Keystone Today

The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has ravaged communities across Pennsylvania and the country, requiring millions of healthcare workers to sacrifice their safety and well-being to treat the most vulnerable and keep the rest of us safe.

It has also required drastic measures of many Americans—including social distancing and/or self-quarantining—but some people do not have the space to do so properly. 

If short-term rentals were banned state-wide, even more people would be suffering. 

Take, for instance, Daniele Parker of Richmond, Virginia, who has been undergoing chemotherapy at the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania. She had been staying as a patient in Nick’s House, a housing facility supported by the HEADstrong Foundation for cancer patients and their families. But when COVID-19 broke out, Nick’s House shut down, leaving Daniele without a safe place to stay as she finished out her treatment cycle. 

Fortunately, the social workers at Penn had been working with me for years to help house patients in self-contained, furnished properties throughout the city, so they connected Daniele with me to identify a comfortable, safe housing option as she continues to recuperate. 

When first launching UrHip, we were focused on housing corporate clients around the financial district. In the last four years, we expanded to help patients coming to town for our world-class hospitals; doing so was both fulfilling and sensible. It was the perfect partnership to offer housing close to the hospitals, with self-contained amenities to safeguard any guests’ vulnerable immune systems. Usually, 60 percent of our housing units are rented by patients and their families seeking treatment at our world-renowned area hospitals. 

For many immunosuppressed patients, the ability to do laundry within a housing unit and prepare their own meals in their own kitchen is critically important to recovery. With more than 100 units throughout Philadelphia, UrHip provides a “home away from home,” for those who are brought to the City of Brotherly Love for our world-class hospitals. 

With COVID-19, our mission has expanded. Not only are we here to help displaced patients like Daniele, but frontline healthcare workers who may need to isolate from immunocompromised family members as they treat patients. Especially while personal protective equipment is in short supply and workers are forced to reuse gear, isolating the potential spread of the virus is incredibly important. 

First responders are experiencing challenging times, so to celebrate them and the wonderful work they do, we are providing free accommodations to all first responders. UrHip continues to offer free stays to any healthcare workers or first responders in search of housing near the hospitals during this COVID-19 pandemic. 

Whether a guest finds us via Vrbo, HomeAway, or a hospital referral, we stand ready to help address their housing need during this crisis. We feel so rewarded when helping others and feared those days were over—at least in the near term—when the state ordered all short-term rental companies to shut down. Fortunately, the state recognized the good work we were doing and provided us with a waiver to the order so that we could continue to help frontline workers. 

The novel coronavirus outbreak has demonstrated yet again the value and importance of short-term rentals to all kinds of guests. Many people think of short-term rentals when booking accommodations for their family vacation, a trip to the shore, or a college graduation but may not have been aware of the important role these housing units play in patients’ recoveries. This need for patient housing is why sensible short-term rental regulations are important. We should protect this housing pipeline for the next family who’s traveling from out of town to CHOP for their infant’s surgery, the spouse whose partner is undergoing cancer treatment at Penn, or the adult child in town for their elderly parent’s heart surgery. 

Whether the COVID-19 outbreak continues or a patient is facing an unrelated health challenge in Philadelphia, short-term rental owners like UrHip stand ready to provide a critical housing supply to keep patients, healthcare workers, and their families safe. 

– Steve Patterson is the president of Philadelphia Reservations and UrHomeInPhilly (UrHip).