A Bloomington Airbnb host is renting out seven bedrooms for free to medical staff members who live with immunocompromised people during the coronavirus pandemic.
The seven bedrooms located in three of Margie Schrader's managed properties house four people, and three more are expected to move in by the end of the week. She said three more bedrooms in another property will be available as free temporary housing for medical staff once construction is finished next week.
She said she wanted to figure out a way to help people who needed it, and she decided to focus on medical staff because two of her properties are close to IU Health Bloomington Hospital.
“I want to do my best by Bloomington,” Schrader said.
After posting about the free temporary housing on social media throughout early March, the response was overwhelming, Schrader said. Facebook users shared a March 20 post about the properties more than 490 times.
“There's so many unknowns, and we're just trying to figure it out as we go,” Schrader said.
Loren Wood, who renovated and owns the properties, said many of the Airbnbs were booked because of IU events such as basketball games, graduation ceremonies and prospective students visiting campus with family. When the reservations were canceled, he and Schrader began brainstorming ways to occupy the space.
Wood said his brother is a surgeon, so he especially liked the idea of renting out the properties to medical staff members who need to quarantine themselves. He said a nurse living in one of his Airbnbs was picking up extra nursing shifts to afford a hotel room so he wouldn’t come into contact with his mother and son who has asthma.
“I have friends and family who are medical workers, who are facing the front lines of this right now,” Wood said. “It just felt like the right thing to do."
It’s possible this service could run into May and beyond, Wood said. It’s hard to know when the pandemic will begin to slow down, and Wood said he wants to continue the service as long as it’s needed. He doesn’t expect many people to be renting Airbnbs, so he and Schrader will continue letting medical staff stay in their properties.
Wood said he also hopes other rental property owners follow suit.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the gender and occupation of Loren Wood's sibling. The IDS regrets this error.
