Entrata Blog

The first differentiating factor property management companies should consider is fostering a sense of community. One of the hardest parts about renting vs. buying is finding a sense of belonging and feeling at home. By their nature, apartments often aren’t permanent. The average resident will stay in one place for under three years. But that doesn’t mean property management companies can’t build vibrant communities that feel like home no matter how short or long a resident occupies their unit. There are numerous strategies and programs that, when implemented, help achieve this goal.

For property managers, a solid tech platform consolidates marketing, leasing, and resident management functions to cut out redundant data-entry, streamline workflows, and consolidate data for better reporting. But even in a world of single-platform solutions, a few property management workflows often remain stubbornly apart.

When it comes to attracting prospective residents, property teams highlight everything from flexible lease options, a unique suite of amenities and posh in-home features to exceedingly pet-friendly accommodations.

A prospect arrives at an apartment community where he encounters a self-serve kiosk. He types in his parameters for the type of home he is seeking. A mobile, humanoid-type robot arrives at his side, asking if he has any follow-up questions.

Some apartment leasing teams manage leads efficiently and effectively without losing any opportunities, while others struggle to even return phone calls and respond to emails. In every portfolio, there’s room for improvement when it comes to lead management.

Fraud attempts across industries in the US are up an average of 25% this year, and according to a recent study conducted by Entrata, the property management industry is feeling the impact of this rise in fraudulent activity. The survey findings reveal rapid growth in the number of fraud attempts and increased concern about the impact these cases are having on operations. The results provide a unique view into the types of fraud plaguing the industry, the frequency of such attempts, and shed light on ways new technology may help combat these issues.

Where’s your checkbook? Do you have it on you right now? Chances are pretty good these days that you don’t. Americans are writing fewer checks than ever, heavily preferring card transactions in person and online and digital payment options when available. As a result, more and more property management companies now offer online payment options for rent, applications, and other charges. But in an interesting wrinkle, many renters are still delivering a rent check to the leasing office like clockwork, on the first of every month. Where’s the disconnect?

At first glance, you might not think your employee training program has a significant impact on your business, but if you fail to invest in properly onboarding new employees there is a trickle down effect on lease renewals. Presenters in a session at the 2023 Entrata Summit indicated that research shows that the makeup of the US workforce is in a big transition period. Currently, 39% of the workforce are millennials, but 10,000 individuals are hitting retirement age every day and exiting the workforce, meaning there are hundreds of thousands of new employees that need to be trained every year.

Feedback we’ve seen in the ResidentPortal app is providing unique insight into some of your residents’ biggest pet peeves. The bad news: if you’re not meeting expectations you may soon be dealing with an unnecessary vacancy. The good news: often a simple settings adjustment can resolve the issue and keep residents happily in place.

A group of friends goes out for the night, but one of them forgets their wallet. One good soul in the group decides to pick up their expenses for the evening, trusting the friend to pay it back in a timely manner.

A quick review of standard customer service tips, (smile, make eye contact, use the customer’s name, match your tone of voice with your words, offer solutions) make it pretty clear that excellent customer service is, at its core, a communications issue. While it’s vital to provide the service or product, the heart and soul of customer service is communication. Regardless of whether you are educating potential residents on your property or responding to a resident’s complaints about an on-going maintenance issue, maintaining an open, two-way dialogue is essential to providing excellent customer service.

Since I have recently been working on our new product video for MobilePortal™ that includes a tool for maintenance managers, my thoughts have been turned to these invaluable members of our industry. Having a happy and skilled maintenance and grounds team will help with resident retention, make your property more attractive to visiting prospects, and possibly even help your online ratings and reviews. Maintenance workers are often an overlooked group, so on behalf of the stalwart individuals working behind the scenes Property Solutions held an internal contest to see which employee could write the best maintenance manager poem. The response was great as many PSI employees jumped at the opportunity to sing maintenance man praises, but after much deliberation we were able to pick a winner. Congratulations, Lance Halladay, and thank you for so eloquently expressing the feelings that are in all of our hearts.