2024 Fall Issue of Urban Land - 100

have been supported by the virtual assistant's
24/7 availability, with more than
80,000 of those leads being supported
after business hours. Furthermore, we
estimate that onsite teams were saved
from fielding more than 96,000 hours of
work-labor that the virtual assistant now
supports, freeing up time for the staff to
focus on turning ordinary interactions into
extraordinary experiences.
2. Learning and development
Bell Partners is in the early stages of
using AI in the learning and development
space. Our learning and development
team has used two machine learning
programs with great success. Our Certified
Bell Maintenance Technician program,
started in 2022, enables our maintenance
teams to accurately train for various realworld
scenarios in a simulated 3-D environment
via a computer or a VR headset.
The simulated sessions, including ones
in which the user is repairing live electrical
components, have been so positively
received by our staff members that we
believe it has reduced overall maintenance
staff turnover by 14 percent. It has
additionally increased the retention rate
for those who participate in the program
versus those who do not by an impressive
60 percent.
We also actively use a role-playing tool
that was integrated into our training programs
at the beginning of 2023. This program
allows users to interact with virtual
avatars controlled by live improv actors,
thereby helping to troubleshoot such
common workplace interactions between
employees and their managers as performance
feedback sessions, diversity and
inclusion conversations, and conflict resolution.
All our managers-a total of 600
associates-have been trained on the program
with overall positive outcomes.
3. Research and data analytics
Our market research team has been
another beneficiary of proprietary big
data and advanced algorithms. Using
anonymized address data gathered during
prospect resident screening, the team was
able to discern real-time migration trends
in Bell markets and thus to gain the
unique insight that many resident moves
are indeed local (between cities or within
the same city).
Gleaning such insights has practical
implications such as reallocating marketing
dollars toward migration hot spots
and letting us focus future acquisitions
within those nodes. As this example
illustrates, AI and big data are important
in the research field, as teams are wellequipped
to mine large datasets and
identify inefficiencies at the local level
that can contribute to outperformance for
both existing and new assets.
What may be next
Those multifamily owner/operators who
have adopted AI/machine learning tools
for their platforms are now focusing on
consolidating their applications to achieve
a comprehensive solution, thus freeing up
resources and facilitating change management.
Although we have been cautious
on our AI journey, we see a bright future
ahead, as young renters who constitute
the majority of our customer base are
more likely to adopt a personalized experience
with AI, given their increased familiarity
with technology.
Advancements in ChatGPT-like experiences
for applications in leasing, resident
management, maintenance, payables, data
analytics, and the like are being made by
many of our vendor partners. Predictive
maintenance models that suggest when
to replace equipment, intelligent lighting
systems that optimize the use of energy,
and resident screening applications that
reduce fraud are all areas where AI solutions
are emerging or remain theoretical
(and years away from deployment) but
nevertheless are attracting investment
capital by vendor partners in our industry.
Despite this optimistic outlook, some
hurdles lay ahead. Traditionally, the real
estate industry has often lagged behind in
adopting new technologies. Much of the
data to develop these solutions already
exists in property management systems,
so more time and investment will be
needed to make them a part of the digital
ecosystem. Data privacy for our residents
will remain an ongoing concern in any
transactional environment. At present,
many AI programs are not feasible, as
implementing them would require putting
a large amount of confidential data at risk.
For the multifamily sector, our experience
suggests that great benefits can
come from adopting AI and machine
learning solutions and applying them to
the sector's operating platforms. For software
providers, the AI arms race is just
beginning, and there's still much to do to
get viable solutions for our resident customers.
With a disciplined approach, we
believe the AI evolution offers real possibilities
to help us deliver superior customer
experiences for our residents in the
years ahead. UL
Bell Partners CEO Lili Dunn
100
URBAN LAND
FALL 202 4
LILI DUNN serves as CEO at Bell Partners Inc., a multifamily
asset management firm. She is based in the firm's
Washington, D.C. regional office.
BELL PARTNERS
2024 Fall Issue of Urban Land

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