This man wants to retire in a Holiday Inn. Here's why that's a terrible idea

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

As a retirement plan, it sounds pretty irresistible: “No nursing home for us. We’ll be checking into a Holiday Inn!”

A Texas man posted this vision for his golden years on Facebook, and the Internet agreed it sounded pretty sweet. Who wouldn’t want to pay $59.23 per night (his estimated rate for a combined senior and long-term stay discount) for a hotel with housekeeping, a pool, and other amenities, versus his quoted rate of $188 per night for a sterile nursing home? The post had about 88,000 likes and 110,000 shares by Tuesday afternoon.

The man, whose Facebook page identifies him as Terry Robison, has a point on the cost savings. The national median cost of a nursing room bed is even higher than his rate. According to Genworth’s 2018 Cost of Care Survey, the national median annual cost of a semi-private room in a nursing home is $89,297– or $245 a day.

But here’s the thing: that price includes help with activities of daily living, such as using the bathroom, eating, and dressing. Most nursing home residents need help with at least a couple of these basic activities. And since most people prefer to age in place, in their own homes, it’s a need for this kind of assistance that drives them into a care facility.

Not everyone will need a nursing home–according to research, the typical person who is alive at age 65 can expect to live another 20.9 years, and at least half can anticipate needing at least some long-term supports and services, which may or may not include institutional care.

But it’s safe to assume that most of those who do need a nursing home will need more care than a hotel can provide. The Facebook poster says, “$5-worth of tips a day and you’ll have the entire staff scrambling to help you.” That depends on what you mean by “help.” Housekeeping is not going to change your adult diaper or make sure you take your medications three times a day. And there might guards on duty, but they’re not going to watch you 24/7 to make sure that you stay safe from your tendency to wander from dementia.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/retirement/this-man-wants-to-retire-in-a-holiday-inn-heres-why-thats-a-terrible-idea/ar-BBU7tL5?li=BBnb4R7

[JayhawkSD]

1. None of any of this should actually need saying.

"...and the Internet agreed it sounded pretty sweet." Apparently so; 107,000 "likes," and 131,000 "shares."

The idea is idiotic on the face of it, and no one with even half a brain should need to be told so.

[WillowTree]

2. OMG............It's a JOKE I've seen posted about a half dozen times by different people.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. I'v seen that post.

And all I can say is that someone who honestly thinks a retirement home is the same as staying in a Holiday Inn is, to put it kindly, confused. If you need nursing home services, such as help bathing or toileting, you're not going to find that help in a Holiday Inn. If you're managing quite nicely on your own, you likewise don't need a Holiday Inn.

That person hasn't a clue what's involved in a nursing home. Kind of like the people who think living on a cruise ship is the same as a nursing home. Again, they haven't a clue.

Personally, I'm paying attention to my eventual need for independent/assisted living, because I expect I'll wind up in such a place. And oh, don't get me wrong. I've been on a cruise. I loved it. It was wonderful. I've stayed in Holiday Inns. They're great. But neither of them is the same as an independent living facility, let alone assisted living or a nursing home. And those who conflate them are ignoramuses.