Question of the Month: How can property owners increase resident retention at their properties? - by Adam Kapner
It’s easy to put your focus on getting new residents for your property. However, knowing the importance of resident retention is vital if you want to be a successful property manager. By keeping a high resident retention rate, you can build your apartment community and keep your residents happy.
Below, we share eight effective apartment resident retention ideas to increase lease renewal rates and improve the reputation of your property management company.
1. Improve Your Lobby Experience
In any apartment, the lobby should be a haven for residents. It’s the last thing they see when they leave and the first thing they see coming home. Improving your lobby can enhance how residents feel about where they live. Little adjustments to your lobby can go a long way in terms of resident retention. Whether it’s a coffee machine they can access before a long day’s work or comfortable furniture to sit on while waiting for an Uber, these touches can boost resident retention.
2. Use Social Media to Connect with Your Residents
Property managers who aren’t using social media to connect with their residents are missing out on higher lease renewal rates. With community pages on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, residents feel a stronger connection. Social media allows the property management team to fulfill maintenance requests. This will also increase resident satisfaction. If you’re looking for an easy and quick way to improve resident retention, consider making community pages on social media.
3. Organize Resident Events
Bring residents together by hosting meet-ups and resident events. Events allow new residents to get to know their neighbors and members of the management team. They’re also an excellent way for current residents to build a sense of community. Good examples of apartment community events include holiday parties, barbecues, bonfires, fitness classes, and hobby groups. You can post event details on the community website and on social media. If you’re stuck, you can always hire someone to plan a resident event.
4. Build a Shared Workspace
Let’s face it, working from home is slowly becoming the new norm. Building a shared workspace filled with amenities can go a long way in boosting resident retention. While each resident will have different needs, be sure to provide essentials like fast Wi-Fi, desks, comfortable chairs, and printers. You can even provide coffee, muffins, or a vending machine so renters don’t have to leave for a quick snack. Apartment communities with shared workspaces can expect to see a massive boost in their retention rates. This helps your bottom line, too.
5. Pay Attention to Pets
With over 85 million pet owners in the U.S., several of your residents are sure to have a furry friend. One of the biggest struggles for pet owners is finding a living situation suitable for their pets. Making your apartments more pet-friendly is bound to boost retention. Some easy ways to help out pet owners include providing a green area for dogs, grooming services, or in-house pet sitting. If you make pet owner’s lives easier, they’re likely to stay for several years. Say hello to higher resident retention rates!
6. Encourage Renters to Give Feedback
Customer feedback can be some of the most useful data to increase retention rates. If your property management team wants to improve, they’ll need to listen to their renters. Making adjustments can be tricky when you don’t know how to respect resident feedback. Fortunately, you can use software on your website to make gathering feedback easy. You can also use a suggestion box for residents who aren’t tech-savvy. Another handy way to gather input is by sending out a regular community newsletter via email. You can use your newsletter to deliver important updates, ideas, and progress trackers to keep your residents happy.
7. Fulfill Maintenance Requests Promptly
Maintenance issues are one of the top reasons why renters relocate. Whether it’s a clogged drain or a pest infestation, residents want the problem to go away yesterday. Being slow to resolve maintenance issues is sure to be a turnoff to residents. Fortunately, there are ways you can improve your maintenance schedule and keep your residents happy. One of the best ways is to set up regular maintenance checks for all residents. If emergency property issues arise, solving the problems as quickly as possible is guaranteed to reduce resident turnover. This shows that you care about their needs. Having a convenient way for apartment residents to contact the property maintenance team is a must. If you want to increase resident retention. You can use social media or have a simple booking system on the company website. Make sure to use email to send them repair updates.
8. Be Friendly and Genuine
This is one of the best apartment resident retention ideas because it’s free. By greeting residents with a smile and being genuinely nice, you’re building a stronger sense of community and making people happy about where they’re living. Make sure your gestures are authentic and that your entire property management team goes above and beyond to make every resident feel special. Being friendly is also excellent for boosting your management’s reputation.
Conclusion
Without a doubt, creating an effective resident retention strategy doesn’t happen overnight. It can take several weeks, if not months before you start to see success. However, with the right ideas and mindset, you’ll feel like you’re ahead of the curve.
Remember, the collection of resident retention tips above are all relative to your residents, but you can still use them as inspiration to try out a new solution to get people to extend their residency. If you have any further questions about retaining tenants in your community, feel free to reach out to our team for a free proposal.
Adam Kapner is principal at NYC Apartment Management, New York, N.Y.