In the past year, everyone in the multifamily industry witnessed a skyrocketing adoption of technology. With social distancing and stay-at-home orders, apartment communities’ physical and digital worlds were forced to collide. Now, many early adopting properties can breathe a sigh of relief as their once nimble transitions to pandemic life become well-oiled processes in 2021. Other properties may still have large hurdles to jump in the new year, as distanced, digitized, and touchless processes continue to be as important as ever.

Whether your properties have adapted new technology or not, these five must-have apartment technology solutions are a sure way to positively impact the customer experience for your prospects, residents, and leasing team in 2021 and years to come. How many do you have implemented? Or plan to implement this year?

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Top 5 Apartment Tech Solutions

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1. Expand Your Community Reach with Video

If you’re looking for a way to grab the attention of potential renters, video is it. By 2022, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic — 15 times higher than it was in 2017 (Cisco). Don’t let obstacles such as needing high-quality video equipment get in your way. Focus on creating videos that are personalized and DIY in nature to create authentic connections with renters. With easy-to-learn editing tools, such as Biteable or Adobe Spark, you can quickly add transitions and text to create a strong call-to-action on every video.

Use the videos to follow-up with prospects, post on social media, and add to your Google My Business profile.

For an even more personalized and visually engaging experience of your community, consider 3D virtual tours. LCP360’s Panoskin has built-in virtual meeting technology, so leasing agents can host remote tours live.

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2. Hire an AI Leasing Agent to Capture Leads

Leasing a new apartment can be an emotional process for many renters, and the human-touch of a leasing agent can often seal the deal. However, as with many aspects of our lives, the physical and digital realms are converging. Taking a hybrid approach to capturing and nurturing your leads can lead to big returns and increased operational efficiencies. Using, or “hiring” an AI-powered leasing agent is one such way to create a hybrid leasing process.

LeaseHawk’s virtual leasing assistant, ACE, uses AI voice-automation to answer prospect phone calls, text messages and chats. It answers common leasing questions, collects guest cards, and schedules tours, 24/7. ACE is loved by leasing teams because it captures leads and allows them to focus on high-value activities, such as guiding tours and assisting residents. Your rental prospects will love ACE too, because it ensures they have all the information they need to make an informed decision about their new apartment home.

What does a virtual leasing assistant sound like? Watch this video:

3. Increase Traffic with Self-Guided Tours

Did you know there are four main tour types that your apartment community can offer? On-Site Guided, On-Site Self-Guided, Virtual Guided, and Virtual Self-Guided. Each tour type has its own benefits; however, On-Site Self-Guided tours have made their way into the limelight as a must-have technology.

This type of tour allows a prospect to schedule a time to visit your property and gain entry to a unit to tour at their own pace. Thanks to smart home technology, such as smart locks, it is a secure, convenient and affordable way to increase traffic to your community.

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4. Make Follow-Up Easier with Text Messaging

Texting is the most commonly used feature on a smartphone and therefore the fastest and easiest way to communicate with your residents and prospects. “What differentiates texting – and what gives it such a competitive advantage for businesses that embrace it – is consumer preference and the capability built natively into every single mobile phone,” (Zipwhip / Bloomberg).

Having a tool that was uniquely designed to communicate with prospects and residents via text message is important. Luckily, there are many Real Estate CRM software platforms that were developed with this in mind. When choosing a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software, be sure to ask if it can:

• Create a communication log of all inbound and outbound SMS text messages, as well as emails and phone calls.

• Receive real-time alerts on both desktop and mobile for fast responses to inbound prospect or resident communications.

• Can be intuitively learned by leasing staff without causing tension in day-to-day processes.

• Easily integrates with your existing PMS (Property Management System).

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5. Conquer Your Package Room with Smart Lockers

If your community is experiencing an onslaught of deliveries, you’re not alone. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, e-commerce sales in the third quarter of 2020 rose more than 35 percent year-over-year. Smart lockers are a great way to help your onsite team manage the overwhelming task of package management.

Smart lockers simplify the intake, storage, and pick-up of packages at apartment communities. Generally, they work by holding a package in a compartment and are accessed by a unique PIN code by the resident. For busier delivery seasons, such as over the holidays, look for a smart locker system that has the ability for overflow. This technology isn’t only convenient for residents — it frees up more time for the on-site teams to respond to maintenance requests and other needs of residents.

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2021 will be year of continued innovation and growth for the multifamily industry. If improving the customer experience is one of your goals for the new year, these five must-have technologies are a great place to start! Want even more ideas? Check out this article to learn digitally-focused ways to generate apartment leads.