Running a successful property management business starts with happy residents. According to the 2022 Buildium State of the Industry Report, Property Managers ranked “finding and retaining great residents” as their number one priority, followed by growth and efficiency. According to another recent study, 68% of renters decide to leave because of poor customer service and only 9% leave for competitive pricing in other communities. That same study found that residents who are happy with property management are three times more likely to renew their lease. So, how do we ensure residents are happy?
One of the most effective ways to ensure resident satisfaction and happiness is through leveraging a resident experience platform.
What is a Resident Experience Platform?
A resident experience platform is a bundle of valuable amenity offerings that elevate the resident experience through improved services & rental perks not normally offered elsewhere. A small monthly fee to the resident is included on new leases and renewals, helping you increase your profitability and scale without sacrificing quality service, but instead improving it.
Given that maintenance is typically the main source of a poor resident experience, Latchel has incorporated this with our award winning maintenance automation platform to also improve the maintenance experience for both your team and your residents.
Explore these five reasons you should be utilizing a resident experience platform:
1. Increase Resident Retention
Leveraging a resident experience platform is a great way to prioritize your residents and offer them a top-tier level of service. Latchel’s resident experience platform includes a variety of tangible perks with immediate fiscal value like: cash back on accidental damage, discounted renter’s insurance, 24/7 maintenance services and cash back on paying rent, just to name a few.
Giving your residents access to dozens of customizable amenities that support their financial well-being and help achieve a convenient lifestyle is guaranteed to improve their rental experience, which, in turn, increases the chance of lease renewals.
Avoid turnover costs by providing your residents with an experience that’s so great, they won’t want to leave. A resident experience platform can easily help you achieve that.
2. Automate Your Maintenance Process
Most Property Managers can agree that handling maintenance issues is the number one headache that comes with the job. No one likes to spend their day getting yelled at on the phone just like residents don’t like when it takes more than 24 hours to get their broken air conditioning repaired in the middle of a hot summer day. Implementing a resident experience platform like Latchel seamlessly takes this stressor away from Property Managers and resolves maintenance issues quickly and efficiently.
A recent study shows that more than 40% of residents aren’t satisfied with their rental maintenance, especially when it comes to urgent maintenance issues. Latchel responds to maintenance requests in 60 seconds or less, guaranteed, 24/7/365, and averages a 4.8 out of 5-star rating for resident satisfaction.
As part of Latchel’s maintenance services, we offer video troubleshooting to the residents where we are able to resolve or de-escalate 30% of maintenance issues, eliminating the need to dispatch a service provider. This saves Property Managers tons of money on operational costs while enhancing the residents’ experience as this helps get simple maintenance issues resolved quickly.
3. Create New Revenue Streams
One of the most valuable benefits of leveraging a resident experience platform is the revenue streams it creates when offering tenants a resident benefit package. The additional revenue you wish to generate from this is completely up to you. As a rule of thumb, most benefit packages will be priced at about 2-3% of the average rental price. So, if your average rents are $1,000/mo, we recommend charging between $20-$30/mo for your benefit package.
At Latchel, we’ve been able to increase monthly revenue by up to $40 per unit per month with a resident paid virtual concierge service. With our virtual concierge services, residents pay a small monthly fee for 24/7/365 access to a virtual concierge, even at midnight on New Years Eve.
Because Latchel can also include free maintenance coordination with our virtual concierge service, maintenance costs are reduced, making profitability look more like the below:
It’s a win/win for both Property Managers and residents. In fact, 86% of consumers are willing to pay more for a better experience (2021 Consumer Insights Report), and offering residents a resident benefits package helps significantly enhance their experience.
4. Improve Online Reputation
Having a positive online reputation is extremely necessary for any business to be successful. According to the Renter Insight & Digital Engagement Survey, 96% of renters consider online reviews when searching for rentals. In addition, 85% consult online reviews even if they received a referral from friends or family. There’s no question that online reviews play a huge role when it comes to filling units.
Using a resident experience platform like Latchel significantly helps Property Managers increase their 5-star reviews. When leveraging Latchel’s maintenance services, we automatically send residents a text message upon job completion that prompts them to a quick survey where they can provide feedback based on that job. Latchel automatically pushes all 5-star reviews to your online profiles giving your marketing a boost. With Latchel’s hyper-efficient maintenance coordination and 4.8-star rating, we are confident that anyone who uses Latchel will start to see a huge improvement in their online reputation.
5. Fill Units Faster
When units remain vacant, owners are obviously responsible for covering that cost. No one wants to lose money on something that’s meant to generate revenue. Using a resident experience platform gives you a competitive edge and allows you to fill units faster as you’re able to offer a top-tier experience they can’t find elsewhere.
Latchel gives Property Managers all the tools and marketing assets they need to help promote their custom resident amenity hub. As previously mentioned, we know that most potential residents do their online research when searching for rentals. Offering a resident benefit hub that gives tenants access to dozens of financial and lifestyle perks, 24/7 maintenance support, and convenient concierge services is sure to help you stand out from the competition and attract new residents.
Ready to Get Started?
If you’re ready to take your resident experience to the next level and start increasing your revenue per unit, let’s talk. Request a live demo today to learn more about how a resident experience platform like Latchel can help streamline your property management business and provide an unbeatable resident experience.
