HouseStay provides a homelike alternative to extended-stay hotels 

Saruul Barrios is a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Palo Alto, Calif., who strives to provide her clients with unparalleled service. Most of her career has been spent in sales, but she coincidentally found two clients searching for rentals at the same time.

After taking some time to explore what was out there for rentals, Barrios decided to expand her client base to include corporate customers looking for furnished rentals for mid- to long-term stays. She did some research on the internet and even spoke with fellow real estate professionals before deciding that she would work with HouseStay—an online marketplace for furnished homes and apartment rentals.

“I had no prior experience with relocations or short-term rentals,” says Barrios, who began recommending clients to HouseStay last fall simply because she couldn’t find any other short-term rentals in her area. “My initial experience was great,” adds Barrios. “I learned what my clients were looking for, and was able to match them up with HouseStay so that they could take over.”

Her first client was a businessman from the Midwest who needed to quickly find a place to live in the San Francisco area due to an emergency at his company. Barrios was able to connect him with the perfect apartment through HouseStay in October 2019, and less than three weeks later, he was moved into the furnished apartment and living comfortably.

“HouseStay meets your needs if you are looking to stay somewhere short-term,” says Barrios. “Everything is provided, so it gives you better options than traditional corporate housing options. It’s designed with the needs of corporate travelers and short-term renters in mind.”

In her short time working with HouseStay, Barrios has been able to help a number of clients get into temporary homes that meet their needs, which has resulted in referral income and a host of positive feedback.

One of the attributes that makes HouseStay convenient to work with? A smooth booking experience, with every detail about a potential home displayed on the listing page (amenities, appliances, parking, pets, etc.), allowing REALTORS® to confidently shortlist a home in a few minutes. In addition to each home on HouseStay being verified, the 3D videos for each listing go a long way toward painting a picture of a place, enabling individuals to get a feel for the home prior to making a decision.

Impressed with the online booking process that HouseStay utilizes, Barrios notes that it’s not only user-friendly, but also makes things easy for people to find what they’re looking for. Once they do, a tenant can book a home in minutes.

And because no long rental contract is required, people who need to relocate for short periods of time can still find a nice place to live without having to deal with the hassle of staying in a hotel.

“The response has been favorable,” concludes Barrios, “and I wouldn’t hesitate to use HouseStay for my relocation clients again.”

For more information, please visit www.housestay.com. 

Keith Loria is a contributing editor to RISMedia.