Workforce Housing for Traveling Construction Workers

Salary and benefits will attract jobseekers to construction worker jobs. Once hired, how you show them that you care about their well-being in other ways is what keeps them loyal.

Nothing speaks louder than the housing you choose for your team of construction workers when they’re away from their own homes.

Some employers opt for the cheapest lodging options, whether it’s suitable for the person staying there or not.

You, on the other hand, want the best you can get while still sticking to your budget, so you are looking into your options.

You’ll find that workforce housing meets needs better than limited space hotels and gives your workers more opportunities to live a happier, healthier lifestyle. That can translate into higher performance and better quality work.

When you find the right flexible lodging, it’s both convenient for your crew and more budget-conscious for you.

1. Adaptive Changes in Workforce Housing

Society in general, and business in particular, has always been a matter of supply and demand. The largest shift in this economic principle in our living history happened with the COVID-19 pandemic.

A surge in traveling workers from healthcare to construction laborers meant a massive change in nomadic workforce housing was necessary — and the new lodging norm was born.

A Better Workforce Housing Solution

If you’re unsure what’s out there, you’ve probably been defaulting to hotels with long-term stay policies or vacation rentals for your corporate lodging needs. This tends to be expensive and limited to big cities and metropolitan areas, which isn’t always convenient.

Worse, it makes it difficult to keep employee morale up when the team members have to deal with poor lodging solutions.

Long drives to the construction site are draining, especially after a day of hard labor. Fast food dining, as the most affordable and conveniently located option, impacts physical and mental health over time.

Add the feeling of a cold, sterile atmosphere for “guests,” and you get workers who want to get done and get back home fast.

Luckily, general labor contractors and other project managers now have access to opportunities for their crews that were few and far between in the past.

With the help of expert organizations like Travelers Haven, traveling construction workers can live in temporary lodging that feels like a home away from home.

Related: 5 Tips to Navigate Temporary Housing for Workers

2. What Today’s Workforce Housing Looks Like

Those in the traveling construction industry have distinctive needs that a project manager must juggle.

Finding workforce housing for crews and construction management isn’t a simple process. It involves solving challenges like finding accommodations near construction sites and ensuring that the same property can handle big truck and equipment parking.

Today’s workforce housing solutions fill the gaps that a hotel or vacation rental can’t handle.

If your workers need lodging, but the time frame isn’t set in stone, or you’re looking for a customizable living space for multiple people to save funds, it’s not a needle in a haystack search. Now you can get what you need with workforce housing on-demand.

Workforce Housing-On-Demand

The global travel worker industry boom meant a workforce housing-on-demand solution was vital.

Nomadic specialists like construction workers need things that typical renters don’t, and rental companies are willing to compromise if you’re in their network.

Workforce housing on-demand takes the pressure off of you as the project manager and puts the work in the hands of a skilled full-service representative. You provide a list of requests for your team, and the specialists search for a matching solution from a virtual inventory.

The final result puts your part-time and full-time construction crew in lodging that meets their individual needs.

3. Benefits for Construction Workers

Traveling construction labor jobs aren’t for everyone. It takes a particular type of person to handle the long hours, hard physical labor, and time away from their homes.

Yet, finding housing for staffing when they’re on the road usually falls to someone like the ops manager or an assistant (a task that likely wasn’t in their original job description). The default mode for those untrained in specialty workforce housing is usually to search for a hotel or scroll postings on Airbnb.

When they find lodging “near” the worksites in question, they go ahead and book the place — without considering the construction crew’s opinions. It’s not because the person making the booking doesn’t care, but rather because they don’t realize they have other options.

Specialists Focus on More Than the Basics

Pulling in workforce housing specialists removes this extra stress from the plate of the travel organizer.

What could have taken hours of otherwise productive time on other tasks becomes finished quickly. Expenses that are unnecessary disappear, and the construction crew gets housing that makes them feel welcome and satisfied.

What Your Laborers Will Notice With Workforce Housing

A hot shower and comfortable bed are the essentials.

Why stick with the basics, though, when on-demand housing gives you the chance to include personalized amenities?

With a better variety of housing options, your workers can enjoy a furnished living space complete with the big and little touches, like a full kitchen, housewares, and extra pillows.

Does your team like to stay in shape off the job?

Add “fitness center,” “jacuzzi,” or “heated pool” to your request.

Does anyone in the construction company have a dog they bring with them to job sites?

Pet-friendly homes are available.

Construction work usually involves hiring people who can handle the use of equipment like power tools. However, your equal-opportunity job search could also bring in people with special needs. On-demand workforce housing includes options for accessibility.

Your team will notice that you put in the resources to give their temporary home the touches that make life on the road a little easier.

Discover: What to Look For in Furnished Short Term Rentals

4. Workforce Housing Advantages for Project Managers

Whether it was in your original job description or not, the fact is that the task of finding suitable homes for your team is now in your lap.

Finding long-term hotels in big cities like Nashville and Los Angeles is a breeze. Looking for something decent and affordable in the backwoods of upstate New York takes more diligent searching. That is unless you hire a workforce housing team to do the work for you.

The advantages of this type of housing service extend to project managers like you in ways that simplify your role.

Workforce housing aims to help the worker and the manager find convenient, upscale lodging without the headache.

See also: What Is A Corporate Lease [Explained]?

5. Use Travelers Haven for the Ultimate Workforce Housing

Finding a short-term or flexible lease can be a frustrating endeavor. It’s usually dependent on the real estate market, particularly in small towns.

Single-family living spaces are the most demanded type of rental and purchase property. Like the proverbial needle in the haystack, it can take a lot of effort and a stroke of luck to find one for your workers.

Workforce housing takes the work and the luck out of this task. The key is to use a company specializing in creating customized lodging experiences, like Travelers Haven.

Why Travelers Haven is the Solution to Your Workforce Housing Needs

Most of us don’t mind the anonymity of a computer screen checklist. We prefer it because we can fill out the questions and handle the basics on our schedule.

However, once the initial contact is complete, the relationship with your housing specialist should become more personal. The team working to fill your lodging requests connects with you to answer your questions and streamline the process.

Besides the personal touch, Travelers Haven offers solutions to problems like:

Simplified Budgeting

The point of hiring a company to handle the lodging is to take the work out of your hands. A company that requires you to set up utilities and handle the billing arrangements is not doing its job.

Travelers Haven simplifies your budgeting issues. Bundled billing puts all expenses into one payment. Utilities are set up and disconnected for you.

If you’re working with a Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) or a per diem capped amount, your specialist will find the best available housing within that limit.

Great Value

When you hire someone to do a job, you shouldn’t have to look over their shoulder to ensure it’s getting done right or do the work for them. That’s what makes the resources you spend worth it.

The right workforce housing company’s value is apparent immediately after hiring them. They’re cost-effective, they’ll free up your time, and you’ll have less work.

How does bringing in an outside company save you money?

With Travelers Haven, the homes in our network are fully furnished and come with the necessities, like a washer and dryer. This reduces your moving costs significantly.

Travelers Haven handles the utility deposits and payments inside your bundled billing package. The hassle of putting deposits down for every rental and getting them back when the contract is up is gone.

If you’ve handled lodging arrangements for your construction crew in the past, you’ll notice the difference instantly.

Partnering with a professional workforce housing solution like Travelers Haven is a game-changer. You’ll never want to go back to setting up lodging for your crew in-house again.

Customizable Homes

When was the last time a hotel let you customize the room beyond choices like bed size and smoking/non-smoking?

Your crew’s lodging is personal, and it should have personalized touches.

Travelers Haven’s database of lodging options is extensive. The virtual inventory includes furniture vendors, broadband providers, utility companies, and other vital facets of home living. This network of partners allows us to find a home that starts as a “shell” and then fill it with your worker’s preferences.

Are you trying to find a home in a specific neighborhood? On a certain street? With a particular interior design style?

It’s not impossible with Travelers Haven.

Since the service draws from on-demand inventory, we can often get you reduced corporate housing rates, heavily discounted from standard costs. Our rates, homes, and living amenities are as individual as your construction team is.

When you want the best workforce housing results, you must have the ultimate team on your side. Travelers Haven specializes in nomadic lodging solutions for construction crews and more.

Learn more: Travelers Haven & Furnished Finder Partner to Address Workforce Housing Gap

Conclusion

Construction projects are complex. They don’t always start and end on schedule, and there are thousands of intricately moving parts to juggle.

You’re already handling enough tough stuff.

Let Travelers Haven find your crew customizable housing near the project site so you can free up your time to do the work that you do best.