What resident technologies are finding success in apartments and condos?
One new technology is yield management software, which has been around for ‘‘years in the travel industry. Rainmaker's LRO software is integrated with our property management software, Yardi Voyager, which allows us to take a much more analytical approach to both setting rents for new residents and lease renewals.
Another software solution we are using is Lead Tracking Solutions' PopCard product. This software streamlines the leasing process by capturing prospect [data] at the desktop and allows us to see specifically where our traffic sources from a management level. Since this product is integrated with Yardi, all prospect information is available for immediate reporting.
We also use an online purchase order approval system that both speeds the payment process for our vendors and allows for real-time budget tracking for all our communities. It has enabled us to have greater visibility of property expenses and be more proactive in working with the community to keep expenses under control.
Ken Hodges is vice president of information technology for Western National Property Management in Irvine, Calif.
