Your Full Guide to Corporate Housing Seattle

Whether you’re a traveling nurse, construction worker, executive, or any other type of remote worker who’s looking at a stint in Seattle — finding corporate housing isn’t always easy. Click here to view our housing listings in Seattle / Tacoma.

The reason for this is that there’s a housing gap.

There are generally full-term rentals (6 to 12 months) available in most places. And Seattle is no exception to this.

And there are plenty of hotels.

But corporate and short-term housing is another story.

Well, in this guide, we’re going to tell you everything you need to know about finding the best corporate housing options in Seattle, Washington.

We know a thing or two about the short-term housing market. We’re also well-versed in how to find the best corporate housing available.

Seattle presents unique corporate housing challenges. In this guide, you’ll learn our best tricks to help traveling professionals like you have a better experience with a rental for your work trip.

Let’s dive into it.

The Basics: Corporate Housing in Seattle

When it comes to corporate housing in Seattle, there are both challenges and upsides.

On the one hand, doing a simple internet search for corporate housing in the city will reveal some options. Yet, you’ll also quickly find that affordable corporate housing that meets your needs as a traveling professional is difficult to nail down.

Corporate rentals can be challenging to figure out for business travelers without a go-between who understands their specific needs.

So, what you end up with is a situation where a simple internet search will reveal some options. But you’ll notice that as you start filtering those options for what you want (and need) on a short-term or month-to-month lease, your choices will begin to dwindle.

This is the challenge. Even in a place as large and populated as the Seattle area, it can be tough to find the perfect corporate housing option for your specific array of needs.

Taking a closer look at your options will yield far better chances of actually finding something that’ll work for you.

Related: How to Find Proper Housing for Nomadic Healthcare Workers

Top Types of Corporate Housing Available in Seattle

Let’s take a look at some of the best corporate housing options available to you in different parts of Seattle.

Furnished Apartments

Furnished apartments are also sometimes called:

• Corporate apartments
• Apartment homes
• Bedroom apartments

They are apartments that are available to rent on a short-term basis (30 days or longer). They come fully furnished and include an equipped kitchen. You could easily move in as you travel for work and then move out after your assignment is complete.

A quick look at furnished apartment options in Seattle will show you they average anywhere from $725/month (for a simple studio apartment) to upwards of $10,000/month.

You’ll tend to find the most furnished apartment options in the area between Capitol Hill, First Hill, and Belltown.

If you make a triangle, using the outer edges of these districts as marker points, you’ll notice that the vast majority of these furnished apartments will be within that triangle.

Short-Term Rentals

Short-term rentals, also known as temporary housing, are a category of rentals that include apartments and studios and houses and townhouses.

The problem with short-term rentals that fall into the house and townhouse category is that they can be challenging to track down. And Seattle isn’t necessarily an easy place to find such rentals.

For example, you can locate vacation rentals in Seattle, but you need to be super-specific about the length of stay and the available dates. And the prices tend to get fairly high pretty quickly.

Plus, on many websites, if you try to book a vacation rental for a month or more, you generally end up needing to call the rental company anyway.

It’s common to need to call every option for availability when looking at rentals that fall into that “short-term rental” framework. And that’s a time and labor-intensive affair that most traveling professionals just don’t have the bandwidth for.

But even so, once you start digging into exactly how much pricing is on units like this, you’ll find a surprisingly large range. We’re talking over $1,000 per month in the price for cheaper units to luxury options that (no joke) can cost anywhere between $40,000 to $100,000 per month!

You’ll also find, geographically speaking, that a lot of these types of properties are spaced out and further away from downtown Seattle.

Draw a square using the outer edges of Kirkland, Bellevue, the upper west side of Seattle where the city meets the Puget Sound, and then down to Tacoma. Now, you’ll be looking at the widespread area where you’ll be most likely to find short-term rental options in the form of houses, townhouses, etc.

But you won’t find many non-apartment options near the downtown area.

Airbnb

A quick Airbnb search of Seattle, Washington will reveal quite a few different options for potential corporate housing.

The good thing about Airbnb is that they do usually have quite a few rentals listed.

You can use their service to find lofts in Pioneer Square, quaint houses in the Ave E Queen Anne area, vacation rentals in Pike Place Market, and more.

But here’s the thing about Airbnb:

It doesn’t tend to work as a reliable, sustainable option for traveling workers who need a rental that will meet their housing needs with professional seamlessness.

Since Airbnb is a space-sharing marketplace, you’ll find that short-term rentals booked through them will be subject to the professionalism and whims of the hosts.

Sometimes this works out alright. But sometimes, it doesn’t.

Plus, you can never be sure that your privacy will remain completely intact. You are, after all, staying in someone else’s home.

It’s also not necessarily unheard of for hosts to cancel reservations.

Overall, this option lacks the stability that traveling workers need for short-term housing stints that will last for more than a week.

Extended Stay Hotels

Extended stay hotels offer longer hotel room stays (typically in the range of 30+ days).

On the upside, extended stay hotels offer a few benefits.

They’re typically easy to find. They also offer a range of standard hotel amenities and give you that “hotel stay” feel for as long as you need it.

But on the downside, extended stay hotels aren’t a fantastic option for remote workers who will be staying in a particular location for longer than 30 days.

And here’s why.

First off, you can get homesick in an extended stay hotel. They can feel a bit cramped after a while and just don’t offer the same “home away from home” experience that corporate housing provides.

Plus, they’re usually smaller and less set up for normal life than corporate rentals are.

Extended stay hotels are also not always pet-friendly. That’s a pretty big deal if you’re a traveling nurse or tech who takes your pet along with you (which is pretty typical for many traveling professionals).

And last, but certainly not least — extended stay hotels can sometimes be surprisingly expensive. This is especially true if you want to rent something nice in a trendy part of the city, especially around the University of Washington, South Lake Union, etc.

If you travel outside of town a bit, such as to Redmond, you may be able to find better prices for extended stay hotels.

But then, you may need to deal with a long commute issue.

Travelers Haven

Travelers Haven takes a slightly different approach to corporate housing.

Our solution is called “workforce housing on-demand” better known as “on-demand housing.”

And it works like this.

We provide furnished, temporary housing solutions specifically tailored to suit your needs.

The best part of our system is that you don’t need to go through the booking process alone.

A big part of managing this is getting on a phone call with you to figure out precisely what you’re looking for and need. Then, we source different options and get back to you to see if any of them sound like a match (this saves you a ton of time and energy).

Another great thing about Travelers Haven is that we make sure that your rental is live-in ready.

We’ll guarantee that the kitchen is equipped, that the apartment/house is furnished, that you have internet, utilities, etc.

And all the payments go directly through us. This makes it super simple.

It doesn’t cost you a penny to see if our unique and tech-driven approach to corporate housing may work for you. We also offer legitimate 24/7 support for anything that you may need regarding your rental.

This just makes everything incredibly straightforward and common-sense.

Getting the Best Rental for Your Money

When choosing a corporate rental, it’s essential to take a close look at what you’re getting for your money.

Top Amenities to Look at Before Renting

Let’s take a moment to go through some of the more important amenities that you should have access to — either at the rental/property itself or, at the very least, nearby in the neighborhood.

High-Speed Internet

Surprisingly, not all corporate rentals come automatically equipped with high-speed internet or wi-fi.

And that’s a problem.

This is an important feature that any quality corporate rental should include.

Pet Friendly

If the rental isn’t pet-friendly, it’s just not going to work for a traveling professional who wants to bring their pet along with them.

Remember, short-term rentals should feel like home.

This is why Travelers Haven is serious about the “pet-friendly” policy.

Fitness Center

It’s vital to maintain your health and fitness, even while on the road.

Making sure that your corporate housing rental is either located near a gym or that there’s a fitness center on the premises is critical.

Room Service/Housekeeping

This can range from simple linen service to full-on housekeeping.

In any case, this can be a handy time-saver for business professionals. It’s not always included, but it’s always good to ask about it.

Washer/Dryer or Laundry Service

You’re going to need to do laundry while you’re out on the road working.

To make this more convenient, make sure that there is either a laundry service on-site or that there are at least laundry options nearby.

An Equipped Kitchen

This is another crucial detail.

When traveling for work for such extended periods, likely, you’re not going to want to eat out for every meal.

An equipped kitchen is essential for preparing your food and feeling more at home in your corporate rental.

Fun Things To Do

It’s also true that your stint as a traveling worker won’t be “all work and no play.” There are many incredible things to see and do in and around Seattle.

These include:

• The Seattle Center & the Space Needle
• The Woodland Park Zoo
• Discovery Park
• Chihuly Garden and Glass
• Mount Rainier National Park
• And many, many more

For some inspiration for more things to see and do in and around Seattle, check out this post by Planetware.com.

See also: 5 Tips to Navigate Temporary Housing for Workers

Conclusion

Finding corporate housing in Seattle may not always be easy.

But hopefully, this guide has helped you understand some of the upsides, downsides, challenges, and solutions.

If you need a bit more assistance, contact Travelers Haven today — even if it’s just to ask about on-demand housing and the benefits associated with it.

We would love to lend you a hand.