In 2003, Joseph Batdorf co-founded J Turner Research, an independent research and reputation management company focused exclusively on the multifamily industry. The company helps property owners and operators enhance resident satisfaction through intelligent resident and prospect survey programs, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven data analysis, quantifiable action plans, customized training, and review response service. Batdorf, president of the firm, shares his advice on online reputation and some emerging trends.
What inspired you to start the company, and how has your mission evolved over the past two decades?
More than 20 years ago, I was inspired to start J Turner Research by what we did at my previous company, AmRent. We used market research as a sales tool to determine if potential clients were happy with their existing service. We called potential clients and asked them who they were using for credit reporting, whether they were happy with them, and what improvements they would like to see in the service they were using.
This extensive market research gave us an insight into what the competition was doing and helped us tremendously with our sales. Then, I got the opportunity to sell AmRent. My previous experience sparked an idea—if you can use market research to help you get ahead of your competitors, the apartment industry could use that as well. I was confident that the strength of information gathered through market research would be invaluable for apartment companies—are residents satisfied with the service they are getting, are they getting the attention they would like, do properties have the amenities residents are looking for, and what are prospects thinking? Inspired by this confidence, I teamed up with Nitin Agarwal to start J Turner Research in 2003. Today, we have evolved to be the only company exclusively helping apartments across the nation ace their resident satisfaction game with key success factors—in-depth research and analysis, actionable reporting, cutting-edge technology, and excellence in client servicing.
Can you explain how the ORA score works, and why it’s become such a key performance indicator for multifamily properties?
Through exhaustive research, J Turner Research has established an unbiased model to measure the online reputation of apartment properties nationwide across all relevant review sites that track apartment reviews. This model establishes an online reputation assessment (ORA) score for each property, which is a statistical aggregate of that property’s ratings across various review sites and ILSs.
The ORA score is based on a scale of 0 to 100, and it is updated each month. Currently, we monitor the online ratings and reviews of over 148,000 properties nationwide across multiple review sites and ILSs to statistically determine ORA scores for each property. The ORA score provides a method for management companies and properties to rank their relative strength versus competition. According to RealPage, every point you boost your ORA score could add a 9.3-basis-point premium to market.
The ORA score is the gold standard in our industry for measuring and benchmarking online reputation. The ORA Power Rankings, published in partnership with Multifamily Executive, is the most awaited recognition properties and multifamily companies look forward to each month.
We also handicap review sites as some sites are skewed more negatively or others more positively, and we take that into account when calculating ORA.
Technology continues to reshape the multifamily landscape. How is J Turner leveraging tech to stay ahead?
We’ve invested a significant amount of money in IT and are constantly scouting for new technologies to maintain our leadership position in sourcing and presenting content that can empower multifamily companies to make their residents feel at home. The decision to rent an apartment is the biggest financial investment for an individual each month. Our mission is to use the most advanced technology to place the right content in the hands of companies so they can seamlessly address issues, fix what’s wrong, and accentuate their strengths to eventually assure the residents that their investment is worth it.
At J Turner Research, technology is at the core of how we deliver value and innovation exclusively to the multifamily industry. We stay ahead by combining data science, AI, and seamless platform integrations to empower property managers with actionable insights. Our proprietary ORA score—an industry benchmark—offers a unified view of online reputation by aggregating data from multiple review sites. We’ve also developed a powerful AI-driven sentiment analysis engine that decodes over a million resident reviews, helping clients understand not just the score, but the story behind it. Whether it’s maintenance delays or exceptional service, we quantify what residents are saying through review comments—and help property managers act before a rating ever drops
Our integrated platform is built to fit seamlessly into our clients’ ecosystems, with partnerships across various property management softwares, and even Google and Facebook. This allows us to give our partners real-time control of their reputation, resident engagement, and survey feedback—all in one place.
With customizable surveys, advanced analytics, and a dedicated support team, we ensure our partners are not just reacting to trends but are driving them.
What are some of the most surprising or impactful trends you’ve uncovered recently when it comes to multifamily online reputation?
- While 2024 saw the lowest review volume since 2017, this was largely due to massive artificial platform purges (Facebook, RentPath, Yelp). Surprisingly, overall sentiment significantly improved, with 50% more commendations than criticisms recorded—the most favorable ratio since 2021. Average ratings also increased on key platforms.
- When management responds to negative reviews, renters (77%) prioritize seeing resolution rather than just a quick response. This indicates a demand for tangible action and empathy over mere acknowledgment.
- Multifamily leaders responded that a property’s online reputation has overtaken walkability to become the second most important factor (after in-unit laundry) for prospective renters in 2025. This highlights its growing perceived influence on decision-making.
- The rise of platforms like Apartments.com (now 5% lifetime share) and Zillow is linked to their prime positioning in Google search results for key terms like “Apartments near me,” while traditional ILSs continue to decline.
Online reputation has become a major factor in apartment leasing decisions. What’s one piece of advice you’d give to owners or operators who want to improve their community’s reputation and performance in today’s competitive market?
Treat your residents well. That’s my main advice. How’s your manager talking to your residents? How’s your maintenance staff doing in their interactions with residents? There are many gimmicks out there, but customer service is the core of everything.
There’s a sea change in our industry—for residents, it has gone from location, location, location to customer service, customer service, customer service. With remote work, people can live anywhere so they are choosing to make their homes at properties where they can trust the management. We live in a crazy, confusing world, and having a place that they can go to with complete trust in what’s going to happen at that property is key.
I think how companies manage their properties and how well they treat residents is going to become very transparent in the future. And the properties that treat their residents well will prosper.
Looking ahead, what emerging issues or opportunities should multifamily leaders be paying close attention to?
Well, it really goes without saying that multifamily companies should be concerned about the rules regarding fake reviews as the Federal Trade Commission is closely watching what businesses are doing. As experts in the review world, we have a pulse on each review site and the sudden bursts of high volume of reviews. We know when people are fudging reviews whenever there is a bulk download of reviews, and we know when companies ask employees or vendors to fill out reviews. Multifamily leaders should realize that it is only a matter of time before someone is called out publicly for doing this. There should be little reason to artificially boost the review volume; the focus should be on getting reviews organically. The on-site teams should naturally ask for reviews. The perfect situation is that a property should get a consistent number of reviews from residents every month. There is no easy road to establishing trust from your residents; it requires daily attention to kind and responsive customer service.
