While competitive rent prices, nice decor, and good amenities go a long way in maximizing occupancy, modern renters simply expect a lot more from a multifamily property. Not only do people want nice surroundings, but they also want to be part of a community too. If renters feel unengaged and can’t access services as and when they need them, you risk losing tenants and future revenue.
With everyone now owning the best smartphone, the best way to improve the resident experience and retain custom is through a resident engagement app. At all stages of a tenancy, a dedicated engagement app elevates the resident experience, keeping people happy, informed, and helps build a lively community, making it pivotal to resident retention and a building’s NOI.
Below, we’ll go over some of the ways a resident engagement app improve the resident experience and detail why Flamingo’s Resident App is a complete engagement solution that your community will love.
Moving in and onboarding
Moving into a new property can be a daunting experience for anyone. While an engagement app can’t help unpack endless boxes, it can go a long in streamlining the onboarding process by informing new residents of everything they need to know when moving in.
Engagement begins early with move-in (& out) checklists simplifying the process and allowing property managers to offer additional services. There’s plenty to think about when moving into a new property and holding the hand of residents at this important stage helps form a great first impression.
Using Flamingo’s community features, new faces will also become familiar in no time as the social feed acts as a way for residents to get to know each other better. Whether it’s sharing a meme, selling a piece of furniture, or keeping everyone up to date on your pet’s latest shenanigans, the social feed enables hundreds of resident-to-resident interactions every week. This is far more engagement than residents would normally have, with connections being richer and more personal than corridor “hellos” and elevator pleasantries.
A resident center app can also help familiarise new residents with layouts and amenities, an important part of the onboarding process. By implementing a fully digital and searchable resident guide, Flamingo’s Resident App allows residents to get information at any time of day in a way that is convenient to them.
Building a community
A resident engagement app can prove vital to ongoing revenue, as residents who feel part of a community are more likely to continue living within your property.
Together, an events calendar, social feed, and resident-to-resident messaging help form a tight-knight community within a property where neighbours feel comfortable reaching out if they need someone to pet-sit for a while, or if anyone fancies a glass of wine and a chat.
Building this sense of community between residents has traditionally been hit and miss. Residents don’t want to commit to attending events, for example, unless they know who else is going and in traditional property dynamics, most neighbours don’t know each other too well.
Flamingo’s community features solve this problem in several ways.
Firstly, residents get to know each other passively and actively using the social feed and resident-to-resident messaging. Residents report much closer affinity with their neighbours after using a resident app, meaning more willingness to attend social events or host get-togethers themselves such as weekly Netflix nights and Friday night drinks.
A fully featured event calendar is also integrated into resident engagement apps provided by Flamingo. Keeping your property’s event calendar full of engaging experiences such as mojito mixing, pet-friendly “yappy hours”, outdoor movie nights, and fitness classes all help to retain and attract residents. Flamingo’s app tools enable residents to see ahead of time who has confirmed they are attending an event too. Taking this uncertainty out of the equation results in much higher attendance levels, providing a much richer social experience for residents.
The experience is also enhanced with residents able to comment on past events as well as upload their photos, encouraging further attendance and providing good marketing materials for property managers.
Streamlining maintenance and communication
A resident center app also improves the experience of requesting repairs, communicating with a property manager, and paying rent.
Residents dread nothing more than discovering a problem within their property and having to ring or text someone who may not get back to them anytime soon. Properties that integrate a self-branded Flamingo Engagement App, however, can submit repair requests instantly, using their smartphone’s camera to document the problem and provide as much information as possible.
Residents feel empowered when they see that their maintenance request is being dealt with and have a direct and appropriate way of communicating issues with property managers. Enabling residents to report issues easily means repairs aren’t ignored and put off. This allows maintenance to be carried out swiftly preventing bigger, revenue-impacting issues.
With full integration with Resident Portal, an engagement app also gives residents a focal point for everything related to their tenancy. Residents simply need to install your property’s branded app and everything from rent to virtual keys is accessible, making multiple solutions unnecessary.