Technology enhancing the multifamily residential experience has been in motion for years. While functions such as online payments are now nearly ubiquitous, other steps have seen more recent advances. Many have been fast-tracked to some degree by the pandemic, which brought increased interest in self-touring and streamlined delivery of online purchases. Karen Hollinger, senior vice president of strategic initiatives at AvalonBay Communities, has a unique perspective on the changing landscape. With nearly 300 properties nationwide, AvalonBay provides varying degrees of self-service, in some cases every step of the way.
Prepping for the Holiday Package Rush
One of the biggest tech advances is the transformation of package delivery, especially for multifamily communities, which receive particularly large quantities of shipments. The most recent data for AvalonBay, which is pre-pandemic, revealed that residents received 5.1 packages per month in 2019, up 42% from 2016. And that figure climbed during the pandemic. According to Statista, global e-commerce visits rose to 22 billion in June 2020, up 27% from 16.07 billion in January 2020. “The increase in online orders is really, really large—and it’s large across all categories, which includes things like furniture and food,” Hollinger says.
Self-service package lockers and package rooms are helping manage the volume—and save valuable staff resources—particularly during the busy holiday season. “Residents love the locker system and being able to get packages on their own time—and associates love not having to handle those packages,” Hollinger says. “While package lockers alone are not sufficient to handle the deluge of the holiday season, it certainly makes a huge difference in ‘controlling the chaos.’”
And the volume has been growing more chaotic. According to Adobe Analytics, e-commerce sales for the 2020 holiday season hit $188.2 billion, up 32% over 2019—two years’ worth of growth in just one year. All indications point to higher numbers for the 2021 holiday season, and innovations such as Amazon’s Key for Business, which allows delivery drivers to enter and deliver Amazon packages without assistance, are helping manage the volume. Hollinger says approximately 60 AvalonBay communities, including the entirely self-service Kanso Twinbrook community in Rockville, Maryland, feature Key for Business, which provides the device, installation, and maintenance for free. It’s been an all-around success. “Our associates appreciate removing non-value-added activities from their day to day, and residents largely prefer to do things on their own time.”
Self-Touring and Other Resident Services
Technologies also have brought changes to apartment touring, particularly during the pandemic, which created extra precautions about being around other people. Variables such as time and place—and expectations for an experience whenever and wherever it’s wanted—play a role, too. “For instance, I might be in Indiana looking for an apartment in San Francisco, so I need a virtual touring option,” Hollinger says. “And then maybe I fly in, and it’s Sunday. Now I need a self-touring option because the leasing office is closed, and I’m not around on Monday from 9 to 6.”
How self-touring takes shape varies by community, both online and on-site. For most residents, the experience begins online with a carousel of photos at a minimum, followed by videos and 3D tours using an immersive platform such as Matterport. “These 3D tours let you drill into each aspect of the apartment yourself,” Hollinger says.
Once on-site, self-touring is enhanced by smart-access technology. “For our newest buildings that are truly automated, self-touring means that someone books an appointment on the website that automatically kicks off an automated ID screen, where you take a selfie and a picture of your driver’s license,” Hollinger says. “And if that matches, it automatically sends you an email with a code to the building and to the unit. So, self-touring is truly staff-less because you can book an appointment and be touring yourself 20 minutes later.”
From there, nearly all large owners offer online rental applications and payments. Many also have automated the move-in experience to maximize staff efficiency and resident convenience. “There’s no move-in packet, but we offer every need online,” Hollinger says. “We say, ‘Let’s get you renters insurance. Let’s get you signed up for utilities. Here’s your change-of-address form. Here’s your reserve-your-elevator process.’”
Automated technology options extend to additional services after move-in, such as online maintenance requests and fully automated parking. “We’ve been doing a lot more automated parking,” Hollinger says. And it’s smart: Cameras in garages read license plates for residents with reserved parking—and can easily auto-bill residents who park by the hour or day.
For more information on how Key for Business can help streamline deliveries to your property, visit here.
