CFAA Conference

Transformative Tech

By Lee Ann Stiff on Jun 9, 2018 in News

Yardi returned as title sponsor and presenter at the Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations’ (CFAA) Rental Housing Conference, Canada’s premier event for apartment managers which took place on May 14-16 in Vancouver, B.C.

“Yardi is proud to support and participate in educational events that bring together real estate industry leaders and managers to help further growth and innovation for businesses of all sizes in evolving markets,” said Peter Altobelli, vice president and general manager for Yardi Canada.

This year’s conference focused on game-changing technology for the apartment industry, and Yardi was excited to participate in four dynamic educational sessions. Altobelli joined a roundtable to discuss the present state and future of technology in the rental housing industry — and how property managers can prepare for disruption.

Tech Round Table: How to Surmount Barriers to Technological Advances

Altobelli joined industry leaders Darren Henry, president at National Efficiency Systems Inc., Jeremy Jackson, vice president of marketing at Killam REIT and Geoff Younghusband, vice president of residential properties at Osgoode Properties, to address barriers that impede property managers from adopting useful new technologies, and how to surmount them. They covered getting the information you need to make informed business decisions and how to encourage your team to accept change and new ways of accomplishing tasks in your organization. For managers, they discussed how to gain quick wins with new tools and convince owners about the value of technology to reduce costs and gain new operational efficiencies.

Online Platforms, Resident Services, Payments and Blockchain: The Future in the Rental Market

Yardi’s  Regional Director of Canadian Sales, Heather Brady spoke about new cutting-edge technologies that are rocking the rental market — focusing on online platforms with resident services including payments —and was joined by David Janoawski, founder and CEO of Payquad Solutions Inc., and Richard Robins, senior vice-president of customer success and sales at RentMoola. It’s a new age of resident engagement where touring and leasing properties takes place on a digital platform, where communication and relationship management is automated and where transactions are virtual. With this move away from traditional processes, attendees at this session learned how to cater to the “resident of tomorrow” who is looking to rent today, and how to gain a competitive edge using technology. Attendees at the session also got the scoop on blockchain and how it’s poised to impact the real estate industry.

Energy and Water Conservation in 2020

Energy management and water conservation have become crucial aspects of property management, and with new regulations coming into effect property managers need to be ready. Martin Levkus, regional sales director for Yardi Energy, contributed to a panel discussion exploring automation and new technology that optimizes energy management for residential real estate and helps businesses achieve their conservation goals as well as meet regulatory requirements. Levkus spoke about the transition of the industry as well as tech developments within energy management and was joined by David Lacocca, director of business development at Alert Labs, Peter Mills, Co-CEO at Wyse Meter Solutions and Dennis VanEe, CEO at Remforce.

The panelists explored a range of topics including 24/7 real-time water consumption and boiler monitoring, sub-metering and utility expense management and the savings associated with proactive property and equipment maintenance.

Virtual and Augmented Reality: Leasing Made Easy

Sam Jaishankar, marketing team leader for Yardi Canada, presented with Jordan Billinkoff, founder and president of Gryd, on the increasing use of virtual and augmented reality technology, and how it will transform and simplify the leasing cycle for apartment managers. Sam and Jordan talked about the application of these emerging technologies for real estate, and addressed the benefits of using virtual reality in the leasing process and how we will see this new technology transcend other functions in real estate organizations. The session concluded with a hands-on demonstration for attendees.

QuadReal on Building a State-of-the-Art Operations System

“We are a forward-thinking company and require a state-of-the-art platform. We have created what could be an institutional model for apartment management companies across Canada,” said Dean Holmes, senior vice president of residential operations for QuadReal Property Group.

QuadReal Property Group — a real estate investment and management company that oversees a $24.5 billion global portfolio — hosted “Building a State-of-the-Art Operations System,” a panel discussion on selecting and implementing software to create an integrated full-business solution from front office to back office in order to operate more profitably and enhance customer service. QuadReal discussed paperless online services and mobile tools such as Yardi Procure to Pay, Yardi Maintenance Mobile, RentCafe CRM and RENTCafé Connect — all part of the Yardi Multifamily Suite single connected solution.

An industry moving forward

The CFAA conference made it clear that forward-thinking real estate organizations in Canada are embracing innovation and reaping the rewards of using new technology. Do you have all the tools you need to thrive in evolving markets and a changing industry? Learn more about Yardi’s complete mobile platform for multifamily real estate management.