Yardi returned as a proud sponsor of The Buildings Week PM EXPO 2020. Nearly 6,000 design, construction and real estate experts attended the virtual event which offered engaging content and targeted networking opportunities. One of the conference’s hottest sessions focused on using technology to overcome hurdles posed by COVID-19. In “Pandemic Proofing Canadian Real Estate through Technology and Innovation,” three industry leaders conveyed how technology helped them weather seasons of unprecedented change. Heather Brady, national director of sales at Yardi Canada Ltd. moderated a panel consisting of Maria Aiello, global head of private markets and real estate technology, MVP at Manulife Financial; Moe Ladha, finance transformation lead at The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited and Todd Nishimura, senior director of marketing, leasing and communications at GWL Realty Advisors Inc. To remain nimble and responsive, each panelist acknowledged the importance of leadership, digital communication and accessibility to data. Tech for leading with purpose Aiello proposes that during tough times, leadership must set the tone for adaptability, receptivity and a meaningful change. She says, “Manulife has been nothing but impressive with focusing on humanity by showing we are here to help. Our values and culture have extended to a different tier, and initially it was in response to the mental health of our employees and customers.” The three organizations found creative ways to virtually demonstrate empathy. Dynamic resident portals and websites were a critical resource for staff and residents. Sites focused on best practices for mental and physical health. Nishimura explains, “Mental health has become a real focus and part of the stakeholder approach. We created a COVID repository with trusted resources. The site was successful because we promoted it via email and building signage.” Digital tools for communication and transparency Virtual leasing plays a leading role in remote communication with prospects. Live virtual tours and 3D floor plans offer convenient and safe options for prospects: “The consumer has expectations of immediate gratification and ease of use. The real estate industry is catching up and maybe one day we will be on the leading edge of technology,” says Nishimura. Cloud computing keeps communication and data accessible to relevant parties. Ladha noted the importance of cloud computing in remote work environments, “Tech became critical to access data and to collaborate remotely,” he says. “Our finance teams said remote work would have been more difficult if we had not transitioned to the cloud six months ago.” He adds, “Don’t underestimate the importance and the value of a strong structure of change training and education for those involved in this digitization journey. Yes, the tech should be intuitive and easy to use but the education and support for tech competency is important for all your teams.” Additionally, cloud computing empowers organizations to accelerate decision-making processes by having its data centralized and available between platforms. Teams communicate using a single source of truth. From leasing to procurement and asset management, users can make informed decisions with consistent, accurate and real-time data. Discover more tools to help your organization navigate changing tides with efficiency and...

Two catalysts prompted drastic changes in the real estate industry in 2020: COVID-19 and remote work environments. During REALPAC 2020, Anant Yardi, president and founder of Yardi, was joined by Robert Courteau, CEO Altus Group for the session “Emerging and Relevant Proptech in a new COVID-19 World Future of the Canadian and Global Economy.” The leaders dove into the impacts of the pandemic and remote work to explore the latest trends, lessons learn, and projections for the future. Digital services, accelerated In the past eight months, proptech has entered a point of inflection. These occur when new technology enters and permanently alters an industry. Proptech leaders such as Yardi are exploring the applications of AI, big data and IoT in real estate. From building automation to chatbots, those three components pressed the industry forward through the pandemic and the transition to remote work. “Of the hundreds of tech companies that have been started in real estate, their success or demise will be accelerated by the pandemic,” said Mr. Yardi. “It’s a very exciting period to study these technologies and bring them to the market for the benefit of the industry.” The research and innovation needed to bring technologies to market are moving at a faster clip. Panel participants observed that the industry has changed from a push model to a pull model. Real estate owners now approach proptech innovators in search of tools and solutions. Owners are seeking and investing in technology rather than waiting to be convinced of its value. Trending tools are showing permanence Since the onset of the pandemic, owners are implementing technologies that convert transactions and communication to paperless and automated systems. Touchless, client-facing solutions have also experienced a surge in interest and implementation. In the US and soon in Canada, Yardi Chat IQ offers 24/7 chatbot services with natural language processing. Prospects can learn more about the property and receive details on available units. Once interested, prospects can schedule a self-guided tour via the automated system. Smart home tools permit self-guided tours with enhanced security features. Once a prospect schedules a tour online, they can arrive at the unit and complete a tour on their own: the system verifies their ID and receives driver’s license information. It can validate their identity using a “selfie” image. The system then issues a unique digital key that permits the prospect to enter. Sensors verify that the tour is complete and lock the door once the prospect has left the unit. Leasing agents have access to all tour data through their dashboards. They can see when the door was unlocked, by whom, and when the person exited. That data connects to CRM functions so leasing agents can follow-up after the tour. “These tech advances are so fascinating,” said Mr. Yardi. “The capacity to work with the industry, this very vibrant industry, is very promising.” Digital technology that was once viewed as a luxury is now seen as essential for safe and efficient properties, observed the panel. Mindful adoption of technology Not all tech tools are equal in value to real estate professionals. Discerning which tools to adopt and which to forego is a delicate balance. “Proptech is a vision and a spirit. The spirit of proptech is to understand new technologies and how best to apply them in real life problems. In that spirit, there are new opportunities that will surface,” said Mr. Yardi. “The vision of proptech is about how best to run real estate operations, taking into account tech transformations,” he continued. “My counsel to industrial practitioners is to keep an eye on proptech but everything they do has to be based on a clear value proposition and that has to be influenced by any of the following key elements: increase revenues, reduce cost, increase customer satisfaction and reduce risk.” He added, “These drivers don’t change. These driving principles are key in the world of business....

The apartment industry met online at APTvirtual, powered by NAA, from Nov. 2-6 to forge more powerful connections with each other and the technology that will take us forward as we stay connected at home. With the theme “Yardi keeps you and your residents connected” we were there to share, learn and spark inspiration together. What we shared It was a pleasure to not only hear your voices but also see your faces, including through the virtual mosaic that allowed attendees to be together in spirit. Thank you for sharing your photos to help build this fun digital community — look closely to find your friends and colleagues. How we learned We hope you joined our educational sessions, but if you missed them and were a registered attendee, you can watch them on demand until Dec. 4. Big Data, Benchmarking and Forecasting: A Tale of Two Studies With advances in big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence, the ability to manage your business with laser precision and shape future outcomes has never been greater. In this session, industry leaders share how they use operational benchmarks to identify opportunities and predictive analytics for marketing and leasing to make timely changes and realize gains. Here are a few sound bites: “Using machine learning, we’re able to pick out patterns and trends in a much broader pool of data. We have lots of data points, including around spending on SEM and how it correlates to leasing ratios. Seeing the data reinforces decisions about when to spend marketing dollars to meet our leasing and revenue goals,” said Shawn Cardner, executive vice president at Grubb Properties. “Our asset management team takes a very active role in the budgeting process, and benchmarking is extremely important to them. Being able to look at a region and do comparisons — down to spending on plumbing and landscaping — gives us visibility down to budgeting line items,” said Joe Anfuso, chief financial officer at MG Properties. Emerging Issues: Looking Ahead to the Post-Pandemic Future Even as we deal with ongoing economic and societal impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all thinking about what the future might look like. Universal truths for our industry will persist: people will still need to rent apartments. “What we’re seeing from our RentCafe.com surveys is that renters want more choice with self-guided and virtual tours. I think these options for more convenient touring will persist long after the pandemic,” said Esther Bonardi, vice president of marketing at Yardi. Bonardi was joined by Garin Hamburger from Pinnacle, Pei Pei Mirabella from Bozzuto and Ian Mattingly from LumaCorp to share forward-thinking ideas for multifamily’s post-pandemic future, including marketing and leasing. Where we talked tech Thanks for visiting our booths to chat with Yardi experts and tell us what you’re excited about! Big data and self-guided tours are leading the way into 2021, and according to our polls, 69% of respondents are most excited about self-guided tours. Asset IQ, part of Yardi Elevate, uses big data to deliver predictive analytics and prescriptive actions to lower costs and increase revenue. RentCafe Self-Guided Tours helps operators meet the demands of a changing market, giving prospects the ability to tour at their own pace and maintain social distancing. Booth visitors also learned about RentCafe Chat IQ, an AI-powered chatbot that learns and adapts to fit each community. Who we met We hope you enjoyed hearing from Anant Yardi himself during the Connect with Yardi Executives session. In addition to talking about the state of the industry and tech trends, Mr. Yardi said, “Relationships with our clients are so important to us. I’m looking at all of you and so many memories of working together over the years are coming back. Thank you for dedicating your time to this.” How to connect with us now Missed us at APTvirtual? Contact us, and we’ll show you what you...

The apartment industry is meeting online at APTvirtual powered by NAA from Nov. 2-6 to spark inspiration as we all stay connected at home. Once again, Yardi is proud to participate as a sponsor, exhibitor and educator at one of the industry’s most anticipated conferences of the year. And what a year 2020 has been. To ensure the long-term success of the industry, Yardi has donated $1 million to the COVID-19 Rental Housing Support Initiative, a partnership with NAA, IREM, NMHC and NARPM. APTvirtual lets attendees engage with the latest developments in the apartment industry, from business best practices to marketing strategies and leasing innovations. You’ll also hear amazing stories from this year’s Game Changer speakers to kick off each day of the event. The platform is now live, so it’s an ideal time to start planning your schedule. We’re excited to meet you there. Not registered yet? Use discount code APTvirtual200 for $200 off. Connect with Yardi: Enter to win! While our technology helps you and your residents stay connected at home, our various activities at APTvirtual help you connect to the NAA community — and enter to win a major giveaway for a new at-home experience! First, submit your conference photo to the Virtual Mosaic. It connects digital threads from all over the country that you can watch come to life as a collaborative, branded image. Then, make time to visit with us. We have four virtual booths setup so you can connect with the technology most applicable to you: Yardi for all things operations and big data, Yardi Breeze for simplified property management, RentCafe for marketing and Yardi Matrix for market research data. Engage with us in our virtual booths using the links below and get a Starbucks® gift card to enjoy coffee on us, plus enter for a chance to win more. More ways to engage: Tech you can’t miss! Come to the Yardi booth and “Connect with Yardi executives” for a special discussion happening on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 1 and 1:30 p.m. EST (two consecutive sessions). Anant Yardi will be there to answer your questions and share insights along with Esther Bonardi, Terri Dowen, John Pendergast and Chris Ulep. During the daily expo hours, visit us to connect with experts on the newest solutions for multifamily operators. You’ll have a chance to join our breakout rooms on marketing, big data and operations to ask questions and hear from our top innovative experts in the industry. Let us show you why big data is a big deal with Yardi Elevate, including Asset IQ for predictive and prescriptive insights with benchmarking, Forecast IQ for expediting accurate budgets and new Maintenance IQ for shortening unit turns. Do you have the right technology to meet the needs of today’s renters? Join us at the RENTCafé booth for innovative solutions to ensure your properties are ready to meet the demands of a changing market. Give prospects the ability to tour at their own pace and maintain social distancing with RENTCafé Self-Guided Tours. Also, get up to speed with RENTCafé Chat IQ, an AI-powered chatbot that learns and adapts to fit each community. Stop by and we’ll show you a chatbot designed specifically for you. At the Yardi Matrix booth you can learn how to utilize market intelligence to identify value-add investment opportunities. Newly added estimated DSCR and LTV data helps you easily find distressed properties, benchmark current performance and plan future financing decisions. Schedule a personal demo to see this new data set. We’d also love to show you Yardi Matrix Student for insight into purpose-built and shadow market properties surrounding over 1,000 colleges and universities across the U.S. Visit the Yardi Breeze booth to see why thousands have switched to our refreshingly simple property management platform. Breeze offers everything you need to market and manage your portfolio from anywhere, on any device. Simple pricing and convenient monthly...

“Our world has changed. Our field has changed. Now we need to prepare for what lies ahead and determine how we move forward, together.” That’s how LeadingAge describes the purpose of its annual meeting in November, which is always one of the senior living industry’s premier events. And that’s exactly what Yardi will do this year — twice, in fact, since the conference, originally scheduled for San Antonio, will take place as two three-day virtual events. Along with cosponsoring LeadingAge’s technology development initiatives, Yardi will contribute to the conference by spotlighting the Yardi Senior Living Suite, which helps senior living community operators improve resident care and staff efficiency. The suite enables management of all operations on a single connected solution, including accounting, clinical services, marketing and sales. Other elements of the Yardi Senior Living Suite include business intelligence, electronic charting, resident health assessments and pharmacy integrations. LeadingAge will include all the hallmarks of a dynamic in-person conference including keynote speeches, educational sessions and a performance from comedy and magic duo Penn and Teller. Yardi is dedicated to interacting as fully this time as it did at the most recent LeadingAge annual conferences, which drew about 4,500 senior living professionals to San Diego and Philadelphia. Our experts would love to chat with you about how technology can help senior living community operators manage today’s challenges. Please contact us to make an appointment during the Nov. 10-12 or Nov. 17-19...

October 20-22, Yardi provided three days of education, training, inspiration and support to clients during the YASC Global conference. The expansion of the online event to attendees worldwide, building on a U.S.-focused event held in May, was well received. Over 20,000 attendees, representing more than 2,500 companies from 58 countries, took 45,000 courses over 72 hours. The event was hosted on the Yardi Aspire learning platform. Anant Yardi, founder and president of Yardi, delivered an introduction to the event and remarked on the rapid adaptations real estate professionals have made worldwide. “Last year we had six different conferences: Washington, D.C., San Diego, London, Dubai, Singapore and Sydney. They were festive occasions where we had the opportunity to meet and greet you. Today, things have changed,” Mr. Yardi said. “We now work from home. We no longer meet face to face, but through digital media. And as all of this is going on, we yearn for those good old days. I don’t know about you, but it sure is nice to meet face to face. And we look forward to the day when we can do that.” But to help deal with the “new normal” that the real estate industry now faces, Yardi has continued to expand its product suites to assist with remote business management, data transparency, social distancing, working from home and much more. These features augment the business and accounting features that have made Yardi the go-to technology provider for real estate over the last 40 years. Product spotlights During YASC Spotlight sessions, clients heard from Yardi executives about the development and progress of product suites, including Affordable Housing, Commercial, Investment Management, Multifamily, Senior Living, and Public Housing. There were also regional updates for international clients from Asia, Australia/New Zealand, Europe and the Middle East. “Through a single connected solution, we remain focused on providing a set of products and services that have a real impact on your property operations and property performance. These products help to create transparency and efficiencies in the interest of reducing risk, reducing expenses, increasing revenues and increasing property values,“ said John Pendergast, senior vice president at Yardi. Products highlighted for multifamily operators were RENTCafé Reach search marketing;  Marketing IQ, a new marketing analytics product; RENTCafé  Self-Guided Tours, which allows socially distanced property tours; RENTCafé Chat IQ, an automated marketing assistant using AI and machine learning; Maintenance IQ; Asset IQ; and the Procure to Pay suite. “There have been some dramatic changes. Remote working, asset distress, residents and tenants’ ability to pay rent, and a real focus on data have been part of our conversations with clients both big and small, operational or institutional ownership. The challenges are common across the different platforms and client perspectives,” shared Richard Malpica, vice president and general manager, Eastern region for Yardi, in the investment management spotlight. While different commercial real estate sectors have been affected uniquely, data visibility and the ability to access operational data have been especially important to investors and operators alike. The Investment Management product suite provides tools to deliver data transparency, risk exposure analysis and real time reporting that investors are seeking now. “Though we have incredible optimism about the next 18 months, it is important that we acknowledge the hardship that many of you have faced in a personal and professional manner,” said Rob Teel, senior vice president at Yardi, in the commercial product spotlight. “I want to assure you that Yardi has passionately contributed philanthropically and to professional trade organizations to help with a global rebound from this crisis.” Commercial clients learned about the latest updates to the Yardi Commercial Suite, including Yardi Elevate, which sits on top of Yardi Voyager and provides operational tools to drive performance and gain operational visibility. Leasing, forecasting, deals, retail tenants and construction projects all have specialized management modules and reporting oversight within Yardi Elevate. Its real time informational visibility has been especially beneficial...

Are you missing live events? While we can’t bring back the hum of the tradeshow floor just yet, we’re excited to team up with AIM to host a live webinar event that we hope will rival some of your favorite speaking sessions from conferences past. Keep reading to see how we’re bringing industry leaders from Bozzuto, KETTLER and The Management Group together on one virtual stage … and why you want to reserve your seat asap. The New Apartment Marketing Playbook: Consumer Behavior Has Shifted, Have You? Thursday, Sept. 17, 11 a.m. PDT Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, renters are still on the move. With social distancing measures in place, renters expect to interact with properties in new ways. This increasing demand for virtual and contactless engagement is nothing new. But now that we’ve adapted to a new norm and the virtual conveniences that come with it, there’s no going back. Considering this shift in consumer behavior, here are some questions your property management teams may be facing: Is it possible to create an online experience as powerful as a visit to your properties? How can you offer game-changing online and self-service tools that don’t compromise your security standards? What should your leasing agents be doing to pivot and provide real value in an increasingly virtual world? “Don’t lose customers to your competitors while you’re waiting for things to ‘get back to normal.’ Normal as we knew it is changing. Taking this opportunity to make smart updates to your leasing process will have a lasting positive impact on your business in the months and years ahead,” said Esther Bonardi, session moderator and vice president of marketing at Yardi. During this live online event, you will learn how to: Convert more renters by creating authentic experiences onlineLease more units by offering a range of tour types to fit every needImprove the prospect experience while prioritizing the safety of your team and propertiesEvolve leasing positions to meet the demands of the new customer experience Speakers include: Jamin Harkness, Executive Vice President, The Management GroupKelley Shannon, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Customer Engagement, BozzutoDaryl Smith, Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, KETTLER Free ebook Webinar registrants will receive a free copy of The New Apartment Tour with their confirmation email. This exclusive ebook details three ways you can modernize different tour types at your properties to convert more renters, both online and in person. Save your seat today to get your...

We’re excited to participate in the first Apartment Onsite Teams Day on August 12, 2020. The day has been designated by the National Apartment Association at the request of industry leaders to recognize onsite property teams throughout the country for their work to keep people safely housed during the COVID-19 crisis. Celebrate onsite workers Apartment Onsite Teams Day recognizes the people who have helped guide apartment communities throughout the U.S. through this unprecedented and uniquely challenging event. “With the advent of the coronavirus pandemic, our onsite management teams became our first responders. On this special day, we want to take the opportunity to express our gratitude for your leadership, your sacrifice and your care of our residents, our teammates and our clients,” said Mike Holmes, president of Easlan Management and NAA chairman. “The fight must continue, but we want to set aside a day to let you know how much you are appreciated. We all stand with you.” Nominate your heroes NAA has compiled an Apartment Onsite Teams Day toolkit to help property management companies thank their teams on this day in a variety of ways, from social media posts using the #APTeamsDay hashtag to safe, socially distant parties. Here at Yardi, we’re amplifying the celebration by inviting everyone to nominate onsite team members that are making a difference. It’s easy to participate. Simply grab a screenshot of the graphic below and fill it out. Or just retype it in your own words. Then post it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and/or LinkedIn. You must use the hashtag #APTeamsDay and tag Yardi to enter.   Five winners will be selected at random on Friday, August 14. Winning posts will receive two $25 gift cards. One will be sent to the post creator, and the other will be sent to the person or team they nominated. It’s a nice way to do a little something extra for those supporting the many renters spending more time at home this year. “The apartment industry’s onsite team members have been on the frontlines throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, committing themselves to performing the vital work necessary to keep the community together during these trying times,” said Esther Bonardi, vice president of marketing at Yardi. “We invite you to join us in promoting the amazing work of our onsite teams.” We encourage you to get creative when showing appreciation for the people in your communities who have gone above and beyond. Add photos or videos and encourage your residents to participate too. We’ll be resharing some posts starting now through the end of the contest. Stay tuned It is our hope that Apartment Onsite Teams Day continues in the years ahead to applaud the ongoing commitment of onsite teams who work hard to keep residents happy and properties running smoothly. Don’t forget to give a shoutout to your favorite #APTeamsDay heroes for a chance to win! We look forward to highlighting your submissions on our social platforms throughout the week. See complete contest...