Up In The Air—And On Your Balance Sheet
May 2, 2025
UP IN THE AIR—AND ON YOUR BALANCE SHEET
Remember Ryan Bingham, the sleek corporate downsizer George Clooney plays in Up in the Air? He collects ten-million frequent-flier miles, breezes through airports, and seems to have cracked the code on living out of a carry-on. Many multifamily operators try a similar stunt—flying in floating property managers and maintenance techs to cover staffing vacancies or special projects. It feels glamorous and decisive… right up until you total the receipts. Here’s the straight-talk breakdown of when traveling staff work—and when recruiting permanent, on-site talent is the smarter move.
THE TRAVELING (“FLOATING”) MODEL
Who they are:
Property managers who parachute into communities when a manager quits, a student-housing turn is heating up, or a rehab needs oversight.
Maintenance technicians sent in “SWAT-team” style to knock out backlogged work orders, punch turns, or tackle HVAC emergencies across several sites.
How the math shakes out (annual averages):
Salary with travel premium: about $80K for a manager, $60–65K for a maintenance tech.
Flights and ground transport: roughly $7K.
Hotels or corporate housing: about $19K.
Meals and incidentals: around $9K.
Mileage or rental wheels: close to $6K.
Total for a manager: ≈ $120K per year—about one-and-a-half local managers for the price of one. A traveling tech lands a bit lower but still well above a site-based counterpart once travel costs pile on.
Upsides:
Instant coverage. No gap in rent collection or resident service; maintenance tickets keep moving.
Veteran troubleshooters. Road-tested pros bring best practices and can coach on-site teams.
Portfolio flexibility. One person can stabilize four to six communities a year.
Built-in process consistency. Internal employees enforce brand standards wherever they land.
Trade-Offs:
High ongoing cost. Travel bills accrue daily.
Burnout risk. Life on the road gets old (ask Ryan Bingham).
Shallow relationships. Residents and vendors prefer faces that stick around.
Local-market learning curve. Every city has its own rents, vendors, and code quirks.
THE PERMANENT HIRE VIA RECRUITING
Scenario:
Salary: $70K for a manager (about $55K for a tech).
Placement fee: 16% with a 90-day guarantee.
Year-one spend: ~$81K for a manager.
Years two and three: salary only—about $220K total versus roughly $360K for a full-time road warrior over the same period.
Strengths:
Deep local knowledge and lasting resident rapport.
One-time cost; no recurring travel spend.
Early attrition risk sits with the recruiter under the guarantee.
Limitations:
15–30 days to fill, so interim coverage may still needed.
MAKING THE CALL
Urgency: If the house is on fire (or the chiller’s down), deploy a traveler. If you can wait a few weeks, recruit a permanent captain or technician.
Scale: Travelers only pencil out when rotating across several assets.
Downtime cost: Lost rent, concessions, or angry residents can justify a traveler’s premium—or reveal the recruiter fee is the bargain.
Culture: Long-term community health depends on stable leadership and a maintenance team that knows every unit by heart.
BEST-PRACTICE BLEND
Keep a small, nimble task force of floating managers and maintenance specialists to douse emergencies and tackle special projects.
Recruit and develop permanent on-site talent for steadier, relationship-rich performance.
Track hard data—vacancy days, maintenance backlog, resident satisfaction—to decide property-by-property which lever delivers the best value.
FINAL BOARDING CALL
Ryan Bingham’s lifestyle looks cool on screen, but every flight he takes comes off your NOI. Use traveling staff as strategic firefighters—then pass the keys (and the toolbox) to permanent pros who can plant roots, know the neighbors, and grow the asset. Keep both tools in your kit, and your portfolio will stay aloft without putting your balance sheet permanently up in the air.