Resident Rewards Programs: The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Points for paying rent on time? Discounts to the local coffee shop down the street? Travel opportunities? These are some of the ideas that multifamily marketers are including in their residential rewards programs. And not only do these promotions and incentives benefit the renter but they make a positive impact on the overall company, too.

Marketers are tasked with finding new and modern ways to appeal to potential residents. And while in the past they might have relied on amenities and on-site personnel, digital incentives and resident reward programs can also draw in renters.

“As we have learned from others before us across industries, everyone loves a deal or status with perks and benefits that might come with spending a particular amount of money,” Ashley Sinclair, executive vice president, marketing and brand loyalty for Village Green, said. “For multifamily, consumer behavior in the retail and service industry quickly crosses over into our residents’ expectations.”

Different programs, similar goals

To develop a meaningful rewards program, you first must understand what their residents needs and wants are. Although in the early stages, Greystar is among the many companies doing just that, developing Greystar Rewards around three main components: points, perks and experiences.  

“Within points, residents at participating properties can earn points for paying their rent on time and for shopping at merchants in their neighborhood” Aaron Glick, managing director, loyalty and rewards, Greystar, told Multi-Housing News.

Within perks, Greystar is curating special and often exclusive offers to nearby shops and eateries resulting in rewards like a free yoga class, savings on moving and cleaning services or a discount for new cookware. And for experiences, communities are hosting complimentary events to thank residents for their loyalty, including pizza parties, pup meetups and book clubs.

“I love when members redeem rewards,” Glick said. “Not only does it create an immediate positive impact on their satisfaction scores but it also creates a long-term emotional connection to our brand.”

Village Green, currently in the process of revamping its rewards program, is aiming to show appreciation for its renters wherever they are in their journey. Once it is released, Sinclair said it will revolve around unique and meaningful ways to show appreciation for renter loyalty and for prospective residents.

“We will have new or prospective renters that we want to acknowledge,” Sinclair said. “Those who will be moving into one of our properties, we realize that moving can be stressful and expensive no matter who you are, so we want to offer our support via discounts to local and national companies that ease that process.” 

Not all residential rewards are set up internally, however. Many marketers also partner with outside platforms. For example, Veris Residential is in the early stages of offering this type of program to residents. After launching the Veris Promise in 2023 with the intention of expanding into more resident benefits, the company recently partnered with Bilt, a loyalty program for renters. Now, Veris Residential residents pay through the Bilt platform and earn Bilt Points with every payment.

“We already know that consumers like earning points and redeeming them on future travel or other experiences,” Nicole Jones, senior vice president of marketing & communications, Veris Residential, said. “Given rent is typically a significant monthly expense, one most people don’t earn rewards on, Bilt creates a more positive resident experience, making rent payments more, for lack of a better word, rewarding.”

Points in this program can be used for a variety of rewards: airline miles, fitness classes, dining opportunities, Lyft rides, hotel stays, etc.

“The data we have so far is promising, showing residents are very excited about this partnership,” Jones said of the alignment with Bilt.

As more companies opt to partner with a multifamily rewards program company, more options continue to roll out offering different incentives, discounts and loyalty services. Some popular options include Amenify, Obligo, Zego, Domuso, Stake and the upcoming Rewards by RentCafe.

Crafting rewards that count

It’s impossible to offer a reward that caters to a multifamily portfolio’s, or even a single multifamily community’s, entire resident base. Therefore, the residential rewards programs that are the most successful are those that understand the target audience and are crafted to support various renter types.

Rewards programs that perform well, across a myriad of sectors and industries, have high degrees of consumer stickiness and customer engagement and are oriented around the specified interests of specific populations, Michael Broder, CEO of RCKRBX, explained.

“Those that don’t do well are more generic,” Broder said. “They just load up all the rewards that they can without actually understanding which things should really be focusing on, based on where their core constituencies are.”

For example, you can cater rewards to popular programming and amenities within specific communities. For student housing, rewards could be discounted snack passes, coffee coupons, deals on school supplies and dorm accessories, etc. Broder noted that in senior housing communities, gardening spaces are becoming an increasingly popular programming element. Therefore, rewards in communities like these could include gardening classes, discounted seeds or other amenity-driven incentives.

“You’re trying to align the incentive in the reward program to the life stage and lifestyles and the interests of those populations,” Broder said. “And the only way you can do that is to understand who’s in your building, what they do, what they enjoy and then think ‘how do I build these programs around the things that they like most?’”

So far at Veris Residential, Jones noted that travel opportunities have been incredibly popular. The Bilt points are agnostic, so residents can convert them into any hotel or airline brand that they prefer. These types of travel rewards are also very well-liked among Greystar residents.

Outside of travel, both Jones and Glick said that rent credits are at the top of the rewards lists for renters.

Another key element to meaningful resident rewards is community partnerships. As part of its perks program, Greystar promotes local restaurants, fitness studios, shops, etc., to enrich the lives of its residents as well as nearby entrepreneurs and small business owners.  

“It’s great for those businesses and it’s great for us—because renters aren’t just looking to rent an apartment, they’re looking for a community and a neighborhood that feels like home,” Glick said.

Keeping residents engaged

Setting up an incredible resident rewards program is one thing. Getting residents to engage with it is another. According to Broder, once a rewards program is released, there is often a massive spike in interactions. But that excitement doesn’t always last for long.

“You’re going to have a handful of different renter segments within any building that will ultimately comprise your resident population,” he said. “But the reality is, if rewards aren’t promoted to the audiences in which they’re intended for then you’re going to get that initial spike and then it’s going to fall off the cliff.”

Broder recommends having a segmented program and then developing creative and marketing strategies that are unique and specific to those different renter demographics. This might mean marketing one thing to 20 percent of your residents and another to a different percentage.

“Rewards programs can be highly diverse in what they offer, but it’s all about how you push that information out from a from a marketing and engagement standpoint that enables you to keep bringing people back into the program because what you’re promoting to them is of relevance,” he continued.

Sinclair told MHN that a successful rewards program must also contain clear language and only a few qualifiers. Renters want to feel like the rewards are attainable.

“Any program must be easy to understand, and the program must stick to its structure until evolution is needed based on customer demand—meaning you can’t tweak every quarter or bi-yearly as that can feel like a bait-and-switch feel from the residents/prospects’ perspective and do more harm than good,” Sinclair said.

As part of the launch of The Veris Promise, a campaign plan including emails, app notifications, branded swag and on-site signage was rolled out at Veris Residential. “Placing the program front and center with current residents ensured that our existing resident base was aware of the program and did not feel its benefits were only available to new residents,” Jones said.

As for new residents, they learn about The Veris Promise and Bilt rewards during their first tour. It is one of the five main features leasing agents talk to prospective renters about. Resident rewards and benefits are also continually communicated to existing renters, whether it be through on-site staff or after completed maintenance requests when a direct link to The Veris Promise’s dedicated webpage is sent.

“We also offer extra points as motivators to incentivize behaviors,” Jones said. “Soon we will offer points to residents who engage with our philanthropic partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, answer survey questions, submit social media content of their homes and more.”

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For Greystar, Glick noted that communication is key. While online comms—mobile apps, personalized emails, social media—are heavily used, in-person interactions are encouraged too.  

“It’s great to see our community managers engage with residents in real life,” he said. “When they see someone come home from work who has clearly had a rough day, it’s incredible when they can say, ‘You’re in luck! Today is our Taco Tuesday event, and the tacos are on us,’”

For prospective renters, Greystar wants to convey the message that its benefits extend beyond the lease. They have plans to include rewards information on property websites as well as throughout the leasing process. And it’s not just residents who get to take advantage of these perks. Team members also have access to these benefits.

How marketers measure a program’s effectiveness

There are a lot of ways that marketers are seeing the benefits of their rewards programs. Along with happy renters and well-attended events, key performance indicators and data are further corroborating the resident satisfaction tied with these benefit programs.

Glick told MHN that ultimately the goal of the Greystar rewards program is to drive resident retention. He likes to look at net promoter score, a customer satisfaction measurement, as an indicator of this renter retention.

“I also like to pilot certain rewards features,” Glick said. “Then we can compare retention at the pilot properties to other properties and estimate the impact of the initiative.”

Sinclair also believes that it is critically important to define the goals of the program and its KPIs to measure for achievements. And it’s crucial to arm on-site staff with the tools and confidence needed to effectively implement the program.

“As factors such as diversity and location can impact the wants and needs of a program, consider hosting focus groups to get a well-rounded perspective on what matters most to renters,” Sinclair stated. “This allows you to create mutual alignment between prospective residents and clients. With the goals and process in place, the focus then shifts to execution.”

At Veris Residential, Jones focuses on measuring rewards program effectiveness based on resident engagement. To do so, she measures the points earned by Veris Residential residents and the share of renters who have opted to pay using a Bilt credit card.

“Since launching a little over three months ago, our residents have earned over 14 million points and redeemed over four million of them,” she said. “Today, over 20 percents of Bilt members from Veris have signed up for the card, which indicates their enthusiasm to earn points outside of just their rent payments.”

Read the October 2024 issue of MHN.