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It’s really not crazy, it’s normal for healthcare, especially hospitals. I’m not a nurse, but a therapist, and we never have to work overnights like nurses (except for burn care in a trauma center) but we often work 12 hour shifts. About 80% of my jobs have routinely been 12 hours a day, but that was because I got paid more, not because other therapists weren’t working 6 or 8 hours.
It is a choice. Lots of nurses are working 8 hour shifts, 5 days a week. Being able to do “12s” is a perk and one that many of my friends have chosen because they only have to work 3 days to get paid full time and then have 4 days to write songs, restore an old house or raise triplets (true stories).
Besides lots of nurses work in settings outside of hospitals. Nurses in nursing homes don’t usually work 12-hour shifts, school nurses never work 12-hour shifts, nurses at doctor’s offices don’t work 12 hours, corporate care nurses don’t work 12 hours, those nurses at the minute clinics don’t work 12-hour shifts, etc, etc, etc but they do get paid less per hour of work. It is a choice and there are perks to it that I totally understand but all nurses do not have to work 12 hour shifts, it is really a choice (one best for the young too , ).
It’s just another case of people thinking they deserve discounts because of whatever. A whatever that isn’t a host’s affair- book a place you can afford, not find one you really like and then try to chisel the host down.
Whether it’s Can I have a discount because I’m a nurse, a student, miltary, lost my job because of COVID, it’s all in the realm of entitlement and the attitude that one’s financial situation should be catered to by a complete stranger.
Can’t afford an entire place? Gee, then maybe you’ll have to limit yourself to private room listings. That’s life.
Right? Those are the obvious solutions but I have dealt with a few nurses and a doctor in the last month that are proposing to leave their dog for 15 hours. I asked one, “would you consider hiring a sitter, like a Rover service?” She said, "No. that’s why I work nights so that I don’t have to pay extra to take care of my dogs. " But 15 hours is not a “night” Maybe it has to do with Covid, I can understand not wanting someone coming into your apartment right now. And there’s a part of me that has wanted to offer to take them out, which I have often done for guests in the past, but I don’t want to go into someone else’s space right now. It’s just extra-complicated right now, like everything else.
has finally sent me his paperwork. And he is the partner of the first girl and he is making $17,200/month. So this couple, who asked for a discount of $300 off of the $2300 rent, has a monthly income of $33,900. They are going to make more than $100,000 in the 3 months that they want to live here but they effectively want me to give them an additional $900 by lowering the rent by $300/month
I don’t get wrapped up in what they make. Don’t give them a discount.
No it isn’t. I’ve been beaten in another thread because some people just always ask. If you don’t ask, you won’t get…maybe they are just asking because they were advised to…
Btw they are worth their weight in gold. I challenge anyone including me to do the work. I could do it 6 hrs a day at best
If you’ve never been in a hospital it is hard to realize the value of the RNs, therapists, phlebotomists, patient care services aids, dietary etc. it takes a team. I personally think a patient care aid is one of the most valuable.
I just got a booking, disabled vet and partner touring historical places and battlefields. They asked if there was a discount for vets, they weren’t obnoxious.
I don’t mind if anyone simply asks, once, politely.
By the way, no discount. I had a loss last year and I won’t be fully open until after my 2nd vaccine, so I have a lot of income to make up this year.
Fortunately it’s a small side business, and I’m not dependent on it, but I need to make a profit to continue providing nice accommodations for travelers like these.
Well said! We’ve had a barrage of entitlement coming from guests who cite being a single mother as a reason why we should offer a discount or provide a refund outside of our policies. My partner and I are particularly bothered by this, as we’ve both been under so much fiscal stress with underemployment in our various industries, and yet are expected to cater to a stranger’s personal situations.
We cannot fathom reaching out to any business and asking them to lower their prices based on any sob story from us.
We happily offer small discounts (or simply a small gift, or a late checkout/early check in) to our A+ repeat guests, but know through this forum that someone requesting a discount off the bat is a potential problem.
Hey Sue, I am sorry, I combined two different things (only because they were both nurses and discounts) and so I just want to clarify. I was under the impression that you were wanting a monthly rent price for a long term lease to be done directly with you and not on Airbnb. In that case, a monthly rent price would be discounted down from your Airbnb nightly rate. (Unless you just do not want a monthly renter and prefer to do stick with Airbnb guests.)
That math scenario thing I went through above with my estimates of your costs that came to $2500, that would be discounted from your Airbnb price so as to be a monthly rental price. But you shouldn’t discount from that (your monthly rental price) if you find it to be the fair price for both you and a renter (whether nurse, plumber or circus clown).
The price I was discussing is my monthly rental price, not my Airbnb price (I don’t do monthly rentals on Airbnb). It is steeply discounted from my average $144/night for two guests on Airbnb. The women (just happened to be nurses) I was speaking of wanted me to discount my monthly rental rate which is already discounted from my Airbnb rate. I am not going to discount the monthly rental rate further for them.
I think you’re right about this. And, especially, healthcare providers right now during Covid are receiving discounts in a lot of places, so it may be the expectation at this point. If they had merely asked, I wouldn’t have mentioned it. However, these ladies ticked me off because they implied some special circumstances and said that they had a strict budget they were working with. I honestly starting thinking they weren’t RNs but CNAs or something. It was misleading and, considering their actual income, just petty. And I am mad at myself for getting sucked into it and offering even the $100/month discount, because I am bit of a sucker
There are other people who need a furnished apt for reasons, even work reasons and they may have a budget, but traveling nurses are already compensated for their housing. They have housing stipends and don’t need a discount from those of us providing housing. In this case, they each have a housing stipend large enough to rental multiple houses at a time in my market. The mortgage for a 3-family house is not even as much as one of their housing stipends, so they are more than covered for housing. They just want to keep some of the housing money for themselves. Money that is tax-free because it is for housing. It is really a bit of scam, nurse or no nurse.
Travel nurses are, I think, a US phenomenon. I’d never heard of them before, and half of my family are health care workers, in a variety of positions.
What we get down here is teachers and teaching assistants asking for discounts. Knowing how poorly paid many of them are, I know why they’re doing it, but still say no.
From September to November last year we probably had around half a dozen enquires, which given the health situation then, seemed to me to be a lot.
There are a lot of US and UK students here also, basically working as classroom helpers, to improve their Spanish. Their degree subject is usually something Spanish related, history, literature etc.
They often don’t get a lot of help from their schools with finding accommodation so many use Airbnb and think they’ll be doing us a favour by renting an apartment for six months. Only problem is, they all want to pay around €500 per month
I must confess I was a bit tempted, just to bring in some revenue, but decided against it. We did pick up enough STR that at least the bills were paid, without having essentially a tenant downstairs.
I am not entirely sure about travel nurses, because I am a therapist. However, there are lots of programs for me to be a travel therapist to at least the UK, Ireland and Australia. When I was a younger therapist, I did a couple of travel assignments in the US. And was contacted by agencies providing therapists to other countries. I really considered it, but I was so accustomed to making so much money already and the international placements only paid about half of what I was getting even as a non-travel therapist in the US. But I imagine that is one of the many reasons the healthcare is actually affordable in those other countries too. I can only imagine how all of these special “covid pay packages” are going to effect our costs here.
But there are nurses doing this work in the US for their regular pay rate, which is still much higher than nurses in other countries. And nurses in other countries are taking care of their covid patients for much much less. So, it still feels a little shady to me. But this is america
I would probably reply, “Thank you for sending your employment verification. I have one question, thought, because I’m confused. I see you have a housing stipend of $3,700. Can you explain to me again why you and your colleague can’t afford the standard $2,300 per month rental and you need a discounted stay?”
This is off topic, but it speaks to “entitlement,” which has been mentioned in this thread.
As a former manager in the corporate world, I read lots of resumes and cover letters. I’ll never forget the cover letter that opened like this: “Since the tragic murder of my wife . . . “
I know that, manner wise, it is none of my business But of course I thought it. Anyway, I came across some of their social media and they got engaged in December. I imagine that some of that tax-free housing money is going to the wedding
Anyway, I am still waiting to get all of their info and I am not interested in tracking it down from them. And there is someone else interested. And I haven’t received any deposit money either. Who says it, riverrock?, …Next!
Yes some are. In general Covid care nurses are exhausted, worn out, and changing jobs. Without nurses willing to step in at higher pay rates, simply put some areas would have no nurses.
Every healthcare worker faces risks. It is estimated 30% of direct Covid care staff have caught it even with PPE.
Nurse salaries in the USA other than unionized areas tend to be low.
In my area average Hospital staff RN pay is $60,000 which is the same as the “ average for (all) other workers in the state ($ 60,000 dollars a year).”
Travel nurse jobs will substantially evaporate when the current medical crisis ends. The extremely high pay certainly will end with travel nurse jobs returning to lower pay.
Maybe it has to do with Covid, I can understand not wanting someone coming into your apartment right now. And there’s a part of me that has wanted to offer to take them out, which I have often done for guests in the past, but I don’t want to go into someone else’s space right now. It’s just extra-complicated right now, like everything else.
But of course I thought it. Anyway, I came across some of their social media and they got engaged in December. I imagine that some of that tax-free housing money is going to the wedding