Plus Relocation

How does the rise of alternative housing options impact your mobility program?

Services like Airbnb are providing new choices when it comes to temporary housing. Senior Global Supply Chain Specialist Jowell Dummann talks about what this means for mobility in this Relo Tip Tuesday.

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Complete transcript: “Hi, I’m Jowell Albright, a global supply chain specialist here at Plus for temporary housing. Today I’m going to talk to you about the alternatives to temporary housing.

Traditional corporate housing has been equated to extended-stay hotels or corporate apartments. However, throughout the years, a number of alternatives have popped up in the space. The most popular one being Airbnb, but there are a bunch of others, including FlipKey and HomeAway. Often times these are rented through residential property owners.

So how do you determine what is right for your mobility program? First you want to ask yourself a few questions about your internal policy. What is the budget? Where is the relocating employee traveling to? Are they going to a remote destination or a bustling city? What are the tax implications? By answering a few of these questions, it may lead you to a solution or a blend of the solutions.

There are some benefits to using alternatives to temporary housing. This can include:

• a wider arrange of options for larger families
• being in a particular school district or neighborhood
• the flexibility for a person to pick options that are within their budget and timeframe

There can also be some challenges when using alternatives to temporary housing. These include:

• level of security will not be the same
• the amenities may be a little bit different

Additionally, it’s important to understand the laws that govern the area where the relocating employee will be moving to, because there may be limitations to how one uses these alternatives.

If you decide that alternatives to temporary housing are right for your mobility program, it’s important to ensure that you are offering relocating employees insurance and that you give them options, because not everyone will feel comfortable with using alternatives to corporate housing. Thank you for watching.”