Exceptional resident experience is a must for rental housing providers.
The cost of losing a resident is a great one that takes more than a year and a half to recover financially. “The State of Resident Experience Management Report” from property technology firm Zego (Powered by PayLease) dives into resident experience and how operators can improve their residents’ experiences while living at the community.
The report defines resident experience management as, “The concept of improving all resident touchpoints and creating a remarkable community living experience.” For obvious reasons, resident experience is directly correlated to reputation and occupancy rates. Nearly 80% of apartment hunters did not visit a community because of unfavorable ratings and reviews. Meanwhile, 85% of residents said reviews influenced their decision to live at their current apartment.
Improving resident experience can lead to higher occupancy, which in turn, results in fewer and lower turnover costs. The average cost of a resident turnover is $3,850, which includes repairs, concessions, marketing and lost rent. It takes 19 months to recover the cost of the lost resident.
Zego partnered with research firm Strategy Analytics to breakdown resident experience management. Of note, the industry average retention rate is 58%, but the top quarter are performing at 65%.
One of the key takeaways from the report is that modern living environments are directly related to resident experience management. According to the Strategy Analytics survey, 40% of respondents said providing residents with a modern living experience is part of resident experience management. Providing residents with a great living experience and managing maintenance requests were tied for second at 35%.
There are seven recommendations given for a top-notch resident experience.
- Seamless move-in experience
- Up-to-date and attractive community
- Vibrant community
- Responsive management and enhanced communication
- Improve maintenance services and response times
- Poll residents
- Actively manage the renewal process