Creating a Frictionless Leasing Experience
February 16, 2024
If potential renters encounter any difficulties, they are likely to take their search elsewhere. Here's how to make the process go smoothly.
Signing new residents is not just about offering the right apartment home at the right price.
Granted, that’s obviously a huge part of the equation, but operators also need to provide prospective residents with a seamless shopping and leasing experience. If potential renters encounter any friction or hardships during this time, they are likely to take their home search elsewhere.
Today’s prospective renters want to be able to tour and gather information about apartments on their own time, and they want a quick “yes” or “no” after completing their lease application.
With that in mind, here are some tools and solutions today’s operators should consider implementing if they haven’t already done so:
- Self-guided and virtual tours—Giving prospective renters the ability to take self-guided tours onsite offers multiple benefits. For starters, some of today’s apartment shoppers simply prefer to visit a community without a leasing associate hovering around them. Also, self-guided tours can be offered when the leasing office is closed. For those who work a 9-to-5 job and can’t get to a community when the leasing office is open, this can be an invaluable convenience.
Virtual tours can allow a prospect to experience and learn about a community remotely and—post-pandemic—that’s how many of them want to shop for their next apartment. The popularity of these tours will likely continue to increase as they become table stakes and shoppers come to expect this perk.
