“I don’t want to save money and increase efficiency,” said no student housing provider ever.
In fact, if you were to ask a room full of student housing owners, operators and managers their number 1 business goal, you would undoubtedly hear responses along the lines of “lowering costs,” “increasing ROI” or “doing more with less.”
PropTech speaks directly to these needs for cost efficiency. Offering student housing providers the potential to expedite certain processes and completely revolutionize others, PropTech cuts costs in the areas of energy and utilities, labor and leasing. Keep reading to learn which PropTech tools provide the best returns.
Wondering which smart home features perform best in student housing communities? Check out our recent blog to find out.
Streamline move-ins and say goodbye to keys
Every fall, hundreds of student residents return to their apartments. All of them need freshly cut keys or reprogrammed access cards before they can move in. Student housing providers try to organize this distribution process as much as they can, but there always seems to be too many students to cater to and not enough staff members to do it efficiently.
Instead of having to create and distribute new keys every year, access control gives property managers the power to save time and money with assigned access codes. Cut costs on keys and labor by doling out residents’ codes with the push of a few buttons, and revoke access at the end of the year with the same convenience. It’s really that simple!
Prevent catastrophic (and costly) leaks
Leaks happen in student housing often and they can be incredibly costly. 90 percent of water-related incidents affect more than one unit, according to RealPage, and they average $12,000 to fix. You could also experience more than one leak in a row. Following installation of our leak detection sensors, one SmartRent customer experienced 7 verified water leaks in the first few weeks, with the first event occurring after just 5 days.
Smart home hardware such as leak sensors can greatly reduce the likelihood of catastrophic water damage, while also helping communities save money on insurance. These smart home devices alert your team to leaks the moment they occur, preventing thousands of dollars in damage and the displacement of student residents.
Manage at scale, no matter where you are
While many management teams work on-site, student housing is not immune to the recent uptick in remote employment. In addition, countless management teams oversee not just one but many student communities. With some personnel entirely off-site and others unable to routinely visit their vast portfolio, managing multiple buildings at scale can be a challenge.
Community manager platforms resolve these issues and save money in the process. Keep track of parking, access touchpoints, and other data no matter where you are and how many communities you serve. SmartRent makes it easy and cost-effective without requiring that you juggle multiple platforms. SmartRent also keeps up with maintenance and work orders, so you can stay informed of critical status updates from anywhere. Curious to learn more about how it works? Schedule a demo with us!
Offer more tours, make more money
If there’s one thing to take away from this year’s NMHC Student Housing Conference, it’s that students are seeking alternative ways to tour apartment communities. Instead of coordinating a meet-up with a leasing agent, students would rather tour on their own at a time that works for them. After all, why waste hours arranging a meeting that only lasts 20 minutes?
This is great news for operators who have self-guided tours in place. With so many students engaging in virtual or self-guided tours, properties no longer have to keep a leasing agent or other personnel on-site, often in after-hours settings. Not to mention, self-guided tours enable student communities to schedule more tours, translating to more units leased in less time.
Take the next step with SmartRent
Smart home technology is revolutionizing how student housing communities decrease costs and boost efficiency with an ecosystem of products designed to eliminate unnecessary labor and operational spend.
Give your student housing a competitive advantage and unparalleled cost efficiency with our enterprise smart home automation platform. Learn more about our student housing solutions or request a complimentary demo.