As guests, healthcare travelers move differently than any other segment in hospitality. They’re not taking vacations or squeezing in weekend getaways – they’re away from home because their job demands it. They work long, stressful shifts and often travel in teams that need consistency, safety and comfort they can rely on. Yet, the industry still designs accommodations for the average guest, not the essential worker, and traditional hotels don’t cut it when it comes to flexibility for a non-traditional schedule. Over the past several years, our properties have seen firsthand how this audience is quietly becoming one of the fastest-growing segments in extended stay. It’s clear that healthcare workers aren’t just looking for a place to stay – they’re looking for a place to live. As more extended-stay properties pop up in desirable markets for today’s traveling nurses and doctors on assignment, there are a few things that these professionals should keep in mind when evaluating stays for their next temporary home.
Where Traditional Hotels Fall Short for Healthcare Travelers
Healthcare professionals face challenges that traditional hotels weren’t designed to address, yet their needs are straightforward – safety sits at the top of their priority list. Workers coming off a late shift or leaving for before sunrise need well-lit parking, secure entry and the reassurance that someone is available when they arrive, whether that’s 2 p.m. or 2 a.m. Equally important is a warm, human welcome, because arriving home after a long day should feel comforting, not transactional or isolating. Additionally, healthcare travelers want cleanliness, not as a perk, but as a standard that ensures quality and consistency.
Extended-stay is known for the flexibility in length of stay possible for guests, but one other major consideration is whether a property truly supports real day-to-day living for healthcare professionals. From a kitchen where healthy meals can be cooked, in-unit laundry that eliminates the need to leave the property and shared amenities and common areas that encourage community, modern extended-stay properties are adapting to fit these needs. A sense of community is the piece that often gets overlooked, as moving every 12 weeks can make it difficult to build relationships outside of work. At one of our properties, for example, monthly community events have become a small but meaningful way for traveling healthcare guests to meet neighbors and feel at home. Extended-stay environments that foster connection through shared community spaces, property events, social opportunities and someone available at the front desk at all times can transform an unfamiliar city into something that feels familiar.
Designing Modern Flexible Living Solutions for Real-Life Demands
The rise of traveling healthcare guests isn’t a trend we’ve simply observed – it’s one we’ve learned from and grown alongside. We’ve learned that the needs of this guest persona require a blend of the comforts of home with the warmth and reliability of hospitality. Full-sized appliances, from ovens and refrigerators to in-unit washer and dryers, spacious floor plans and flexible terms that support both short stays and longer, less predictable contract timelines with no lease requirements are some of the main ways that extended-stay properties like ours support healthcare professionals. Both models are intentionally structured to remove friction from the lives of those whose schedules are anything but predictable.
We’re also seeing a shift toward travelers expecting more personalization and healthier lifestyle options. Partnerships with third-party grocery delivery providers like Instacart, for example, allows guests to have groceries delivered that property staff can place directly in their units, even before they arrive, so they can come home to real food regardless of their shift time. It’s a simple service, but it allows for a prioritization on health in a way that traditional hotel models can’t always support. Looking for properties that are located near major grocery stores, making clean eating easier than relying on takeout or traditional hotel fare, is also essential. Fitness centers, green spaces and routinely cleaned shared amenities round out an extended-stay makeup that supports overall wellbeing. Over time, these thoughtful details become part of a consistent rhythm that helps reduce burnout and improve performance and satisfaction
Looking Ahead: Trends Shaping Extended Stay
Looking toward 2026 and beyond, extended-stay hospitality will continue to evolve, driven in part by the needs of traveling healthcare professionals. As this workforce grows, new traveler personas are emerging, prompting major hotel brands to rapidly launch mid-scale, efficiency-driven concepts designed to support longer stays. At the same time, technology will continue to shape operations and the guest experiences. Even as technology grows however, one thing remains true: hospitality is still a human industry. Technology should support – never replace hospitality – just like with the healthcare industry. Traveling healthcare professionals, perhaps more than any other guest segment, want genuine interactions and warm touchpoints during demanding workdays spent caring for others.
What stays with me most are the stories we hear from the guests we serve. These are people caring for our communities, often while being far from their own. They deserve a place that supports their well-being – a place that is safe, clean, dependable and rooted in comfort. They deserve to feel at home.
Traveling healthcare professionals are not just shaping the extended-stay segment – they’re elevating it. As hospitality leaders, our responsibility is simple: create spaces where those who give so much can rest, recharge and feel genuinely supported. Extended-stay lodging isn’t about being bigger or fancier – it’s about being intentionally designed for real people living real lives, even when they’re far from home. When we pair thoughtful details with authentic human connection, we provide healthcare professionals with a place where they can truly exhale. For those who dedicate their days to caring for others, that makes all the difference.
Mimi Oliver
Mimi Oliver is chief executive officer of WaterWalk Holding Co. and WaterWalk Hospitality. A third-generation family member, Mimi carries the extended-stay leadership and innovation torch following her grandfather, Jack DeBoer, the late founder of WaterWalk, and known ‘pioneer of extended-stay.’ Mimi has worked across multiple units of the WaterWalk brand, launching its Generation 2.0 concept, overseeing development of 15 hotels, six of which opened in a one-year time frame, raising over $110 million in equity and over $125 million in debt. She also raised company revenues by 500%. Most recently, she spearheaded the launch of the brand’s partnership with Wyndham. In September 2024, Mimi championed the launch of WaterWalk Hospitality, the company’s in-house management brand overseeing all franchise and corporate-owned locations.
Prior to WaterWalk, Mimi was recruited to Deutsche Bank and worked on teams in the New York, London and Dusseldorf offices. Here, she was inspired to delve deeper into the hospitality sector as she managed large hospitality deals of $100 million to $1 billion. She now uses this knowledge to inspire female leaders in WaterWalk’s home city of Wichita, Kansas through the Wichita Business Journal’s Career Women’s roundtables. Outside of WaterWalk, Mimi Oliver is active in regional and national organizations including the Young President’s Organization Kansas Chapter, where she proudly represents as the youngest member of the organization and is one of only two females in the chapter of 60 corporate leaders. Through this organization, Mimi participates in the Young President’s Organization forums on Hospitality and Real Estate and has completed the London Business School Entrepreneurship program and the Harvard Business School Real Estate program. She also serves on the Leadership committee of Action in Africa, a nonprofit she founded in 2010.
