Give Renters the Power of Choice: The Future of the Personalized Leasing Journey

Today’s renters—especially Gen Z and Millennials—expect control. They want to tour apartments, complete applications, and sign leases on their terms, whether online at midnight or in person at noon. The communities that win will give renters choices without sacrificing personal connection.

1. Why Choice Wins

• 58% of Gen Z renters complete the application process almost entirely online.
• 35% say they’d prefer a fully self-service leasing process.

The goal of AI isn’t to replace your site teams. Properties that utilize AI effectively use it as a co-pilot to handle all of the mundane, day-to-day tasks, while site teams seamlessly intervene at critical points of the lead-to-lease journey. No matter if the prospect wants to navigate the journey on their own or needs help along the way, the key is letting them follow their own path and go at their own pace.

2. What a Seamless Journey Looks Like

An example of an ideal leasing journey might look something like this: a prospect chats with an AI assistant, tours virtually, schedules a self-guided visit, and signs digitally—all without starting over or re-entering data. When they do interact with your team, that team has full context from every prior touchpoint. Nothing will frustrate a prospect more than having to start over every time there is a hand off between AI leasing agents and site teams.

3. Build Choice into Every Step

When renters feel in control, conversion rates rise and satisfaction follows. When building choice for each step, consider the following:

• Consolidate data and systems so every interaction lives in one place.
• Automate repetitive tasks to free up human bandwidth for higher-value conversations.
• Offer multiple engagement paths—self-service, hybrid, or full-service.

4. KPI Snapshot

• Track  self-guided tours, digital lease completion rate, and application abandonment.

Empower your renters—and your teams—with choice. Learn how Entrata’s unified platform makes seamless handoffs and personalized automation effortless.