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J Turner Research’s text categorization tool, Einstein Thought Analysis, is a proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) software that delves into individual thoughts within open-ended commentary in reviews for apartments nationwide. Having analyzed over 6 million reviews, Einstein skillfully categorizes each thought within each review into one of 22 operational categories specific to the multifamily industry.

Alongside indications of whether each thought is mentioned positively (a compliment) or negatively (a complaint), the frequency data on this commentary can be seen by owners and operators as indicators of what drives satisfaction/dissatisfaction. For more information, please visit here.

Let’s Set the Stage

Coming out of the pandemic, J Turner Research noticed a trend that residents were expressing that they were less satisfied with how on-site teams were delivering service in comparison to the pre-COVID era.

This was the inverse of what the industry had gotten used to seeing in online reviews during the majority of the last decade. Residents had even showed a lot of grace in 2020, complimenting their living experience 46% more often than they were complaining about it. However, starting in 2021, reviews steadily became more negative, culminating in the statistic that residents complained 14% more often in 2023 than they did in 2020.

Interestingly, the factors that were driving dissatisfaction were what many would describe as the pillars of multifamily. The categories that saw the biggest uptick in complaints were:

  • Security;
  • General cleanliness;
  • Condition and availability of amenities and common areas;
  • Maintenance timeliness;
  • Maintenance service;
  • Condition of the unit;
  • Financial clarity; and
  • Communication.

This was concerning as the multifamily industry had access to efficiency tools like AI and broadened service offerings like virtual touring but were missing the mark more than before. Combine this with a market that was quickly shifting power toward the renter, and operators knew they were reaching a tipping point and needing to focus on resident satisfaction.

So that begs the question: Has the increased focus on resident satisfaction worked? Are renters more satisfied in 2024? And if so, what are we doing differently to better meet renter expectations?

Here are the biggest takeaways from looking at satisfaction data through the lens of online reviews, comparing 2024 Einstein data with what we saw in 2021-2023:

Resident Satisfaction Has Trended Up

Overall, there is reason to be optimistic. Renters are complimenting more and complaining less often in 2024 than they did in 2021, 2022, and 2023. That is objectively a good sign.

This finding should be taken with a grain of salt, as looking at this data through the first half of 2023 yielded a similar finding. Unfortunately, reviews got substantially more negative during the second half of 2023 in comparison to the first half. While that could be the result of a multitude of factors, many operational areas have spikes in complaints due to seasonality. For example, maintenance service and maintenance timeliness complaints rise drastically during the peak summer months when there are an increased number of work orders due to predictable issues like widespread air conditioner malfunctions. While there is reason to be optimistic, we can’t declare that resident satisfaction has healed until we have a year’s worth of data.

Getting Back to Basics Has Worked Thus Far

The increases in sentiment can be attributed to doing the basics better. Specifically, customer service, communication, and quite a few maintenance categories are all receiving less negative mentions and more positive mentions than they did in 2023. Here is a full list of categories that have trended that direction.

Customer Service Is Being Talked About in Reviews More Often

Customer service is not going away. The reality is that our product is a home, which is inherently an emotive product. It is different than the box we get on porch from Amazon: It is something closely associated with emotions, memories, comfort, and a resident’s closest relationships. Consequently, our customer, the resident, unequivocally craves connection to the people that property management sells as the ones who will make their home have feelings of warmth, welcomeness, safety, and peace. Our product, at its core, has not and will not change. Therefore, it should be of no surprise that residents are not talking about customer service less in 2024. When over 6 out of 10 residents, almost two-thirds, fill out a review about their apartment, they describe their relationship with the staff and how helpful, caring, and pleasant they are. This number has risen since the pandemic, continuing to go up in 2024.

The Differentiators in Getting Positive Feedback Online in 2024

By isolating the data to only four- and five-star reviews and analyzing what is being mentioned positively (complimented), we can gather takeaways about what is motivating a resident to leave you a strong star rating. In 2024, the initial trend shows that residents have been more willing to compliment customer service, communication, and maintenance service (how well the work order was completed) than in 2023. Comparatively, there have been less compliments related to the condition and availability of the amenities and common areas and the condition of the unit, suggesting that residents are more motivated to leave positive feedback due to the staff’s service than anything related to the quality of the property. Here is a breakdown of the 10 most frequently complimented categories in four- and five-star reviews and their trend year over year.

Other Rapid-Fire Takeaways

  • Communication continues to be a critical resident interaction. In both 2023 and 2024, it has been complained about in over 40% of one- and two-star reviews. This is substantially up from the lifetime (2003-2024) number of 32.9%;
  • Residents still don’t feel safe. Residents in 2024 are complaining about security in 26.81% of one- and two-star reviews. This was the top driver of increased dissatisfaction post-COVID; and
  • Amenities could be less of a driver for satisfaction. Across all reviews, compliments within four- and five-star reviews, and complaints within one- and two-star reviews, the condition and availability of the amenities and common areas is being mentioned substantially less often. This suggests that a greater percentage of residents don’t think of amenities as being critical in determining their overall satisfaction at their community.

Conclusion

It is evident that there is a call back to basics, and the good news is that residents feel like the industry is doing a better job of delivering in that respect.

Despite the optimism, we are still at a critical juncture. We are entering that point in the calendar year where, historically, many management companies fail to deliver on critical resident touch points. Moreover, now more than the last five years, bottom lines are at stake because residents have ample opportunity to leave for other communities or even single-family rentals that will better take care of them.

So, it is time to focus. But remember, it is about back to basics. There is no need to reinvent the wheel— just make sure that the wheels are greased.