SuiteBird Success Story

Short-Term Rentals in Senior Living

A Case Study from Holiday Retirement and SuiteBird 1.0

Background

In 2019, Holiday Retirement, one of the nation’s largest providers of independent senior living, acquired Simple Stays A technology start up focused on creating software that simplified the and organized the renting of underutilized vacant units in Senior Living Communities. SimpleStays was founded by Ray Costello, which later became SuiteBird. This strategic move aimed to monetize thousands of vacant units similarly to platforms like Airbnb, exploring innovative revenue and occupancy models for the senior housing industry.

While the pilot showed rapid success, demonstrating both market demand and pricing power, the broader rollout was ultimately halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent dismantling of Holiday Retirement as a company in 2021. This paper explores the business case, pilot results, and lessons learned from this forward-thinking initiative.

Background

Holiday Retirement operated over 260 senior living communities with 32,000 units across the United States in 2019. With vacancy rates and excess inventory, especially in newly opened communities, occupancy at that time was roughly 82%. The organization faced increasing pressure to innovate and offset revenue leakage. They were operating with roughly 5500 unoccupied units.

Simple Stays was a startup that developed a proprietary software tool allowing communities to list vacant units for short-term rental. The system integrated availability, pricing, cleaning logistics, and booking options which included comp stays, full price stays and intercommunity travel.
The acquisition allowed Holiday Retirement to internalize this tool and rapidly explore new monetization models.

"Today there is more of an appetite for non-traditional short-term rentals than ever!"

Pilot Program
Overview

To test market fit, leadership greenlit a proof-of-concept pilot involving five units across multiple Holiday properties. Key design criteria included:

Platform: All listings were made available on Airbnb
Transparency: Listings clearly stated that the units were located in 55+ Independent Senior Living Communities
Selection: Units were staged with standard furniture and amenities, some were go ready units, others needed to be furnished.
Pricing: Set slightly above local short-term rental market averages which were also slightly higher than market rate for the units. ($115 per day average)
Some included community amenities some did not

Results

The response was immediate and telling:

100% occupancy: All five units rented within 36 hours of listing
Rental durations ranged from 1 week to 45 days
Average revenue per booking exceeded market comparables
Zero negative guest feedback related to the senior living setting
No operational disruptions to the existing senior residents or staff. In fact the opposite occurred: residents and staff enjoyed the interactions.
Public reviews were all 5 stars! (see reviews)

These outcomes strongly suggested a new potential asset class, leveraging idle senior living units for premium short-term rentals without brand dilution or community disruption. As well as offering a new occupancy metric opportunity.

Barriers to Expansion

Despite the success of the pilot, Holiday Retirement did not proceed with full-scale deployment. The primary reason was the emergence of COVID-19 in early 2020. As the reviews will show, the pilot was literally in March and February of 2020.

With senior populations among the most vulnerable, the company, like many others in the sector, pivoted quickly to prioritize resident safety. All external foot traffic, including short-term guests, was suspended. Strategic innovation initiatives were paused indefinitely, and the Simple Stays platform was shelved.

Holiday Retirement as a company was dismantled in 2021, The SuiteBird concept lost its champions and the program was lost in the company and staff transitions.

Lessons & Strategic Implications

1. Market Demand Exists

Today there is more of an appetite for non-traditional short-term rentals than ever, particularly in quiet, amenity-rich environments. Travelers are not deterred by age-qualified settings.

2. Revenue Opportunity is Significant

Even a small percentage of monetized vacant units could yield millions in incremental revenue annually, particularly in high-cost or seasonal markets.

3. Mirco-Occupancy Metrics

This concept offers a new strategy in totaling daily, monthly, quarterly and annual occupancy percentages. We are introducing “The Micro-occupancy Strategy”

4. Resident Experience Was Unaffected

The pilot revealed no adverse impacts on the daily life or perception of existing residents, a key concern when introducing transient guests.

5. Infrastructure is Key

In 2020 we developed proprietary booking software that enabled centralized control over inventory, pricing, logistics, and compliance, critical for scaling the model responsibly. Now this type of booking technology exists in multiple white label off the shelf options.

6. Timing is Everything

The pandemic highlighted the unpredictability of macro events. However, as health concerns stabilize, senior housing operators should consider reactivating or reevaluating this strategy. In addition, should there be a downturn in the economy The relaunch of SuiteBird would be the ideal choice for budget conscious senior travelers.

Conclusion

Holiday Retirement’s short-term rental pilot, enabled through the acquisition of Simple Stays, provided compelling proof that senior living communities can serve as viable platforms for short-term stays.

While the pandemic delayed broader adoption, the model remains a promising pathway for revenue diversification, brand expansion, increased occupancy, try before you buy options and improved unit utilization.

Now that the senior living sector has fully rebounded COVID, this blueprint offers a valuable opportunity for operators seeking innovative ways to adapt to evolving market dynamics.