will fall to around 5.4% by Q4 2023.
Hotel room rates fell by 13.3% in 2020 when we were in the center of the coronavirus pandemic. Demand fell through the floor and business travel, and all travel, was at a standstill.
Since then, we have seen a rise of 18.2% in 2022 once the world began doing business in person again.
We expect a rise of a further 8.2% for 2023 as inflationary pressures exert their influence across the country.
This rise in prices is partly down to rising costs but also rising demand.
Demand has accelerated both for business travel and leisure travel.
The relaxing of travel rules was a watershed moment. Tension and urgency that had built up during the pandemic and the various lockdowns was suddenly unleashed.
Both domestic and international travel experienced huge demand, which increased prices.
Add rising fuel costs, the war in Ukraine and increased costs related to getting back up to speed have all put pressure on prices.
These should all settle in 2023 but we don’t know to what extent.
Predicting any part of business is a tough ask, but given these tumultuous times, it’s even tougher.
The global financial situation and the impact of rising costs across the world can have unpredictable effects.
That’s something we just don’t have enough data to predict with any degree of accuracy right now.
The impact on international travel
It isn’t just domestic hotels that have seen price rises. According to the American Express Global Business Travel ‘Hotel Prices 2023’ report, hotel prices are up across the world.
Destination
Price increase
Buenos Aires
30%
Paris
10%
Dublin
8.5%
Sau Paolo
7.7%
Amsterdam
7.5%
Frankfurt
7.5%
Other countries are likely to be in line with Amsterdam and Frankfurt as the south American destinations are heavily influenced by local inflationary pressures.
Business air travel
The business air travel industry has also had a tumultuous time. Airlines were largely grounded during the pandemic and staff furloughed or laid off.
That explosion in demand then caused its own problems. Airlines and airports had to rush to get back up to speed, hire more staff, train them and begin earning money.
Jet fuel is also more expensive than ever before. Fuel makes up 30% of airline running costs and prices are higher than ever.
It also depends how long it will take to get back up to speed in terms of staffing and flight numbers. Then there’s the impact rising costs has on business and the desire for business travel.
We fully expect inflationary pressures to dampen demand for leisure travel but just how that will impact business, we just don’t know.
At the moment, the outlook is too muddy to predict with any level of certainty.
Ground travel
It isn’t just air travel that is experiencing price challenges right now. Car hire, leasing and purchasing are all experiencing tough times.
The combination of lockdowns and the depressed demand for rentals and leases had an obvious impact on the companies involved.
Global car rental prices fell 2.5% in 2020 before rising 5.1% in 2021. Further rises are expected in 2022, to around 7.3% and again in 2023 a further 6.8%.
Arguably, ground travel is probably the one area of business travel that will change most in 2023.
A combination of lack of inventory and change of direction in terms of environmental factors will all impact ground travel to a certain degree.
How we travel, the vehicles we travel in and the lack of availability aren’t going away anytime soon.
To our mind, that 6.8% price rise prediction for 2023 is on the conservative side.
Meetings and events
Meetings and events also saw a spike in demand once the gates were reopened after the pandemic.
This inevitably caused an increase in prices as venues, businesses and events companies tried to get back up to speed and regain traction.
The cost-per-attendee for meetings and events in 2022 is expected to be around 25% higher than in 2019.
It is forecast to rise a further 7% in 2023.
This is partly down to that pent-up demand but also a strong desire by businesses to reinforce or rebuild company culture.
As many of us know, remote working had immense benefits both for staff and employers, but it did have downsides.
One of which was the building of corporate culture and behaviors.
Many businesses recognized this very early on and were determined to address that as soon as they were able.
This is partly responsible for the rise in demand for meetings and events.
Those and the rebooking of the thousands of events cancelled during 2019/2020 has cause immense demand in the events industry.
Add increased staffing and running costs and you have the perfect storm for price rises.
The influence of remote working and video conferencing on business travel
While recent events have changed the way we live and work, most of those changes won’t be forever.
The world is already reopening, meetings and events are being held, corporate awaydays are happening and we’re all shaking hands again.
Employees liked it because it provided a taste of genuine work-life balance.
Not all companies are going back to the traditional office model, so will this impact business travel? If so, by how much?
According a recent piece by The Ladders, 25% of all professional jobs in North America will be remote by the end of 2023.
On the whole, employees have proven they can be trusted to remain productive even when not under direct management oversight.
The technology, policies and processes are all now in place to effectively manage remote working and companies remain productive even with hybrid organizations.
Plus, with fuel costs rising, companies are welcoming the ability to lower their own heating and electricity bills and pass them on to staff!
For some firms, this means spending less on business travel as they can do everything remotely.
Zoom and Google Meet are now legitimate ways to hold meetings, pitch ideas and keep business moving. They are established and widely accepted, making them an everyday tool.
Other firms had said they plan to go the other way. To allow people to work from home but have more emphasis on in-person meetings or away days to help maintain culture and provide wellness opportunities for staff.
Will this impact business travel? Yes, we think it certainly will.
How much? We just don’t know.
There is currently insufficient data in the public domain about which companies are embracing home working and by how much.
According to Review42, 55% of businesses globally offer some capacity for remote work even after the pandemic.
What proportion of the workforce that will involve is unknown. How companies will maintain culture and whether the change will be long term or not is also unknown at this time
However, according to that same Review42 data, companies saved up to $11,000 per employee per year by allowing remote working just 50% of the time.
Those numbers are striking and will likely influence some firms going forward.
Short-term lodging and business travel industry outlook
The outlook for short-term lodging, hotels and business travel looks amazingly positive.
It is dampened by the specter of rising costs but demand is high and is expected to remain so for the foreseeable future.
Events are happening once more, in-person meetings are happening in thousands of offices every day, staff still need training, secondments still need to happen and someone will always need to change duty station.
As long as price inflation is kept to a minimum and efficiencies and productivity is maintained, the outlook is great.
Businesses now expect higher prices and (grudgingly) accept them. This acceptance is a genuine change as we all get used to inflationary pressures and volatile markets.
As long as this isn’t taken as an excuse to unfairly raise prices or overinflate profits, any business related to business travel should be in a good position over the next 12-18 months.
If you’re looking to change up your company travel or want to lower the cost of accommodation, you’re in the right place.
Blu Corporate Housing is going to show you how to lower the cost of travel while delivering more to staff while you’re at it.
The corporate travel market has experienced a huge resurgence. Demand is higher now than before the pandemic and shows no signs of slowing down.
Prices are rising too. If you book hotel rooms for staff, you’ll already have noticed how much more you’re paying now than before and typically get less for it too!
There is another way to manage company travel. Use corporate housing.
We’re going to share 5 compelling reasons why corporate housing is the answer to your company travel challenges.
We’ll also explain why it’s so much better than a hotel or using Airbnb.
1. Save money
The first reason to use corporate housing instead of a hotel is the cost savings. Even before hotels began putting prices up, you were already paying way too much for accommodation.
On average, you’ll pay less than half for corporate housing than you will for a comparable hotel room for stays of 30 days or more.
Clients we work with will save anywhere between 40-80% when they use a furnished rental through Blu than if they rented a hotel room of a similar standard.
When money is tight across the board and inflation is eating into profits, savings like this are too good to ignore!
If you manage to get more for less money, even better!
The exact level of savings will differ depending on the location, the length of stay, the number of people being accommodated and other factors, but on average, you’re going to save big.
House several staff within the same property and you can multiply those savings significantly!
2. Higher levels of satisfaction
Most professionals will cope with whatever accommodation you book for them. But it benefits everyone if they are happy with that choice.
The vast majority of staff who stay in corporate housing are happy with the choice.
You get more space to breathe and relax after work. You get more privacy and can fully kick back in your own space.
There is usually less noise too. No noisy hallways or TV noise coming through thin walls.
No queueing for the buffet breakfast, no having to wait for the bacon or coffee to be refilled before you can eat and no having to share the same space with other people.
Happy staff are more productive staff. If they are representing your company, that can have huge implications on future relationships.
Feedback from our clients shows overwhelmingly that staff that use furnished rentals are much happier than those placed in hotels.
While hotels are great for vacations, they are much less suited to longer stays.
That is borne out in feedback we receive and is one of the reasons we think corporate housing delivers much more for corporate travelers.
3. Flexibility with bookings and services
Businesses have to be agile if they are to compete and need to react quickly to changes.
Using corporate housing can help with that.
You may need to book ahead of time, but we can help you with any change you might need. Need to stay longer? No problem? Need to accommodate more staff? No problem.
Need to change location or move to a new city? No problem.
We can help with any aspect of your rental and while there are contracts, rental periods and so on, we are flexible enough to appreciate things change.
We work a lot with project staff, construction teams, oil and gas workers and other roles that involve change.
Projects run over, locations change, new oil fields are discovered or construction projects are put on hold. Life happens and priorities change.
Work with Blu and you’re working with a partner who can appreciate change.
Flexibility for services is about being able to arrange housekeeping or grocery deliveries.
We can provide a wide number of value-add or essential services on demand.
Contact our team, let us know what you need and when and we’ll handle the rest.
Need to change a delivery day or increase housekeeping visits? No problem. Need to pause them while your people are indisposed for any reason? No problem.
4. Low effort high reward accommodation
This point is as much about us at Blu as it is corporate housing. We offer a largely hands-free experience to all clients and it is very well received.
Most companies have enough going on as it is without having to manage landlords, utilities and the many aspects of accommodating traveling staff.
Work with us and we take care of the majority of that for you.
Tell us where you need to be and when and we can shortlist suitable accommodation for you.
If you need to be close to somewhere specific, tell us and we’ll select accordingly. Need to house multiple staff in the same property? Tell us and we’ll handle it.
Once shortlisted, select your property of choice and we’ll book it and work with the landlord. We’ll ensure everything is ready for your arrival, including utilities, internet and any extra services you require.
If you need anything extra during the stay, we can arrange it. Need to change dates or the number of people? We’ll take care of it.
Once the rental is over, we’ll handle everything so your people can pack and leave without having to worry about anything.
This approach is also very useful for freelancers, startups and small businesses.
We work with a lot of consultants, contractors and other people who don’t work in large companies or corporations.
They also don’t have the time to handle every aspect of corporate housing, which is where we come in.
It doesn’t matter to us whether you’re a freelance project manager or part of a global multinational.
We do our best by everyone and aim to deliver what you need, when you need it and a superior level of service to every client.
Need to stay close to an oil or gas field? We can help. Want to be close to a military base? We can help. Need to be close to a construction site or in a rural area? We can help with those too.
We have properties close to most larger government locations, military bases, colleges and universities, research centers, manufacturing centers, oil fields, medical districts and anywhere people tend to need to stay.
Work with Blu and you can choose from any of these housing options at any time. It’s all part of the service!
Corporate housing for company travel
As you can see, there are many reasons why corporate housing makes perfect sense for company travel.
Not only do you get more for a lot less, you also get flexibility, happier staff, a wider range of locations and the freedom to change your plans as your business needs.
The business landscape has changed a lot over the past few years. We work differently, in different places and are beginning to travel differently too.
It’s that last change we’re discussing here.
Now business is firmly back in action, the demand for travel is steadily increasing. Even in the Zoom era, there’s still a need for in-person meetings and for staff to work outside the office.
Remote working and video conferencing answer some of the challenges of the modern business, but it cannot answer all of them.
People still have to travel to clients, work in other offices, travel to building sites or oil fields, be seconded to other universities or hospitals or undergo extensive training for new roles or responsibilities.
Life goes on and business never stops. Which means there’s a strong demand for business travel.
In fact, we have seen a significant increase in demand for business travel in the second half of 2022.
When everything around us is changing and evolving, why should we go back to the same old ways of working?
The old and new ways of business travel
Not all that long ago, if you traveled on business, chances are you took a flight, hired a car at the destination and stayed in a hotel near the airport or near where you needed to be.
It was a tried and tested combination that delivered predictability and the comfort of the familiar.
But it was far from cheap, or flexible.
Hotels are raising prices all the time. They nickel and dime you for every conceivable thing. They are located close to noisy airports or tourist areas and they are often busy and noisy.
None of which is ideal for the busy business traveler.
That all still happens, but there are now many more viable options.
You can ride share instead of hiring a car. You can home share instead of staying in a hotel.
You can also use corporate housing instead of a hotel.
Corporate housing is fully managed, fully furnished and equipped and designed as a genuine home from home.
What’s more, stay for 30 days or more and it could cost less than half a comparable hotel room!
All while providing a private space for your staff to eat, drink and relax with the comforts of home while working away.
It’s more private and much more reliable than home sharing. It’s cheaper and offers more space to relax than a hotel.
Corporate housing is typically close to business districts, so will often be more convenient too.
For staff, corporate housing offers a comfortable home or apartment with private space and all amenities. If the building or development has facilities, you can use those too.
For companies, corporate housing shows staff you value them by giving them more. It’s also hands-off, as Blu manages everything for you.
Finally, it’s cheaper than a hotel. Even though you get more, you pay less. In the current climate, that’s a genuine rarity!
So now we have set the scene, let’s get to those 5 reasons why corporate housing works for business.
We have touched upon them in the introduction but let’s cover them in more detail.
1. Cost savings
The most compelling reason for using corporate housing is the potential for cost savings.
Business travel costs money and with inflation like it is, any opportunity to save a little cash without compromising quality or amenities has to be a good thing.
Corporate housing can help with that.
On average, companies can save anywhere between 40-80% on accommodation costs when using corporate housing.
Much depends on the location and length of stay, but on average, you can save in excess of 50% on a comparable hotel for stays of 30 days or more if you use a corporate apartment.
All while providing more space, more privacy, more amenities and all the comforts of home.
Unfortunately, we can’t help with the cost of flights or car hire, but we can definitely save money on accommodation!
In fact, we may be able to help with car hire.
Many corporate rentals are in Downtown areas or financial districts. Close to work, close to stores and local amenities.
Potentially, your staff may not need to hire cars at all!
Another cost saving!
Typically, the longer the stay, the lower the rate. So, unlike hotels, you could actually be paying even less for staying longer.
How’s that for a great deal?
2. Location, location, location
As we alluded to a second ago, corporate housing tends to be in Downtown areas or financial or business districts.
That means no driving or getting the bus from an airport hotel or having to travel from sketchy areas with motel rows.
You can drive if you want, but it’s an option and not a necessity. That’s a minor but often important distinction.
If you’re in the military, work at a university or hospital, you’ll find corporate rentals close to those too.
Blu Corporate Housing has furnished rentals close to the largest military bases in the country. We also have housing close to many leading universities and large medical centers too.
With around 50,000 rentals in over 5,000 cities in the continental United States, Blu has access to almost every city in the country.
They will be close to the office, the hospital, the university, the building site, the oil field, the training center or the military base.
As corporate housing tends to be standard apartments or homes converted for business use, they can literally be anywhere.
3. All the comforts of home
The phrase ‘home from home’ is well-worn and somewhat overused, but is perfectly apt for describing corporate housing.
Long term rentals are outfitted just like your home and to a similar quality.
They will include high quality furniture, all appliances, soft furnishings, bedding, cookware, cutlery, crockery and everything your staff need to begin living right away.
All your team will need to bring with them are clothes and any personal items they cannot live without.
Even if staff share an apartment, they get to use all of it.
They will have their own private bedroom and free rein over the lounge, kitchen, diner, bathroom and any other spaces.
Need to do the laundry? No need to pay someone to do it unless you want to. There will usually be laundry amenities within the property.
Wash your clothes and live there as you would live at home.
From our own business travel experience, we find it much easier to relax and unwind in our own space than in a hotel room.
It’s quieter, there’s a better feeling of privacy and security and there’s usually a lot less noise from neighboring rooms and the hallway!
Need to work from home? That’s tough in a hotel room. Even the largest rooms or suites are hardly restful places.
Rent a corporate apartment and you have the entire space as your own. Spread out, put on some music or do whatever it is you need to do to work.
Finally, if you drive to the location, you’ll likely have a driveway or private parking.
Anyone who has used hotel parking will know how common it is to end up with mystery scratches or dents in their car.
It’s another small thing, but they are definitely mounting up!
4. Staff satisfaction
Staff retention is becoming tougher as shortages of skilled staff continue to bite. You could throw money at the problem, but that’s not always enough of a motivation to stay.
Showing staff you value them can be a considerable motivator.
Corporate housing can help with that.
If you don’t have the travel budget for 4 or 5 star hotel, you can give staff much more with corporate housing.
It offers frictionless travel for staff and delivers more space, more amenities and more satisfaction while they are there.
Your team couldn’t fail to be impressed if you rent them a penthouse or high end apartment in the center of a city instead of the same old chain hotels.
They get more space and a better experience while you save money at the same time.
While we all have bills to pay, making your people feel valued is one of the strongest staff retention techniques there is.
5. Customer service
If you have ever rented privately, you know it can be a bit of an epic journey. Lots of paperwork, credit checks, huge deposits and regular inspections by the agent.
There is less hassle with a hotel but there’s still plenty of paperwork to handle.
That’s not the case with Blu and our corporate housing. You get a dedicated account specialist who will be your single point of contact for everything.
Our team are here to help with anything.
We can find your accommodation, shortlist a bunch of options and liaise with landlord to book and manage the rental.
We are also here if anything goes wrong or if you need extra services. A pipe burst? We’ll manage the repair. Need grocery deliveries or housekeeping? We’ll book and manage it.
We are here to help with every step of the way.
From finding viable options in out of the way places, recommending rentals close to military bases or offices and helping arrange cable or internet while your people are there.
It’s all part of the service!
If you’re involved with business travel and want to change it up, corporate housing can help.
It offers more, for less and you’ll have less work on your hands managing it too.
It isn’t often a solution is a genuine win win without a downside, but this is one of those times!
Click here to view our off-base housing for Military and DoD personnel
Anyone who has served for any length of time will tell you the quality of base housing is a genuine mix. While billions of dollars have been invested over the past decade, there is still work to do to catch up.
That’s why many serving personnel prefer to live off base.
Whether that’s renting a house or apartment or buying one, living off base is a common occurrence across all four branches.
That’s what this post is all about.
We’re going to offer actionable advice on finding the best furnished off-base military lodging.
No matter where you’re serving or how long you’re serving for, we can help.
We’re going to outline your main options if you’re changing station, on secondment or TDY.
On-base hotel or DOD lodging
You may not want to stay in base housing but what about a base hotel? Hotel, inn, DIOD lodging, call it what you like, it’s about the most convenient option there is.
It’s on-base, close to your station, cheap and convenient. You pay by the night and most, if not all, costs should be covered by your stipend.
You’re still using military property though. Some on-base hotels have been outsourced and provide better standards of accommodation. Not all will though.
If you’re traveling with family, forget on-base accommodation. Getting a pass and an escort every time they want to visit or leave is more trouble than it’s worth!
Off-base hotels
Off-base hotels will offer much higher standards of accommodation but charge a lot more for it.
Hotels are usually located in convenient places, close to base or transport links and will have amenities too.
However, for longer stays, a hotel room soon becomes confining. Those four walls soon begin closing in and living in a single room is never the best.
It may have been fine as a recruit or non-com, but it could have been a long time since you had to live in one room!
Airbnb
Airbnb has the flexibility you need to provide reliable off-base housing. Not all housing options will be suitable for military personnel or have long enough rental terms for secondments or longer stays.
Prices can be all over the place too.
The good news is the sheer volume of properties available gives you a lot to work with and perhaps provide the ability to switch between hosts for longer stays.
Do your research though, as it really is up to you to check out the place and ensure it’s up to standard.
Renting a house or apartment
Renting a house or apartment is a logical option if you’re at your new station or know you’ll be there for a year or more.
The downside of renting like this is that most houses or apartments are unfurnished. They are also for fixed contracts.
As we all know, TDY can change within hours and a standard lease agreement isn’t usually flexible enough to cope with that without costing you money.
Some leases are sympathetic to the needs of military personnel, but those tend to rent fast!
Corporate furnished housing for military personnel
There is another option you may not have thought of. Renting corporate housing. Despite the name, they work well for military personnel.
You pay by the month, they are fully furnished and equipped. You can block-book for months at a time or have a rolling monthly contract.
Work with the right housing provider and we can accommodate the unique needs of TDY too.
Corporate housing is typically in downtown areas, financial districts and the suburbs. Many are within reach of camp or base, or at least close to transport links to your duty station.
As a final benefit, all rents for corporate rentals are fully inclusive. That means one payment covers all your bills, utilities and essential services.
Everything is set up for you and can be managed by one of our team.
If you’re looking for safe, secure accommodation that’s flexible enough to cope with TDY, you’ve found it!
Are you building your own home? Need somewhere to stay while your home is being built? We can help!
One key challenge when building your home is where to stay in the meantime. Few of us have the resources to stay in our existing home while our house is being built.
So where do you stay?
Do you rent a hotel room for months at a time? Do you stay in a trailer or RV? Do you stay on site?
All those things are possible, but we recommend furnished housing.
You can rent month by month, houses are fully furnished and equipped and you can stay close to your new home and watch it being built.
Housing options for self builders
Of the million details you have to address when building your own home, where to stay while it’s being built is often overlooked.
Considering how important it is, that’s a mistake!
Your options are typically:
Rent a motel or hotel
Renting a motel or hotel for anything up to a year will be expensive!
Those four walls will also begin closing in on you long before your house is built. The combination of single room living, lack of cooking space, freedom to wander and the inconvenience of living among other people will soon wear thin.
Trailer or RV
Parking a trailer or RV on site is one way to live while your house is being built.
It might not be a comfortable way though. If your plot has room while keeping you out of the way of heavy machinery, it might work.
That is as long as you don’t mind the noise, dust, swearing and bad music that’s a staple for most construction sites!
Not all self builds will have the space for a trailer or RV alongside everything the contractor needs to build your home.
Keep your current home while your new one is built
In an ideal world, you would keep living in your current home while your new house it being built.
How many of us can pay for an entire house to be built without selling our current home?
How many of us could qualify for a large enough mortgage to cover our current house and pay for a new one?
Click here to browse our furnished housing for Spring Training Season
After Major League Baseball committed to providing housing for players this year, demand for high quality furnished housing has increased exponentially.
If you’re in the MLB, you’re going to need to work with a team you can trust to help you fulfill your commitments.
We are that team.
If you need furnished housing for spring training 2022, we can help.
The MLB housing commitment
The MLB committed to providing housing for up to 90% of all minor league baseball players for spring training and other training events.
“The owners are confident that this investment will help ensure that Minor League players have every opportunity to achieve their dreams of becoming Major Leaguers,” said Morgan Sword, MLB’s Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations.
High quality furnished housing for MLB spring training
Spring training is an essential part of the training calendar. After having been postponed due to the pandemic, it is back and ready to rock and roll.
It’s the perfect opportunity for new players to get to know their team dynamic and try out for the season roster.
It’s also a great opportunity to practice close to the level you’ll be playing throughout the season.
It’s also great for spectators to get a little early season action.
In essence, spring training is great all round.
Travelers Haven and furnished housing for MLB spring training
As a national provider of high quality furnished housing, we’re your perfect partner for securing cost-effective rented accommodation for spring training.
With thousands of properties across thousands of cities across the country, we have the scale and housing stock to ensure your entire team is well looked after.
What’s more, we have hundreds of apartments, penthouses, single family homes and other accommodation in Florida and Arizona.
Ideal for the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues!
Our properties in Florida are located in Bradenton, Clearwater, Fort Myers, Lakeland, Port Charlotte, Port St Lucie, Sarasota, Tampa and Palm Beach.
Our Arizona properties include rentals in Glendale, Goodyear, Mesa, Peoria, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Surprise and Tempe.
All the locations the majority of the MLB will conduct spring training in!
MLB spring training housing for players and staff
Furnished housing is a low-maintenance, turnkey housing solution. Housing includes all furnishings and household items, so all you need to bring is your kit and clothes.
Everything else is taken care of for you.
No fuss and no stress, allowing you to concentrate fully on training.
MLB spring training housing for fans
Baseball isn’t a sport, it’s a way of life. We know many fans who think nothing of taking a long vacation from work to follow their team to Florida or Arizona to watch spring training.
Hotels are great, but if you’re spending longer than a week in one, the novelty soon wears off.
That’s where furnished housing comes in. A fully furnished and equipped apartment. All development amenities and all the freedom to come and go as you please.
All rents are fully inclusive and is one less thing you need to worry about while you watch your team improve its form.
If you need furnished housing for spring training, contact the experts today. We’re the team you can depend on!
Corporate housing is big business. It’s one of the few industries that managed to maintain growth throughout the pandemic and is still showing impressive growth now, in spite of the economic slowdown.
But who are the top movers and shakers? If you’re looking for corporate housing, who should you do business with?
We cannot answer that last question for you but we can outline the top 15 corporate housing companies in 2023 so you can make an informed decision yourself.
Blueground
Blueground is a global corporate housing provider with locations across the world. With offices and staff all over the globe, this is a company with a wider world view than most.
It provides corporate housing across north America, Middle East and the European Union. Blueground has some of the cheapest prices in their markets.
If you need to find furnished rentals further afield than the US, this is a company to try.
Blu Corporate Housing (yes, that’s us!)
Blu Corporate Housing is a national leader in corporate housing. We have fully furnished housing options in nearly every single U.S. city, both big and small. Don’t believe us? Head over to our housing locations page and browse our listings to see for yourself.
Each and every rental comes completely furnished with all housewares and utilities. This includes gas, water, internet service, TV (Hulu or Netflix), and electric.
National Corporate Housing
National Corporate Housing is a large provider of temporary furnished housing with international coverage.
The company specializes in corporate travel and has been expending into the European Union over the past few years.
They are ideal for companies that need to place staff internationally as well as within the United States.
Travelers Haven
Travelers Haven seemingly came out of nowhere to dominate corporate housing. It’s based in Denver, Colorado and has properties across the country, in every city and state.
The company covers most requirements, from corporations, insurance, government, military and anyone who needs fully furnished rentals.
The company is ideal for those who like a personal service and to have a fully managed experience.
VIP Corporate Housing
VIP Corporate Housing are another national provider of furnished rentals in the US. The company has a more laid back approach than National Corporate Housing, yet provides a very similar service.
The company specializes in offering flexible accommodation with an a la carte menu of amenities. They are limited to what’s available at the rental but it’s a nice idea.
Based in Colorado, the company provides flexible furnished rentals to corporations, the medical profession, government agencies, law enforcement, insurance companies and anyone who needs accommodation for 30 days or more.
FOX Corporate Housing
FOX Corporate Housing is a no-nonsense, high quality provider of corporate housing across the US. It promotes fully inclusive rents, high quality properties and everything included in the rent.
The company is another based in Houston, Texas and boasts over 1000’s properties on its books. Those include the full range of apartments penthouses and houses across the country.
They have hundreds of properties within those four regions and provide turnkey services to companies and government agencies.
Synergy Housing
Synergy Housing has a real corporate feel and concentrate on that market. They have a wide global presence with properties across the US and EU, with a few further afield.
There is an upmarket Airbnb feel about the website and the approach which will work well for some clientele.
Homelike
Homelike are a European company with a US presence. They are larger in the EU than here, but still manage to capture a good portion of the domestic market.
The company works with business, government and tourists to provide longer stay accommodation in leading cities across the world.
Sirva
Sirva brings us firmly back on home soil. It’s a US-based corporate provider that provides the whole package.
The company provides relocation and moving services, corporate housing, mortgages, visa and immigration services and anything to do with moving.
Murphy’s Corporate Housing Associates
Murphy’s Corporate Housing Associates are a more focused property-based company based in Texas. The company has a good reach domestically, although doesn’t quite have the same portfolio as someone like Travelers Haven.
Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a rented apartment, they can help.
SilverDoor
SilverDoor is a global business accommodation provider with a high end feel. It has a presence across the world, including the EU, Asia and Middle East. It also provides furnished rentals to the domestic US market.
The company also provides fully serviced apartments, which other providers tend to not offer.
SACO
SACO, The Serviced Apartment Company, doesn’t just offer serviced properties but also corporate properties.
SACO features mainly apartments but has homes too. They offer a price match scheme but we didn’t test it so don’t know how good it really is. Otherwise, the company looks to be a solid contender in the corporate housing market.
2nd Address
2nd Address is a US-based corporate housing provider that offers around 4,300 properties across the States. It isn’t quite the scale of some of these others, but the quality is top class.
The company offers corporate housing, owner-run rentals and curated homes. All should be fully furnished and equipped and provide good quality housing.
Not everyone who requires long-term hospital treatment stay in hospital. Wards and recovery rooms can be busy, hospitals are usually bustling night and day and are usually noisy spaces. Not conducive to rest and recovery!
So, what’s the alternative?
We would suggest furnished corporate housing.
Whether you’re a patient undergoing long term treatment, are in remission but need monitoring, convalescing or are in rehabilitation, we can help.
If you want to be with family undergoing treatment during these tough times and need somewhere to stay, we can help you too.
Furnished temporary housing for medical treatment and recovery
If you need to stay close to a hospital for 30 days or more, renting a furnished apartment makes perfect sense.
They are much, much cheaper than a hotel. Cheaper than many hospital-owned options and more convenient than a motel or Airbnb.
They are also fully furnished and equipped and fully managed so you don’t have to do a thing.
Many furnished temporary houses or apartments are in Downtown areas, financial districts and medical districts.
We can also source furnished rentals in rural or quieter areas if you need total rest!
Advantages of furnished housing for medical needs
We outlined some key advantages of using furnished temporary housing above, but let’s dig a little deeper.
Here are some key advantages of saying in a furnished temporary housing:
Great locations
Many furnished temporary housing options will be in business or medical districts, or Downtown. This will often be ideal for getting to the hospital or clinic for treatment, monitoring or visiting.
They will also be close to stores, amenities, transport links and anything else you might need during your stay. (take a look at our locations here)
Turnkey convenience
Furnished temporary housing comes with everything you could need during your stay.
That will include kitchenware, bedding, towels, cutlery and everything you have in your own home. All will be clean and ready to use.
You don’t need to pack anything but your clothes as everything will be in your apartment waiting for you.
Most furnished temporary housing also includes utilities, cable or satellite TV and internet, so there’s one less thing to worry about.
Value for money
If you’re staying for longer than 30 days, furnished temporary housing makes perfect sense.
It’s cheaper than hotels, around 50% cheaper in many cases. It’s also cheaper than many hospital properties or property partnerships.
Rents are fully inclusive too. The price you see is the price you pay. All bills, utilities, trash and any other service you require will be included in that price.
A place of your own
Whether you’re recovering from a procedure, being treated for something, convalescing, recovering or rehabilitating, there’s nothing like having your own space.
The same is true if you’re here to be with family or friends while they are going through something.
A private space, private entrance, your own bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and seating area. Many properties will also have a balcony or patio for a little outside space.
Hotels are great when you’re on vacation but they aren’t a way of life for longer periods.
Whether you’re a doctor or nurse, patient or family, if you need to stay away from home for an extended period, furnished temporary housing is the perfect option!
Blu Corporate Housing is the ideal choice for anyone looking for construction crew lodging anywhere in the country. If you need accommodation for yourself or your crews, we’re here to help.
You probably know all too well how cramped a hotel room can be after a few weeks. If you’re on a construction project for any length of time, there really is nothing like having a fully furnished apartment to stay in. You get more space, more freedom and room to breath after a hard day’s work.
There are many benefits to using corporate housing for your construction crews, here are just a few:
Benefits for Employers
If you run crews around the country, or even your state, you know how expensive it can be to have your team living in a hotel, even a cheap one. The effect on morale is significant as you’ll hear with the reaction you get when you tell them they are working away from home for a while!
Blu Corporate Housing’s crew housing uses the same high quality furnished housing as our corporate clients. They cost the same, enjoy the same high level of decoration, outfitting and locations. Plus, you can house several workers at once in each apartment, depending on the size.
They also offer significantly more living space than a hotel room and best of all, they cost much less. The average housing solution from Blu Corporate Housing costs up to 50 percent less than a comparable hotel room for stays of 30 days or more.
Giving your staff more space, more freedom and a higher standard of accommodation while they are away will only benefit you as an employer. You get happier, more productive staff who are more likely to stay loyal to someone who looks after them. Considering all these benefits cost less than a hotel, it’s a win win!
Benefits for Construction Crews
The crews themselves work hard, so will want to relax too. While hotels offer a lot, they are cramped, offer extremely varying levels of comfort, can be lonely and very boring. Hotels will charge you for everything, some TV channels, making calls, laundry and of course, your meals. While much of it will be covered by the company, some of it will not.
Blu’s construction crew lodging offers everything you would expect from a high class apartment, in good areas, with all the comforts of home. Depending on the size of the apartment, you could be sharing with your buddies or have it all to yourself.
The apartment is likely to have TV, maybe cable, a fully working kitchen, laundry and everything else you enjoy at home. If you were working away for a few weeks at a time, which would you rather have?
If you need construction crew housing anywhere in the country for periods of 30 days or more, contact us today. We’re here to help! You can also start your housing hunt by navigating our directory and finding your city.
If you’re looking to change up your company travel or want to lower the cost of accommodation, you’re in the right place.
