Throughout multifamily housing, managers struggle with resident package logistics. The problem spikes in student housing communities. Student properties receive 10-15 percent more packages than conventional multi-family properties. A Growing Problem The convenience of (often free) delivery appeals to busy students. Additionally, companies like Amazon target the student population with incentives. Amazon Prime offers six months of free service and 50 percent off of students’ subscription rate for the remainder of their student status. As a result, student housing staff gets swamped with packages. Leasing office staff juggle a myriad of responsibilities. Pausing potential sales or residents interactions to handle package delivery is not a viable option. Maneuvering guests around recently delivered armoires and mattresses is even less of an option. “We’ve seen communities spend up to 4 hours a day simply dealing with packages,” says Melody Akhtari, Director of Marketing & Communications at Luxer One. “Package delivery causes not only a problem of constant interruptions and wasted time, but it also causes space management issues.” Simple Solutions Luxer One provides storage solutions to address the growing needs of student housing managers. Luxer One’s storage solutions are designed to accept every package automatically and store them securely, without the need for management staff to intervene. This type of automation eliminates interruptions from parcel carriers and gives back time and energy to dedicate to the art of community management. Luxer Lockers are installed on the premises. The courier delivers the package to the locker and scans it. Residents get a mobile notification with a one-time-use access to retrieve their package on their own schedule. Leasing office staff can continue their workflows and other resident interactions without interruption. Locker sizes vary, permitting the storage of a range of packages. “Almost half of all packages delivered go into our small...

The House of Representatives will soon vote on a bill that may centralize mail deliveries at apartment buildings and alter delivery schedules. We’ve all seen the change taking place. The postal service became known as “snail mail” the moment that email reached most American households. Online bill pay let us settle balances with the click of a mouse rather than the lick of a stamp–or by gingerly tapping our mobile touchscreens. During travels, we began posting pictures and status updates via social media rather than sending postcards. Many of us can’t think of the last time we entered a USPS. The FedEx and UPS locations seemed to be much more convenient and efficient. When we sit back and think about it, few of us are really surprised that the United States Postal Service is in a crunch. Americans simply don’t use the mail system like we used to. In order to stay afloat, Congress deliberated multiple times to determine the future of USPS. Major changes will be made, many of which affect multi-family firms and their tenants. Regular mail delivery could be shortened to five days per week or fewer, though Saturday deliveries will remain protected for at least one year after the enactment of the bill, if it passes. Approximately 125 post offices will eventually close, though the bill has provided a lifeline to an equal quantity of processing centers that were heading to the guillotine to cut costs. For multi-family firms and renters, though, one change holds the greatest impact: the new plan aims to create centralized delivery services particularly for apartment communities. This may create challenges for leasing offices and added inconveniences for renters. Hurdles for pre-existing leasing offices: Storage Leasing offices would need to prepare a designated, secure location to...