Vegas Senior Advisor is free for families. We're paid by the receiving senior-care community when a family we send actually moves in. This page explains exactly how that works, what it means for our recommendations, and how we keep the model from biasing our advice.
The compensation model in plain terms
When a family contacts us about senior care, we have a 15-minute conversation about their situation. From that, we propose two or three Nevada-licensed operators that fit. If the family decides to tour and eventually moves a loved one into one of those operators, that operator pays us a one-time placement fee — typically a percentage of one month's room rate at the resident's care level. The fee is paid 30 to 60 days after move-in, contingent on the resident actually staying past a short qualifying period (usually 30 days).
The family pays us nothing. The fee doesn't increase the family's rent or care charges. It's a marketing-acquisition cost that the operator builds into its overall cost structure, similar to how operators pay for digital advertising, brochure printing, or community events.
This is the standard model in the industry
Most senior-placement services in the U.S. use this same compensation model — A Place for Mom, Caring.com, SeniorAdvisor.com, and most regional placement services all work this way. The model isn't unusual. What varies between providers is how the work is delivered (national call center vs. local advisor), how many operators a family's contact info gets shared with, and the depth of the relationship before and after placement.
The fair question: does it bias our recommendations?
Yes, it could. We disclose that openly. Every operator we recommend has agreed to be in our referral network, which means the operator population we draw from is a subset of all Nevada-licensed operators — specifically those that have signed a referral agreement with us.
Within that population, our recommendations are based on operator fit. That's a real business decision, not a marketing line. The reason: misfit placements move out, complain, request refunds, and damage our reputation. The economics of placement only work if the residents we place actually stay. So our incentive — even setting aside the ethics — is to recommend the operator that's actually a good fit, not the operator that pays the highest referral rate.
If a family asks us straight up whether one specific operator pays a higher fee than another we're considering, we tell them.
What we will NOT do
- We will not accept a higher fee in exchange for recommending an operator that isn't actually a good fit.
- We will not share your contact information with operators you haven't agreed to consider.
- We will not recommend operators that have current disciplinary action on file with BHCQC unless the family specifically requests we include them after disclosure.
- We will not pressure families toward a faster decision than they're ready for.
What this means for you, practically
If you're trying to evaluate whether our advice is worth taking, here are reasonable verification approaches:
- Ask us about operators we don't recommend. Some operators in the Las Vegas market choose not to participate in any placement-service referral network, often because their occupancy is strong enough that they don't need the marketing channel. We'll tell you which ones if you ask, even though we don't have a financial interest in them.
- Cross-check our shortlist with public data. Every Nevada operator we mention has a license on the BHCQC public registry, and every Medicare-certified operator (SNFs, HHAs, hospices) is on Care Compare. Verify the operator's regulatory record independently.
- Ask for two current-client family references at each operator. Reputable operators are comfortable making the introduction.
Why we're disclosing this so openly
Senior placement is a high-stakes, high-trust decision. Families deserve to know how the people helping them are paid. We'd rather lose a family who decides they're more comfortable with a different model than have them later feel surprised. Most families, when they understand the model, find it perfectly reasonable — it's how almost every placement service works, and it lets families get expert help at no cost.
What about people who pay us directly?
If a family prefers an advisor relationship with no referral-fee economics, we can refer you to fee-for-service geriatric care managers in the Las Vegas area. Those professionals charge $100 to $250 per hour and provide a different (deeper, longer-running) kind of support. They're a good fit for complex ongoing care coordination, not just placement.
Questions about how we get paid?
Call (702) 802-0093 or email advisors@vegassenioradvisor.com. We're happy to walk through the model in detail.