I got a call on a Tuesday afternoon last year. A VA medical center in Iowa City needed housing for 12 traveling nurses. They needed it furnished, within per diem rates, and ready in 48 hours.
We had units staged and keys in hand by Thursday morning. That contract turned into a rolling agreement that kept those units occupied for months. No vacancy. No marketing spend. No guests trashing the place after a bachelor party.
That's corporate housing government contracts in a nutshell. And almost nobody in real estate is paying attention.
The corporate housing boom, by the numbers
The corporate housing market hit $13.3 billion in the U.S. in 2023 and is projected to pass $20 billion by 2028. Most of the growth conversation focuses on the obvious stuff: travel nurses, remote workers doing month-long stints, insurance relocation after natural disasters.
All real. All growing. But that's the part everyone already knows.
What gets less attention is the federal government's role in all of this. The U.S. government is the single largest buyer of temporary lodging in the country. Think about it. Military PCS moves, VA healthcare staff deployments, FEMA disaster response, BLM seasonal workers, federal law enforcement task forces. Every one of those people needs somewhere to sleep, and the government has a budget line item for it.
The Department of Defense alone spends billions annually on temporary duty travel. The VA has been hemorrhaging staff for years and fills gaps with traveling healthcare workers who need housing at every facility in the country. FEMA activates thousands of workers after every major disaster, and they all need beds within days.
This is not a niche market. It's a pipeline.
The government angle most investors miss
Here's what I see in the real estate investing world: everyone is chasing Airbnb margins and short-term rental arbitrage. Some people are getting into corporate housing for travel nurses. Good. But they're stopping short of the biggest, most stable buyer at the table.
The federal government procures corporate housing through a few specific channels, and if you don't know them, you can't access the money:
GSA MAS (Multiple Award Schedule). This is the main highway. A GSA MAS contract puts you on the government's approved vendor list for long-term lodging. When a contracting officer needs housing, they search the GSA schedule first. My company, Streamlined Stay Solutions, holds GSA MAS Contract #47QMCB26D0008. That number is a ticket to the table. Without it, most federal agencies won't talk to you.
Per diem housing. The government sets per diem rates for lodging in every county in the country. If you can furnish units and price them at or below per diem, you become the easy choice for contracting officers trying to stay inside their budget. Per diem rates in most metro areas are high enough to generate solid margins, especially on units you already control.
VA and DoD direct contracts. The VA and military branches issue their own solicitations for temporary housing, separate from GSA. We've housed VA medical staff in West Haven, Connecticut, and BLM seasonal workers across Montana through these channels. Each one is its own opportunity with less competition than you'd expect.
FEMA deployments. After hurricanes, wildfires, and floods, FEMA needs thousands of units fast. If you're already on a GSA schedule and have a track record, you're positioned for emergency task orders that can fill entire portfolios overnight.
How to actually get in
I'm not going to sugarcoat this. Getting a GSA MAS contract is not a weekend project. But the moat it creates is worth the effort.
First, get your certifications. If you're a veteran, get your SDVOSB (Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business) certification through the SBA. This opens set-aside contracts that limit competition to other verified SDVOSBs. Some solicitations are SDVOSB sole-source, meaning they can award directly to you without a competitive bid. That's real. If you're not a veteran, look into SDB, 8(a), HUBZone, or WOSB certifications. Each one gives you access to smaller pools with less competition.
Then apply for a GSA MAS contract. The application takes months. You'll need past performance, financial statements, a pricing proposal, and patience. But once you're on, you're on for 20 years with option periods. The barrier to entry is exactly why most of your competition won't bother.
After that, start building relationships with contracting officers. Government contracting is a relationship business. The contracting officer at a VA medical center has discretion in how they source housing. If you've performed well on a previous task order, you're the first call next time. Show up to industry days. Respond to Sources Sought notices, even when you're not sure you'll win. Being known matters more than you think.
And monitor SAM.gov constantly. Every federal solicitation for corporate housing government contracts gets posted there. Set alerts for NAICS codes 721110 (Hotels and Motels) and 531110 (Lessors of Residential Buildings). You'll start seeing opportunities you didn't know existed.
Why this market survives a downturn
When the economy contracts, Airbnb bookings drop. Leisure travel slows. Corporate travel gets cut. But the government doesn't stop deploying people. The VA still needs nurses. FEMA still responds to disasters. The military still moves personnel. Infrastructure projects, flush with federal funding since the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, still need crews housed near job sites.
Government per diem housing is about as recession-resistant as real estate income gets. The rates are set by GSA and published annually, so you can forecast revenue with unusual precision. And unlike a private corporate client that might cut a contract when budgets tighten, a federal task order is backed by appropriated funds.
I've watched Airbnb operators in my market scramble to fill vacancies when travel demand softened. Our government-contracted units stayed full. Same year. Same market. Different business model.
So here's the question
You're sitting on furnished units, or you're thinking about furnishing some. You're competing for the same Airbnb guest pool as every other operator in your zip code. Meanwhile, the federal government is posting solicitations right now for exactly the kind of housing you already provide. The applicant pool is tiny because most people don't know this world exists.
I manage over 10,000 units. The government channel is the most stable, predictable part of our portfolio. It doesn't make headlines. It doesn't go viral on real estate Twitter. It just fills units and pays on time.
The biggest customer in the room is the one nobody's talking to. That's either a problem or your opportunity. Your call.