For some, smartphone apps may be the flavor of the month. Apartment REIT Camden Property Trust, however, considers its mobile website a more versatile and practical alternative. Released in late March, the site is designed for a variety of mobile devices that users can access without downloading anything.
“We wanted to have functionality for all carriers and not just the iPhone audience, so we have one URL that directs the user to the correct platform,” says John Selindh, Vice President of Marketing for Camden.
“There is still a question about how many prospects see value in downloading an app to search for an apartment. That’s not to say we may not create an app in the future if our customers want it, but we don’t see that demand currently.”
Based on feedback from a number of focus groups, Camden’s mobile Web site offers prospective residents access to current rents, photos, videos, 3-D floor plans and the ability to reserve an apartment. By using the location service on their phone, prospective residents also can view Camden communities within a 20-mile radius, listed by proximity to their current location.
Selindh says a second version of the website will cater to Camden residents’ more pressing needs by incorporating a resident portal.
“Our residents have told us the most useful functions for a mobile site are paying rent and submitting or tracking service requests, so we are about to launch a resident portal that will allow them to conveniently do both,” he says.
A month after the mobile launch, Selindh had yet to receive website traffic figures but says Camden’s in-house contact center has already received positive feedback from prospective renters.
“There hasn’t been a complaint yet,” he says.