As holiday shopping steps up, you might interact with barcodes – those squares or rectangles with vertical black lines interspersed with white space and numbers that are attached to your purchased items – more than usual. Ever wonder where they came from and what they do? Virtually all types of businesses use barcodes to track products, prices and inventory. Computers linked to scanners read the codes and use a unique combination of bars, spaces and numbers to retrieve data about the product. “Barcodes play a crucial role in the effective and efficient operation of our economy, from small businesses to large multinational conglomerates,” says Wasp Barcode Technologies, a Plano, Texas-based provider of inventory management and asset tracking systems. “They paved the way for the globally connected distribution channels we now have.” Innovation from lines in the sand Barcodes trace their origin to 1949, when Joseph Woodland, a mechanical engineer at Drexel University, drew a set of parallel lines, or bars, in beach sand as he sought to apply a variation of Morse code to automate the grocery checkout process. Woodland and his colleague Bernard Silver subsequently filed a patent application for “Classifying Apparatus and Method,” the first barcode concept, which was granted three years later. Scanning technology capable of reading the symbols and converting them into information such as an item’s origin, price and location didn’t come until the 1970s. That’s when basic guidelines for barcode development and an effective coding system, plus a standardized 11-digit code to identify products, were developed. On June 26, 1974, the first barcode, on a pack of chewing gum, was scanned at a supermarket in Troy, Ohio. 1D and 2D types The pattern of the most popular type of barcode, the linear or “1D,” is formed by the...
Still Beeping
The Enduring Pager
Some technologies lapse into obscurity when something more capable or easier to use comes along. Consider rotary telephones, floppy disks and VHS tapes. How about pagers, which came into service six decades ago? Those small electronic devices, sometimes called beepers because of the sound they make when notifying users of a new message, haven’t disappeared. Although totaling less than 4% of the number in use at their peak popularity 30 years ago, pagers today constitute crucial infrastructure for many professionals, include health care providers and emergency responders, who require quick and secure communication functionality. Pagers, which run on batteries, were patented in 1949 and originally designed for doctors. Motorola coined the word 10 years later and introduced the first consumer tone-only pager in 1964. Expanding functionality and status Radio frequencies managed by a network operator transmit signals that cause a pager to buzz, beep or vibrate, alerting the user to an incoming message. The message can comprise numbers, letters or both. Early models evolved to incorporate graphical displays, audio messaging, encryption, two-way functionality, wide-area paging capability and other enhanced features. In the 1980s and 1990s, says U.S. News & World Report, tens of millions of pager users considered their devices “status symbols — belt-clipped signals that a wearer was important enough to be, in effect, on call at a moment’s notice.” Multiple advantages Today, pagers suit health care providers, workers in remote locations, emergency responders and others because they use their own communications channels rather than mobile networks or Wi-Fi. They are highly reliable in areas with poor or disrupted cell service, resist hacking, function in hazardous locations such as blazing structures and boast a durable design. They are easy to use and install with little training. Even restaurants use them to notify patrons...
Making Plans
Optimizing CRE Space Management
Industry leaders agree that when it comes to CRE space management, it is critical to centralize lease data, maximize rental square footage (RSF), improve energy efficiency and reconfigure spaces to meet changing needs and put existing spaces to the best use. Understanding your RSF helps you determine effective rental rates as well as attract and retain tenants for all your properties and for every purpose including office, flex space and retail. Making data-driven decisions and having tools to visualize and reimagine every space in your portfolio will yield optimal results. Floor plan management software is quickly becoming a best practice for CRE operators — especially when united with an enterprise property management platform to achieve one source of data. Advanced software such as Yardi Floorplan Manager connects portfolio-wide data so clients can utilize a single solution to integrate and quantify space, occupancy and performance data. Yardi Floorplan Manager capabilities Floorplan Manager enables clients to create and edit floor and stacking plans with real-time lease metrics and instant area calculations to promote quicker turnaround. Features include out-of-the-box KPIs and the ability to leverage existing AutoCAD drawings combined with occupancy data for smart space planning. The solution also enables users to create “digital twins” of their assets that include floor plan schematics, locations of equipment and other pertinent details that helps clients visualize data to make decisions that drive NOI. Floorplan Manager delivers: Enhanced floor plans: seamlessly integrate your floor plans with Yardi Voyager data and visualize all CAD file layers. Annotations and customizations: support external and internal floor plan use cases with customized unit labels, metrics and tenant logos. Speculation and leasing tools: create visually stunning “what if?” scenarios and sharable leasing models with version control and effective date. Accurate calculations: quickly process area spreadsheets according to BOMA and REBNY standards. Compare and report drawing data against Voyager areas. Consolidated visuals: Manage and visualize all CAD layers, draw unit boundaries and demise space. Easily edit, create, approve and activate new floor plan versions. How one industry leader is optimizing space management Macerich, one of the nation’s leading owners, operators and developers of one-of-a-kind retail and mixed-use properties in top markets uses Floorplan Manager to integrate lease and tenant data from Voyager and optimize space management. The flexibility to see a higher level of space detail for both public-facing sites and internal planning using Floorplan Manager is an advantage for Macerich. The ability to view maps historically is another big win. “There are all sorts of metrics you can look at on the maps. Many are pre-configured but you can basically add anything you want. As a visual reporting tool, the solution lets us look at tenant sales and rents and other categories that we can colorize on the map which makes it easy for us to see if we have too many similar stores on one level. We can review vacancies and decide what would work best in those spaces,” saidSteve Schmid, assistant vice president for Information Technology at Macerich. Wondering what advanced space management software can do for you? Learn more about Yardi Floorplan...
Empowering tech-resistant residents
Strategies for PHAs
We hear it all the time: “Our residents don’t want to use technology.” And we understand why! Concerns range from limited digital access to privacy worries, and sometimes it can be about not feeling comfortable with tech. Their reasons are valid, but with education and community-focused strategies, you can help them break through these barriers. Because when it comes down to it, technology brings a new convenience that residents haven’t experienced before. From paying rent to requesting maintenance, software makes everyday tasks easier and faster. Communicating these benefits can help residents see technology as a helpful tool, rather than a cumbersome task. And once it clicks for them, they won’t go back! This blog will cover: Why technology is critical for PHAs Strategies for adapting tech-resistant residents How Yardi can help your agency succeed Why technology is critical for PHAs In public housing, technology is essential in providing efficient and quality service to residents. Moving away from time-consuming processes, like mailing forms and in-person meetings, simply speeds up operations. And the reality is, online applications and maintenance requests are processed twice as fast as traditional methods, saving you both time and money. Many agencies are already seeing the benefits. By automating tasks, they’re able to allocate resources, reduce backlogs and plan for the future. Read more about how agencies are thriving with technology here. Adapting residents to technology So, how can you adapt tech-resistant residents to feel more comfortable with technology? “In our region, some don’t warm up to technology right away, so we have to go at their pace,” says Stacy Sanders and Marti Chilcoat of the Kentucky Housing Authority. It’s important to have patience and meet residents where there but building comfort with technology also requires education. “Education is key,” says Juan Garcia of the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara. We tell our residents, ‘Hey, with RentCafe you can see your inspections, apply for new waiting lists, review who is your caseworker, submit your paperwork to complete your recertifications easily and best of all it’s available 24/7.’ Once they understand the benefits, they’re more likely to give it a try.” We know how important resident care is to you. Making sure they feel comfortable and confident is imperative to this industry. That’s why it’s important to clarify that technology is only there to support them. 5 strategies to help your resident break the tech-barrier 1. One-on-one meetings: Offering personalized support is a great starting point. Schedule individual meetings to help residents get set up on their device. Allow them to ask questions and be sure to schedule follow-up meetings. “For us, the easiest way is by scheduling resident meetings at move-in to help them get set up on RentCafe on their mobile device.” – Juan Garcia, the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara 2. Group workshops: Hold regular workshops to cover different topics, such as setting up online payments. They can be an inviting way for your residents to learn in a supportive environment. Plus, it gives them a chance to learn and practice together. 3. On-site kiosks: Set up kiosks at your agency or other communal area, where residents can access the technology to complete essential tasks. Having a dedicated space can help residents feel at ease while also providing support for those without a device or access to Wi-Fi. “We set up kiosks in certain locations to make things easier for residents. If they don’t have access to a scanner, they can use the one at our kiosk to upload documents directly into RentCafe.” – Jacquelyn Hicks, vice president of Information Technology at Richmond Redevelopment Housing Authority 4. Wi-Fi help: Inform residents on locations where they can access free Wi-Fi. Limited access is a major barrier, but helping residents understand their options is essential. 5. Step-by-step guides: Written guides or video tutorials are a great way for your residents...
Building Confidence
Connected construction management
Like almost every other aspect of CRE operations, construction management is undergoing digital transformation. Getting real-time insight into the actual performance of projects against budget and being able to compare jobs based on various metrics is only possible with a connected software solution. Integrated construction management software can help with efficient data access, communication, collaboration, resource management, regulatory compliance and asset health checks. What else can construction management software do to deepen insight and streamline processes? For Healthpeak Properties, manual document review and reconciliation of tenant improvement allowances previously took 80 to 120 hours per month. Using Yardi Construction Manager, they are now executed with the click of a button. And that’s just one of the benefits the company reports. Integration issues solved Centralizing projects and all portfolio data on a single platform is a best practice. Relying on multiple databases and manual data entry before adopting Construction Manager prevented Healthpeak from easily tracking its commitments and generating reports on tenant improvement allowances. Bryan Schuh, construction accountant, shared, “We had integration issues with other systems. There were always errors, missing items and time wasted on manual reconciliations.” Enhanced tracking and planning Automated workflows make it easy to track change orders and the status of payables against commitments with one click. According to Schuh, that provides a big advantage over the previous manual process. Further, it’s much easier for the company to set up projects in the system.Construction Manager also enhances visibility into Healthpeak’s capital planning. Project managers can easily see which projects have been approved, and centralizing all portfolio information in one readily accessible database has helped the company extend its capital planning from five years to ten years. More efficiency with deal and forecast integration The integration of Construction Manager with deal and forecast management tools (Yardi Deal Manager and Yardi Forecast Manager) further streamlines the revenue lifecycle by enabling clients like Healthpeak to accurately assess and track project costs and timelines. Construction Manager houses monthly/quarterly/yearly job forecasts based on real-time projected final costs and capital expense projections for future years. Project managers quickly and easily create or update job forecasts spreading cost to complete over linear, front-loaded, back-loaded or normal curves. For Healthpeak, automatic population of deal abstracts into Construction Manager from Deal Manager saves many hours of time previously spent on error-prone manual data input. “This integration produces better budgeting and gives us a more accurate portrayal of our project commitments,” Schuh said. “It has saved a lot of people a lot of headaches and prevents us from overpaying on commitments.” Learn more about Yardi Construction...
Early Tech Showcases
World’s Fairs Through the Centuries
World’s fairs – international exhibitions of industrial, scientific and cultural advances held at a specific site for several months – boast centuries of history as forums for transformative technologies. The largest steam engine ever built, the telephone, the typewriter, the mechanical calculator, the Ferris wheel, a prototype fax machine and the Ford Mustang are just some of the inventions showcased at world’s fairs. In 1893, alternating current powered the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, leading to the widespread use of electricity in homes and businesses. World’s fairs also helped “instill confidence in a public still getting used to the idea that many of the goods they use every day were now being made using machines, rather than by hand,” according to Elizabeth Yuko, an adjunct professor of ethics at Fordham University. The modern era of world’s fairs launched in 1851 with the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations in London, 60 years after the first industrial exhibition in Prague. Since then, more than 100 world’s fairs have been held in more than 20 countries. The U.S. Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, the first held in the U.S., drew almost 10 million attendees in 1876. Many fairs also featured art, entertainment, cultural exhibits and rides. Fairs have often taken place against a backdrop of futuristic new structures such as the Eiffel Tower, at the time the world’s tallest tower (Paris, 1889); the Atomium (Brussels, 1958); the Space Needle (Seattle, 1962); and the Unisphere (New York City, 1964). Some fairs, such as those in Brussels and Montreal (1967), gave Cold War rivals a stage for space hardware and other advanced technology. (Although generally classified as a world’s fair, the 1964 event was not sanctioned by Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions, which governs and...
Paper to High Tech
The Evolution of Passports
If you travel internationally, you must have a passport. One hundred sixty-one million holders of valid U.S. passports take that fact for granted, but this document took centuries to evolve from a frill into a mandatory border-crossing asset. The modern era of passports began when Louis XIV, king of France from 1643 to 1715, issued favored citizens a “passe port” signifying “approval to pass through a seaport.” American passports in the late 1700s were also reserved for select constituents. “The most famous early U.S. passports were issued by Benjamin Franklin when he was U.S. representative in France in the late 1780s,” says Craig Robertson, author of The Passport in America, and mostly served as “letters of introduction that verify the character of the person bearing them.” Passports in the 19th century typically comprised single-sided pages containing the bearer’s name, age and other basic identification. They were often utilized for single trips. Cities and notaries public could issue them until 1856, when Congress made the Department of State the sole issuing authority. By the late 1800s, “U.S. passports were becoming more mainstream, but they were still considered more of a travel perk for the holder than a requirement to cross borders,” says Jessica Puckett, a transportation and travel writer for Condé Nast Traveler. Setting a global standard In 1920, the League of Nations proposed a worldwide passport standard, introducing the modern format of a small booklet with pages for stamps. By 1926, American passports started to resemble today’s model: pocket-size booklets with multiple pages and durable material. By 1952, all American citizens were required to have passports to depart from or re-enter the United States, except for certain countries in North America and Latin America. Their shelf life increased from two years to three in 1959, to...
You’re Welcome
Visitor Management Software
If you’re in CRE, you already know the challenges of managing and tracking visitor access at your properties. You need to know who is entering and for what purpose, how long they stay and when they leave. This can place a burden on site reception teams and can also lead to a frustrating experience for visitors who must wait for authorization to gain access including for scheduled appointments. New tech makes this process easier for everyone and reduces risk through automation and tracking tools for reporting purposes. Whether you’re an owner or landlord, building manager or corporate occupier, a visitor management solution (VMS) provides a welcome experience for short-term visitors, event attendees, contractors and staff. Connect people and buildings Wondering exactly how a VMS can help your building operations and the people you interact with at your sites? If you’re a landlord or owner, you can deliver a smarter building to attract the best tenants. A VMS such as Yardi Bluepoint can increase retention by providing a great experience for those working and visiting, plus you can analyze visitor data for oversight of your portfolio and its utilization. Building managers can predict staffing requirements to maximize reception utilization and manage visitor volume. For increased security, managers can configure access permissions for tenants and visitors. Corporate occupiers can empower staff to create branded appointments, view pre-visitor information and receive instant notifications when their visitors arrive. Here are some key benefits to consider: Faster check-in: shorter wait times and instant arrival notifications. Flexible visitor management: time-limited access with this easy-to-use software. Visitor appointments can be created using the calendar app or website portal. Contactless check-in: with Bluepoint, visitors can be checked in by site receptionists through the portal or via a kiosk with QR code, PIN or name. Enhanced security: building managers can proactively manage visitor flows and configure access permissions for tenants and visitors. It also provides additional layers of building security. Customizable experience: corporate occupiers can create branded visitor invites, request pre-visit information and receive instant visitor arrival notifications. Real-time visitor data: staff, tenants, reception teams and building management can access real-time visitor data for strategic decision-making on staffing, space utilization and compliance. Yardi Bluepoint value adds Oversight with real-time data: Bluepoint provides actionable insights to enable safer and more efficient management of your spaces. It helps you stay up to date with planned visitors and keep account of drop-in visitor numbers. You can plan for reception services, security and visitor amenity requirements by reviewing Bluepoint data. Tenant empowerment: Bluepoint allows you to manage access permissions for meetings and events and enables your tenants to book time-limited appointments by visitor type. It can integrate with existing tenant management software to provide a seamless experience. Bluepoint is compatible with all calendar apps, so visitors can be invited directly from any calendar including Outlook and Gmail on a desktop or mobile device. Security and compliance: Bluepoint is GDPR compliant and helps you stay current with visitors in your building for critical security and compliance. It provides an accurate overview of who is where and at what time in your building with a check-in and check-out process. You can implement additional security with time-limited, temporary access passes for visitors and staff. Contactless access: Bluepoint allows for smart access using existing access control with a mobile QR code or access card. Activated Bluepoint QR codes can be used with speed lanes, elevators and even meeting rooms. It facilitates contactless check-ins with a free-standing or desk-mounted kiosk. Easy to integrate: Bluepoint’s fully featured API allows for smart connections with new and existing building management technology. Access control integrations with leading manufacturers and tenant engagement platforms allow for an improved experience. Ready to connect people and buildings to optimize operations and satisfaction? Learn more about Yardi...
Will Frequencies
Become Rare?
Some observers consider radio frequencies the world’s most valuable natural resource and worry they could be depleted in the manner of other finite resources like clean air and water. Applications ranging from radio and television to cell phones, military systems, GPS and Wi-Fi use frequency bands of radio waves, a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that includes microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays and gamma rays. The use of radio frequencies by government and private entities is governed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), an international regulatory authority, and national authorities including the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. Frequencies are “the very foundation of all our wireless communications, and without them our modern life wouldn’t be possible as we know it,” says Swedish tech company LumenRadio. Flexibility from new tech But with billions of wireless devices currently in use and being developed rapidly filling up the frequencies allotted for commercial usage, could we run out of space on the radio frequency spectrum? “Yes, if you consider the number of white spaces and the limitations of existing technology to breach the high frequency barrier,” asserts ScienceABC.com, a repository of science facts. But exhaustion of this resource might not be imminent. Researchers are developing ways to utilize white spaces – frequencies that go unused to provide a buffer between radio signals that prevents interference – more effectively. New technologies for transmitting and receiving signals could eliminate both interference and the need to separate frequency bands. And some experts, such as internet pioneer and former MIT professor David Reed, are skeptical of the whole notion of a finite electromagnetic spectrum. “No single action is a silver bullet when it comes to meeting mobile capacity needs,” according to former FCC official Neil Grace. “More efficient use of spectrum, new...
Giving Up Tech
Challenges & Benefits
It often seems that smartphones and other technology items have become inseparable from our business, personal and leisure lives. Is it possible to renounce tech, even temporarily? “Technology is very much a part of us now. We bank with an app, read restaurant menus on phones and even sweat with exercise instructors through a screen,” says consultant Emily Cherkin, a screen-time specialist in Seattle. “It’s so embedded in our lives, we’re setting ourselves up for failure if we say we’re going to go phone-free for a week.” That means that “short of running to the remote wilderness for a few phone-free days, experts say a ‘digital detox’ isn’t feasible anymore for most people,” as the BBC said in 2023. But some have tried, taking temporary breaks from screens, social media and videoconferences in a search for less stress and a restoration of personal connections. Some may have ecological motivations as well, aiming to disassociate themselves from the energy expended in device production, marketing and consumption. New habits for healthy results According to some experts, the goal shouldn’t be to cut off technology completely but to use it in moderation. Some encourage even those determined to make a full break to make exceptions for things like researching recipes and completing work deadlines. Others, such as anthropologist Amber Case, use a plugin that delays access to apps and forces users to pull themselves out of “autopilot mode” before becoming engrossed online. Case also recommends avoiding scrolling through a phone as a leisure break and leaving it elsewhere when it isn’t needed. Meanwhile, British author Johann Hari locks his phone in a time safe for several hours a day and removes himself from social media at least half the year. A week after reducing his personal tech...
Tech That’s Better Together
Doc Management Tips
An ever-growing volume of documents across a real estate organization demands solutions that not only provide centralized access but also drill deep into the details of leases, rent histories and other property-level information while providing ease of use. And with the advent of AI and its clear business case for CRE, there are new opportunities to make smarter decisions and work more nimbly than ever. You can achieve new levels of efficiency with strategies that combine intelligent real estate software with everyday business tools. Read on for some key tips from a recent Yardi white paper. Using tools you already have Combining a leading real estate-focused system with a familiar partner enables users to enjoy the capabilities each provider brings to the table. For example, combining Yardi Voyager with Microsoft tools. In creating Yardi Document Management for SharePoint, Yardi leveraged Microsoft SharePoint® software, which Yardi clients have access to through Microsoft 365®. Yardi’s system uses SharePoint online for the document repository (or Yardi application storage). As a result, clients can take advantage of all the features in SharePoint along with the implicit and explicit structure of Yardi tools. Integrating the two powerful solutions provides automated document storage along with a portable folder structure that eliminates tedious processes. Moving big data for reporting and analysis Companies with large amounts of data often need to move it from repositories to other end points, which may include data warehouses or data lakes such as Snowflake, AWS and Azure. A common routine task is to combine data from one source with other data from reports and analyses, then leverage third-party tools to analyze and report on the data. Among the tools devised for such tasks is Yardi Replicate, so named because it replicates Voyager data to a separate endpoint. Yardi’s system holds millions and millions of records. Replicate efficiently enables movement of data from Voyager to other cloud environments, while sidestepping performance issues often associated with moving large volumes of data. The tool uses Change Data Capture (CDC), a Microsoft SQL technology that tracks all changes in a data source. Once tables are mirrored, CDC looks solely for changes and will move only records that have been changed. Building a bridge to intelligence Real estate enterprises are accumulating an ever-growing storehouse of data about properties, leases, occupancy, rent growth and more. A key benefit of the aggregated information is its potential to help forecast the likelihood of tenant lease defaults or expansion. To gain that advantage, data must be moved from multiple sources to a format that can be loaded into business intelligence tools, which opens up a huge opportunity to slice and dice data in a way that powers company strategy. Such tools not only provide a pipeline for moving usable data to business intelligence but can also create pipelines for tailored customer reports and dashboards. As with document management, the best approach may be to partner dedicated property management technology with a business intelligence tool that is readily accessible and familiar to real estate professionals. That was the strategy when Yardi developed Yardi Data Connect to enable data transfer between Voyager and Microsoft Power BI®. Power BI has shown an exceptional capacity to visualize data and aggregate it from multiple systems. In addition, Yardi has created a “starter pack” that allows Data Connect clients to hit the ground running with a stream of data, reports and visualizations recommended by Yardi. The solution enables users to create their own data pipelines to any additional information they want to include, then load that data directly into Power BI to build tailored customer reports and dashboards to create visualizations never before possible. One forward-thinking Yardi client using Data Connect, Power BI and Azure ML, has begun deploying AI models to work through a mix of data that includes occupancy trends, financials and data marts. For example, the company can pull in information from for-sale...
Go With the (Data) Flow
Budgeting Simplified
Connecting accurate information to support budgeting, leasing and construction projects is essential to optimizing CRE asset performance. Working with the right set of software tools not only ensures transparency and data accuracy but also provides real-time and actionable insights. For example, when live data from the leasing pipeline and construction projects are available within your budgeting solution, you can manage forecasts on a rolling basis without the hassle of updating spreadsheets. So what’s the best practice? Using a single stack solution with a single source of truth and real-time data access. From lead-to-lease pipeline management to streamlining the budgeting process and optimizing the construction lifecycle, connected solutions with seamless dataflow and automated workflows can unlock operational efficiency. Side-by-side comparisons and real-time budget tracking Yardi Forecast Manager is a full-featured software solution that enables clients to monitor annual budget performance relative to their approved budget. Clients can promote deals from Yardi Deal Manager to Forecast Manager and use re-forecasting to accurately analyze their budget based on all deals in the pipeline. A built-in hover-over feature in the forecasting tool shows where a particular data set originated and clients can make necessary adjustments along the way. Correspondingly, Deal Manager incorporates settings that ensure the appropriate information is pushed to Forecast Manager. When it comes to assessing risk, clients have access to a comprehensive view of their portfolios in both Deal Manager and Forecast Manager and they can filter and view a wide range of information about each space — even across properties — including tenant risk and lease expiration date. As an additional benefit, Forecast Manager enables clients to easily identify deals (when they also use Deal Manager) at a particular stage and promote them into the forecast. A deal can be included in the budget by simply clicking the “promote” button next to the deal. Promoting the deal means that it will be included in the worksheet the next time the client runs the forecast or revenue projection. No more tedious spreadsheets This combination of features and integration of deal pipeline data helps asset management and operation teams budget more accurately and eliminates the need for manually compiling various spreadsheets. Industry leaders using Forecast Manager are seeing results. Rexford Industrial quickly discovered the benefits of using a connected software solution to optimize the CRE revenue lifecycle. “Our forecasting is correct the first time and easy to see on a dashboard. I can add acquisitions and quickly get a snapshot of what the acquisition will do many quarters out. All this used to take days, and now it takes 15 minutes,” said Alex DeHaven, VP of Corporate Finance, Rexford Industrial. Learn more about Yardi Forecast Manager and hear how it’s working for Rexford...
School’s In
College Tech Necessities
Technology for college students used to mean lamps, typewriters and alarm clocks. Essential items for thriving in today’s higher education environment include: Laptop. “Small screen touch notebooks are a great solution for everyday computing and entertainment around the dorm or apartment, or on the go from class to class,” said Scott Shutter, a senior manager for computing, graphics and visualization technology provider AMD in Austin, Texas. Tablet. With some textbooks being formatted for eReaders, it might make economic sense to get a tablet in addition to a laptop. “I have all my textbooks, take all my notes and store assignments on [a tablet],” said Brian Kearney, a student at Rowan University in New Jersey. “It has truly helped me in organizing my hectic college schedule.” A key accessory for tablet owners is a stylus, an active digitizer that enables note-taking on both tablets and 2-in-1s, which combine tablets and notebooks. Smartphone. Virtually every student wants a smartphone equipped with the latest operating system and relevant apps. Most professors and student groups send mobile updates to smartphones. Smart notebook. This device digitizes handwritten notes for later reference. Some models offer a paper-like writing and reading experience and syncs notes to the cloud for access across multiple devices. Digital audio recorder. This is useful for recording lectures for later transcription or review. “With transcription software, students can write papers without touching the keyboard, significantly speeding up their work. Portable charger. This helps keep all devices powered up throughout the day without the need for a wall outlet. Data storage. Flash drives hold data for access on the go. An external drive or cloud storage provides backup storage. Backup computer battery and power cord. Just in case the unthinkable happens, such as a power outage or a...
Meet Yardi Case Manager
Q&A with Mark Livanec
Yardi Case Manager was introduced in 2023 and is one of the newest solutions integrated within the Yardi Affordable Housing Suite. Let’s learn more about it from Yardi Affordable Housing Industry Principal Mark Livanec. Mark, let’s start at the beginning. Tell us what a case is. Cases are any situation, ticket, or task that requires property managers or resident service staff to track and resolve. The flexibility of defining and managing case resolution workflows is one of the things I like most about Yardi Case Manager. Affordable housing providers have a lot of flexibility and powerful ticketing tools that will help them track the services they provide daily. There is also flexibility in how cases are created given Case Manager’s integration with the Yardi Affordable Housing Suite. A resident can create a case using their RentCafe Affordable Housing app on their mobile device, eliminating the need to make a phone call or visit the front office. There’s even automation built in that creates a set of tasks and team assignments necessary to resolve each case that come in from various sources. What’s the main reason Yardi clients should add Case Manager? Integration with Yardi Voyager, including our upcoming solution Compliance Manager powered by Voyager 8, make Case Manager a prime opportunity to strengthen affordable housing compliance without complicated workflows. Affordable housing programs are highly scrutinized by the federal, state and local funding programs. Yardi Case Manager can help keep providers in compliance by tracking service requests, reasonable accommodation requests, the work done to accommodate requests and how each case is resolved. How does tracking cases mitigate risk? One important example is fair housing, which includes laws that ensure affordable housing providers treat applicants and residents equally. Throughout the resident lifecycle, affordable housing providers need to document their interactions with every household they serve. When it comes to tacking and following through on requests, Yardi Case Manager is a great tool to keep everything consistent for everyone. Similarly, several laws require housing providers to accommodate reasonable requests for modifications to forms and living spaces. For example, applicants or residents may need special equipment installed in a unit because of a physical disability, others may need forms translated to a specific language. Not providing a reasonable request to make housing physically accessible can raise red flags with auditors and can lead to litigation. Yardi Case Manager is designed to make sure affordable housing site staff not only record the request for reasonable accommodation but serves as a tool to document follow-through efforts. Without proper documentation, your organization can be at risk of fair housing litigation. Domestic violence situations are another type of case that requires special attention and extreme confidentiality. Yardi Case Manager enables affordable housing providers to keep certain cases private and, on a need-to-know basis, to keep everyone safe and prevent unlawful disclosures. Why Yardi Case Manager when there are already prospect and resident records in Yardi Voyager? Yardi Case Manager has workflows that are specifically optimized for service delivery staff. That functionality can help keep things simple and effective since it’s easy to train, configure and use throughout the workday. There is, of course, integration with Yardi Voyager for access to cases through the upcoming Compliance Manager, powered by Voyager 8 dashboard. Cases can be tied to specific members of a household record, and notes from maintenance techs and inspectors can be copied to cases. But, if an affordable housing provider prefers to keep Yardi Case Manager as a tool primarily in use by their resident service coordinators and other front-line site staff, that works as well. How can Yardi Case Manager expand to help cover more types of requests? Case types can be configurable to unique request scenarios for applicants, residents, vendors/landlords, and even employees. Service coordinators can track case progress from start to finish via customizable tasks, team assignments and reports. The table below gives examples...
YASC Multifamily Spotlight
40 Years of Innovation
2024 is a big year for Yardi, and it’s not just because we’re celebrating 40 years in business. This year marks an exciting shift in our innovation process, exemplified by the new AI solutions presented during YASC 2024’s opening spotlight session for multifamily. Here’s a recap of innovations and features unveiled during the event. Marketing with AI Ready to streamline content creation and optimize marketing spend? As Esther Bonardi, Yardi vice president of corporate marketing and REACH by RentCafe, put it, “AI is everywhere, and it’s impacting all of our development from the time renters start looking for their apartment, and all the way until they’re renewing their lease.” Here’s a peek at new AI-driven solutions to help you drive more quality prospects. Simplifying content creation with Creator by Virtuoso The new Creator by Virtuoso — included in Marketing IQ Genius — uses AI to generate and schedule content for property websites. Whether it’s page narratives, blog posts or Google Business Profile updates, content creation has never been easier. Marketers can now update websites and social feeds with minimal effort, ensuring they stay competitive in the digital landscape. Data-driven budgeting and strategy Marketing IQ Genius also includes more advanced SEO and PPC reporting, as well as PPC budget recommendations powered by machine learning. Get strategic suggestions that help you make informed decisions about your advertising spend. Allocate budgets more effectively and drive better results based on real-time data and insights. Speed to lease: Accelerating the customer journey with AI “Days equal dollars when it comes to vacancy loss,” Paul Yount, industry principal, said to a crowd of multifamily professionals — but not before he somehow weaved a baby picture of himself onto a slide. (It all connected to his YASC session, “Back to the Future of Leasing and AI.”) Speed is everything when it comes to turning your prospect into a resident — and our AI initiatives are making that process even faster. Here are some updates that will help you reduce vacancy loss. More efficient leasing Chat IQ, powered by Yardi Virtuoso, provides instant, personalized responses to your customers that keep them engaged and informed throughout their leasing journey. Plus, our income and identity verification solutions streamline approvals, ensuring maximum speed when it comes to converting an inquiry into a lease. Self-serve maintenance Our new self-serve maintenance feature guides residents through minor fixes, reducing the hassle associated with maintenance and the workload on property managers. This not only enhances resident satisfaction but also frees up time for teams to focus on more strategic tasks. Yardi Energy Yardi Energy has exciting new updates in store to help you manage energy usage more efficiently, so you can reduce cost while aligning with environmental best practices. Enhancing the resident experience We’re also rolling out new innovations that will make your resident experience even better. Get ready for increased resident satisfaction and renewals. Rewards by RentCafe Resident retention is key to long-term success, and our new rewards program for residents is designed to do just that. Rewards by RentCafe incentivizes your residents to pay rent on time by rewarding them for on-time rent payments and subscriptions to Resident Services by ResidentShield. Points can be redeemed for fun things like travel and shopping, helping you enhance satisfaction. Resident Services by ResidentShield As just mentioned, we’ve rolled out a comprehensive suite of resident services that cater to every stage of the resident lifecycle. But the highlight is our move-in tracker, which simplifies the move-in process for residents by giving them one place to sign up and activate all the essentials, like Wi-Fi and electricity. This helps them feel at home from day one, and gives you bonus points for a seamless experience — without extra effort on your part. The roadmap A preview of enhancements you can take advantage of now, or soon! Chat IQ It just keeps getting better with Chat IQ. This...
Tenant Insurance Compliance...
Optimizing COI Tracking
It might seem straightforward to require that tenants provide proof of insurance when a lease is signed. However, managing a Certificate of Insurance (COI) for every tenant along with insurance policy endorsements and ensuring continuous coverage can be very challenging. Read on for a deeper dive with tips to successfully overcome challenges for maintaining tenant compliance. Why COIs matter A COI is a document issued by an insurance company that summarizes the insurance policies held by a tenant. It outlines the coverage limits, policy durations and other relevant details. Additional insured and subrogation information is outlined in the policy endorsements. Closely managing COIs is essential for landlords to verify that their tenants maintain adequate insurance coverage to protect against potential risks. COI management challenges throughout the lease lifecycle One of the primary challenges faced by landlords is ensuring the timely receipt and verification of COIs from tenants. Tenants may delay submitting the COIs or fail to provide the required coverage details. This delay can impede lease execution or expose the landlord to increased risks for leases already signed. Landlords often have specific insurance requirements for their commercial properties. These requirements may include minimum coverage limits, additional insured endorsements and specific policy provisions. Ensuring that tenants comply with these requirements can be difficult, as some tenants may struggle to find insurance policies that meet the landlord’s criteria. COI management involves tracking policy expiration dates and ensuring that tenants renew their insurance policies before they lapse. Monitoring policy expirations for multiple tenants can be time-consuming and prone to human error, potentially leaving the landlord exposed to liability if a tenant’s insurance coverage expires. Another challenge landlords face is the possibility of tenants providing COIs with inadequate coverage or insufficient policy limits. In such cases, the landlord...
Shaping Tomorrow’s PHAs
With Innovation and technology
The housing crisis isn’t going away overnight, but with the power of innovation and technology, people can get housed faster and smarter. That’s why public housing authorities (PHAs) are stepping up to the challenge. We had the privilege of sitting down with some visionary authorities to discuss their plans, and to say we were inspired is an understatement. These agencies understand they need to adapt to meet the changing needs of their community. Leaders in the industry are taking the leap towards implementing technology and transforming their operations — even if it means dipping their feet into an area they aren’t familiar with. By choosing innovation, they’re setting the bar high for public housing authorities — proving that with the right tools and mindset, we can overcome the most daunting challenges. Their commitment to change is paving the way for a brighter future where all families can find safe and affordable housing. “We’re striving to be innovative in our use of technology and development of affordable housing units. We must think outside the box. It’s critical for housing authorities to reinvent themselves and become community leaders. And Yardi has been critical in helping us take that leap,” says Carol Jones-Gilbert, CEO of Palm Beach Housing Authority. In this article, you’ll learn how agencies are using innovation to: Prioritize residents in their operations Navigate the challenges of the PHA world Plan and prepare for the future Putting residents first It’s no secret that there are many moving parts in getting applicants approved for public housing. From managing waitlists to ensuring compliance, the process can be daunting and time-consuming. But agencies are moving forward as technology evolves. Paper processes are a thing of the past, and innovation is the new gold standard. With trusted software, agencies are prioritizing the needs and happiness of their residents. After all, assuring residents receive the support they need is paramount to the goals of public housing agencies. We caught up with Weneshia Brand, deputy director of the Ann Arbor Housing Commission, and discussed her success with Yardi. She explained how they continually strive for excellence in all aspects of their operations and want to set the bar high for other agencies to follow. She championed the simplicity of handling all their business in one platform, including their maintenance, reporting and financial activity. “With Yardi, we can manage our maintenance requests, financial records and compliance reports all in one place,” she offered. These integrations have saved her team hours while also reducing the risk of errors and increasing overall efficiency. But what’s most important is that, with innovation on the rise, agencies can focus on what really matters: the residents. Staff members can now dedicate time to more hands-on tasks, such as maintenance requests, property inspections and personalized support programs. The innovation doesn’t stop here for the Ann Arbor Housing Commission. Brand disclosed her plans to implement Yardi Case Manager. Their interest stems from the desire to be part of the continuum of care. “The case management system will allow us to process our homeless individuals more quickly, ensuring they receive the support they need,” Brand explained. This progressive approach confirms their commitment to leveraging technology to better serve their community and get more people housed. Keeping up with the ever-changing PHA world Public housing agencies are doing incredible work to keep up with the evolving PHA space. They’re navigating a complex web of regulations, adapting to shifting policies and managing staff turnover — all while ensuring their residents are receiving the care they deserve. Let’s be honest, compliance with HUD regulations can cause headaches for many agencies. Navigating the complexities of changing policies at the federal level, staff turnover and compliance work requires dedication and hours of planning. Among these dedicated agencies is the Palm Beach Housing Authority, which has leaned on Yardi to stay compliant and expand the areas they serve. In fact, their...
Succession Planning with Yardi Aspire
For Public Housing Authorities
Public housing authorities (PHAs) across the U.S. are facing a major challenge: many of their employees are getting close to retirement. It’s estimated that over 50 percent of PHA and other public sector employees could retire within the next five years. This means PHAs need to have a plan in place to fill these upcoming vacancies with qualified people. However, it’s not easy — 79 percent of agencies cannot find qualified candidates for open positions, according to a survey by NeoGov, an HR solution provider for the public sector. Succession planning is crucial for PHAs. It’s not just about finding someone to fill a job — it’s about keeping a skilled workforce that can serve their communities effectively. A good succession plan can also lead to better employee retention and engagement. In fact, organizations with strong plans have retention rates 50 percent higher than those without them. To tackle these challenges, PHAs must ensure their staff possess the right skills and knowledge to step into leadership roles when needed. The Yardi Aspire Learning Management System (LMS) is a powerful tool that can help. Aspire delivers effective industry education, skill development and promotion preparation — helping PHAs build a strong pipeline of talent and ensuring smooth leadership transitions. Why succession planning matters Succession planning involves looking ahead and being prepared. According to the HUD Instructional Guide, succession planning helps PHAs in several key ways: Ensures long-term success: Confirms that PHAs maintain smooth service delivery, even during leadership changes. Reduces risks: Identifies important roles and prepares internal candidates when key positions become vacant. Promotes staff growth: Promotes staff development and prepares them for leadership roles, ensuring the right skills are in place. How Aspire supports succession planning Aspire offers several tools that are vital for effective succession planning, such as: Extensive catalog: Offers hundreds of short, interactive courses designed to fit within a busy workday from the LMS or on a mobile device with the Aspire App. The Aspire catalog covers a variety of training topics, including industry knowledge, fair housing and sexual harassment, safety, Yardi software, leadership, professional skills and more. PHAs can also create custom courses to ensure organization-specific learning needs are covered. Assess and develop internal talent: Evaluate your current workforce to identify high-potential employees who could fill key roles in the future with Aspire assessments. Then, map out the key skills needed for each role included in the strategic plan. Configure Aspire to automatically deliver or recommend development opportunities to equip these individuals with the necessary skills and knowledge. These include offering training, mentorship and leadership development assignments — all of which can be set up and tracked in Aspire. IMAGE: Skills assigned report shows a Seattle Housing Authority employee’s progress toward assigned skill proficiency. Custom Learning Plans: Aspire’s embedded authoring tools allow succession plan teams to create custom learning plans that align with their succession goals. These plans clarify the promotion path, which often includes a variety of tasks, learning assignments, forms and surveys and assessments to make sure employees are fully prepared for future roles. External Certifications: Aspire helps PHAs stay compliant with HUD requirements, which is especially important during leadership transitions. In addition to assigning hundreds of short, program-specific courses for Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), Section 8, and Enterprise Income Verification (EIV), Aspire clients can upload 3rd party training (i.e., industry certifications) and schedule annual recertification. Comprehensive Reporting: Use the interactive dashboards and scheduled reports to ensure that the required skills and competencies are in place and necessary certifications are up to date. Implementing a succession plan with Aspire Identify Key Roles: Start by identifying the roles that are crucial for your PHA’s operations. Aspire can help document the responsibilities and skills needed for each role. Develop Potential Successors: Use Aspire to create and track personalized development plans for potential successors. These plans can include opportunities to earn badges and rewards, keeping...
How AI is Reshaping CRE
Tech You Can Implement
AI is top of mind across the real estate industry, and the business case for AI in CRE has become clear. CRE stakeholders embracing AI’s impact on the industry are already employing data-driven approaches to decision making while leveraging AI to improve day to day operations including optimized AP processing and customer service. Following are three ways AI is revolutionizing CRE with tech you can implement now. Chatbots A chatbot is any software solution that simulates conversation using natural language through text or voice interaction. OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, Meta’s Llama and Anthropic’s Claude are examples of large language models (LLMs), which draw on vast amounts of data to predict the next word and answer a question or suggest a solution to a problem. Common uses for ChatGPT include writing emails, proofreading and other everyday tasks. Businesses are employing chatbots most often for customer service. In the multifamily sector, owners are using this type of AI to respond to resident questions and maintenance requests, as well as to provide prospects with information about properties. Research shows that a smart chatbot can significantly reduce the number of days it takes to convert a lead to a lease. With regard to saving staff time and optimizing efficiency for maintenance processes, during a call to report a clogged sink, for example, a chatbot can take the resident through steps to resolve the problem before issuing a maintenance request or connecting them with a property team member. Managers at office, retail and industrial properties can use ChatGPT in similar ways. Yardi employs ChatGPT in its natural language processing solution to improve the accuracy of its responses to client questions. Yardi’s chatbot now resolves 80 percent of inquiries that previously required the attention of a customer service representative. As a result, team members are freed up to tackle requests and issues where solutions aren’t readily available and more expertise is required. Web content solutions A widespread lack of website compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) touched off a wave of federal legal challenges beginning in 2018. By creating environments where website users can participate equally, operators can avoid this legal risk and foster seamless interaction with digital content. In recent years, emerging AI platforms in web development have begun to provide solutions to address ADA compliance issues, according to Equally AI, a developer of website accessibility software. Screen readers and natural language processing can analyze and interpret web content, providing auditory cues to assist users with visual impairments, for example, while conversational AI speech recognition capabilities allow users with mobility impairments to interact with websites through voice commands. AI-powered captions and transcriptions provide similar benefits to those with hearing problems. Other solutions include AI-driven interface enhancements such as adaptive design and intelligent navigation, which can adapt websites based on user preferences and behaviors. Machine learning In recent years, Yardi employed a full-service invoice processing center for 60 million annual client invoices, where teams would manually scan, key and code invoices into client environments. This would then initiate the workflow for invoice approval. But over the last three years, the company has migrated that activity to machine learning. Vendor names, invoice numbers and line item details are now encoded into the accounting systems for fully automated processing. Employing machine learning to this tedious, time-consuming task has not only improved accuracy but has also produced cost savings, which Yardi is passing onto clients. “These are very simple tasks, but the machines need a lot of data and experience to achieve a high level of accuracy,” said Brian Sutherland, a Yardi vice president. “We certainly have that data at scale.” Similar endeavors Yardi is working on include a lease extraction solution. That will pair machine learning with a chatbot to identify, collect and organize lease expiration dates, rent step-ups, options and other pertinent information that is typically buried in dense contract verbiage, making it difficult...
1 Million Units of Chat IQ
Top Choice for Owners + Operators
Chat IQ is helping one million units with seamless communication! To celebrate this milestone, we spoke with Chat IQ’s biggest fans: Top property managers in the industry. Discover why the industry loves this powerful bot and how it all creates a domino effect when it comes to driving efficiency in their organization. Backing it up with the numbers “We’re thrilled about the unit milestone,” said Paul Yount, industry principal at Yardi. “It means that our valued clients trust us with their AI bot needs.” This year to date, Chat IQ has handled over four million inbound messages for our clients and their agents. This resulted in over 225,000 hours saved, according to Yardi data. One of the standout benefits is the improvement in what Yount refers to as “speed to lease,” or the time it takes for a prospect to become a resident. Chat IQ accelerated the time it took for a prospect to sign a lease by up to seven days. “Days equal dollars when it comes to vacancy, so this is really improving not just the efficiency of the onsite teams, but the community and client’s bottom line,” Yount concluded. About Chat IQ Chat IQ answers prospect and resident questions around the clock through chat, email, text and calls. It frees up your staff to focus on higher-level activities they enjoy more than answering repetitive questions. Chat IQ instantly answers almost all customer base intents, connects customers to real agents if needed and now includes support from Yardi when your agents are unavailable. Our clients say it best Chat IQ has garnered praise from top property managers for its outstanding performance and benefits it brings to their operations. Here are some of the key advantages that make this AI-powered bot an industry favorite. Enhanced efficiency Chat IQ can answer 97 percent of questions without needing to learn anything new, eliminating the need for constant data reentry. Carrie Bakke, senior systems analyst at the Lund Company, shares her experience, stating, “In the first six months after we rolled out Chat IQ, we had an average of three leases per month that were generated entirely from the bot. It freed up approximately six hours a day spent answering questions. And all of that information has been provided without our site teams having to lift a finger.” Freed up time for leasing agents Chat IQ allows community team members to do more valuable and meaningful work, while providing the immediacy today’s consumers expect. “Chat IQ is there day or night, business day or holiday,” said Yount. The ability to operate around the clock has made a significant impact on leasing teams. Leslie Henry, SVP at Towne Properties, notes, “After we implemented Chat IQ, our site teams quickly realized how useful it was in gaining back time. They love how it filtered out less promising leads in the beginning. We let them customize some aspects of the responses so there was more of a personal human touch.” Proven ROI For others, Chat IQ is simply about the return on investment. Jason Gherardini, SVP of IT at Sares Regis Group, highlights the value Chat IQ brings, saying, “We get true ROI with Chat IQ from the first conversation, discussion, all the way to lease. It’s a good product.” And it’s getting even better with a new AI update We’re excited to announce that Chat IQ is now more efficient, more impactful and more streamlined with several AI enhancements: Customizable brand tone: Chat IQ matches your company’s unique voice and style, creating consistency in each conversation. OpenAI ChatGPT integration: Prospects and residents will enjoy more natural, human-like interactions. Better interactions: Chat IQ now responds dynamically to questions, moving beyond templated responses to provide a more interactive experience. Multi-question handling: Seamlessly address multiple questions in a single chat, such as “What’s the pet policy, the nearest dog park and the pet deposit?” New voice...
