Recent years have seen a flux in tech adoption within the rental real estate industry. For many, property managers and residents alike, this has been a welcome (if not highly desired) advancement in multifamily communities. There will always be those, however, who are less eager to accept new changes – particularly tech progress.
Success in multifamily rental housing comes when you can appeal to all residential profiles. So, whether potential seekers are first-time residents, Boomers, or tech novices – property managers must find a way to reach them all.
Who are tech novices?
By definition, a tech novice is someone who is new to innovative tools. Maybe they don’t fully understand how proptech works or how it can enhance their lives. It doesn’t mean they’re against technology, maybe they’re simply a beginner.
Tech novices can be from a range of generations. Yet the majority are Gen X or Boomers. With this in mind, let’s take a look at how property managers can appeal to tech novices looking for new housing…
3 ways property managers can appeal to tech novices
1. Easy-to-use tools
If your potential residents are new to property technology, they’re likely going to find complex tools off-putting. Instead, property managers can install easy-to-use, resident-friendly innovations such as a smart thermostat for optimized bills and temperature adjustment. Multifamily rentals with smart thermostat technology allow for complete remote control of the apartment’s heating and cooling from a mobile app – there’s nothing complicated about that!
What’s more, once the thermostat is set to a resident’s routine, the technology will automatically adjust heating and cooling based on external temperature and whether the rental is occupied or vacant – meaning residents can reap the benefits of a cozy home when they return from work and a lower energy bill each month with little effort on their part.
With a Smart Thermostat HD residents are able to make adjustments to their heating and cooling through an interactive touchscreen – making it even simpler for new tech users to make their homes comfortable. This may be especially appealing to those who don’t own or know how to fully use a smartphone.
2. Provide convenience
Tech should offer solutions to problems – it shouldn’t cause stress for users. So, ensure the products and software you choose to adopt in your communities provides your residents with a new level of convenience. What does this mean? Convenience = being able to proceed without difficulty.
Maybe this is in the form of keyless entry using smart lock technology, which removes the need for residents to carry apartment keys. Or maybe this looks like simplified access for residents’ visitors with the Community Access solution, which verifies identity through a connected intercom and grants entry with unique keycodes.
For potential residents, convenience is being able to view a rental around their own schedule, in their own time, using a Self-Guided Tour solution. As Multifamily Dive said when discussing self-showing tech for speeding up the leasing process, we’re in “an era of convenience, renters move fast.”
3. Communicate benefits
Possibly the most effective way to appeal to non-tech users is to communicate the benefits proptech provides. According to our research, almost half of current and seeking multifamily residents state that the security and safety of a property is a must-have feature. So, if you have access monitoring technology for increased building security, ensure this is detailed in the property listing, as it will very likely boost residential attraction.
Another huge benefit proptech brings to residents (and property managers) is cost savings on bills; from home automation tech like HVAC software to monitoring sensors in your water systems. This benefit is especially relevant in the current climate where the cost of living is rising, and many are anticipating a difficult winter ahead. A building equipped with home automation technology that monitors usage and escalates issues leading to reduced energy bills will be massively persuasive in the decision-making process for potential residents.
How tech adoption benefits property managers from every angle
The best part is that all of these benefits (easy-to-use, convenience-boosting, cost-saving opportunities, and increased residential appeal leading to boosted occupancy) benefit you as a property manager tenfold.
Appealing to the tech novices, which other leading businesses may oversee as they aim to please the tech-savvy resident, will make your property highly desirable in a competitive market. As we said at the beginning, appealing to every residential type leads to success. After all, a multifamily community isn’t made up of the same kind of people – you must cater to every need. Luckily, the flexibility of smart home tech supports property managers in meeting these varying needs, keeping everyone happy and your property occupied.
Ready to appeal to a larger consumer base and boost the occupancy rates of your multifamily communities? Talk to one of our team members today.
