For the last few weeks, we have been running a weekly “downturn” roundtable discussion for our clients (a group that includes some of the most experienced pricing and revenue management practitioners in the industry). Each week we have been summarizing the insights that were shared during our latest discussion.
The content below is presented below in Q&A format, and all responses are anonymous. If you have different insights, opinions, or questions that you would like us to address in the coming weeks, please leave them in the comments or contact us through the site.
We’ve been getting questions about how companies are handling self-show and virtual tours. Are you doing both or either? If you are doing self-showing, how are you handling any concerns about cleansing between shows? (Summary of responses below)
Companies are generally offering both, with virtual now ubiquitous and self-show at a growing subset of properties.
In some properties leasing agents leave the unit unlocked for the day, with wipe-down of door handles and hard surfaces after each self-guided tour.
There is little or no pushback from existing residents, particularly in garden-style – incidence was greater in high-rise.
One operator just purchased wall-mounted infrared temperature sensors with alarm.
One operator shared that A-class properties are seeing better results with the virtual shows, but B & C have much higher demand for self-shows.
Tours at many properties were back up to pre-COVID 19 levels using virtual tours; however, new leases are down and flat to the prior year.
Canceled move-ins s……
