Multi-Housing News - October 2008 - (Page 26)

family has much in common with hospitality— especially in luxury multifamily—and digital locks have worked well in hospitality.” “Residents expect convenience and for the technology to just work,” Stone says. “Whether we are talking about the wiring in the wall, or the capabilities online (e.g., leasing, payments, etc.), it has to be convenient, easy to use and completely reliable. Any hiccups reflect very poorly on the manager and owner. With the rapid advances in technology, owners and managers need to make sure they are prepared to implement them flawlessly. Residents have zero tolerance for learning on the job.” Kristy Simonette, chief information officer at Camden Property Trust, explains that the company views its technology offerings overall as part of good customer service. (Camden now owns interests in and operates 178 properties containing Surveys List Top Tech Amenities The ability to pay rent online was ranked very highly in a Fall 2007 survey by J Turner Research, asking what property managers and owners/executives thought were residents’ most-requested technology features. Nearly 82 percent of the 251 property managers listed availability of online rent payments as a top resident request, while a parallel survey of 96 owners/executives rated that second, with 80.9 percent of the votes. This was close behind Wi-Fi Internet access, which garnered 83 percent of their votes. Among property managers, Wi-Fi Internet access came in second, with 62.5 percent of them citing it as being in demand. Online maintenance requests were ranked third by both groups. Property managers listed onsite business centers in fourth place, while owners ranked them fifth, putting bundled television/Internet/ phone service about five percentage points ahead. Photo courtesy Anthony Singoga and PCVB April 27-29, 2009 Marriott Philadelphia Downtown Philadelphia, PA Building for Boomers & Beyond: 50+ Housing Symposium Learn more about the fastest-growing segment of the housing market. Attend the Building for Boomers &50+ Housing Symposium Beyond:, the premier educational and networking event for industry professionals who serve the burgeoning 50+ market. www.nahb.org/Build4Boomers National Association of Home Builders For more information, visit www.multi-housingnews.com/productinfo 62,065 apartments across the U.S.) One unique service offered to Camden residents is called “Perfect Connection,” which enables people to have cable service as soon as they plug in their TV set in their new apartment. The company negotiates with cable companies. “It’s a perfect selling point—residents don’t have to wait for the cable guy to come to their apartment, and they can add other premium services over the phone,” Simonette points out. While it’s a complicated program on the business side and may require negotiations with a number of cable companies, Simonette notes, “It’s an automatic win for residents.” Another online service called “Camden Connects” provides a single way for new residents to hook up utilities—even qualifying for preferred deals with some—and change their address. Now, Camden is piloting e-signature technology at a Dallas community. This technology enables a new resident to execute the complete leasing process—including actual lease signing—online. Camden offers Wi-Fi in clubhouses and pool areas in all new developments as well as some stabilized communities. Currently, Wi-Fi is not yet as much in demand in individual apartments, Simonette notes, so “we haven’t yet ventured down that path; perhaps that may be in the pipeline for 2009.” Resident portals, where people can submit maintenance requests online, 24 hours a day, are also essential. “We constantly get feedback on how people appreciate being able to self-serve, such as pay rent online, especially when traveling,” she reports. Technology preferences do vary from community to community, even in the same submarkets, Simonette says. While there are many potential 26 October 2008 | Multi-Housing News | Producer of Multi-Housing World http://www.nahb.org/Build4Boomers http://www.nahb.org/Build4Boomers http://www.multi-housingnews.com/productinfo

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Multi-Housing News - October 2008

Multi-Housing News - October 2008
Contents
From the Editor
MHN TV Premieres
Market Pulse
Special Report: MHN 2008 Design Awards
Development & Design: Mirabella
Market Report: Chicago, Kansas City
Property Management: Tracking Residents’ Tech Wish Lists
Finance: Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae
Tech Report: Marketing Web sites
Products: Appliances

Multi-Housing News - October 2008