CHICAGO, December 16, 2020 (Newswire.com) - With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing millions of Americans to work from home, apartment renters are increasingly in need of printing services, and they're willing to pay for the convenience of having those capabilities in their communities, according to a recent survey of over 500 apartment renters. PrintWithMe, the leading self-service wireless printer tech, offers this amenity to apartment renters in 49 states.
The November 2020 survey conducted by Satisfacts, titled Working From Apartments: What Residents Say They Need, sought to gain a better understanding of renters' remote working and distance learning requirements and preferences. When asked which apartment amenities would best accommodate their current needs, 50% of respondents listed printing services - second only to faster internet options (54.5%). On an overall value scale, respondents rated faster internet service and printer/copier/scanner services almost equally.
"It is always important for apartment operators to stay up to date on resident sentiment, but especially when we see such a dramatic shift in resident needs and priorities, as we have during the pandemic," said Lia Nichole Smith, Vice President of Education and Performance at ApartmentRatings and SatisFacts. "Residents' needs aren't the same as they were 10 months ago, especially for those who are now working or schooling from home. It's vital for operators to reach out to learn what those current needs are, and reassess what they're doing to accommodate residents."
PrintWithMe Founder and CEO Jonathan Treble said renters are leaning heavily on their apartment communities to make working and schooling from home feasible.
"We're seeing a transition in renter preferences, away from design and space and toward function and convenience," Treble said. "Apartment residents who now find themselves working or studying from home still require the equipment and capabilities that were previously provided at their workplace or educational institution. It's not surprising to see internet strength and printing capabilities top their list of necessities because those are the technologies that employees and students utilize on a regular basis."
In fact. 51.8% of survey respondents said that their printing needs have increased or held steady in 2020, despite moving to at-home settings for work or school. The survey showed that 57.4% of residents print more than 10 pages each month, and another 47.1% said they would use a community printer often or daily, if it was available, compared to only 12% who said they would use a co-working space on a daily basis.
"The survey certainly reflects what we're seeing at the property level," said LuAnne Acton Ross, Partner and Executive Vice President for JMG Realty. "Residents feel better about working from the comfort and safety of their own homes, rather than in a shared amenity space. But they still have a need for a reliable printer, scanner, and copier. We have seen a dramatic increase in our printer usage since the start of the pandemic, and with more of our residents planning to continue working from home post-pandemic, we expect that the trend is here to stay."
Property management companies are quickly realizing that a paperless business model isn't feasible for either their teams or their residents. Fortunately for operators who are thinking long-term, renters are also agreeable to paying for the amenities that allow them to work or conduct coursework from home.
Faster internet service (49%) was the top amenity that survey respondents were willing to pay for. Coming in second, at 40.8%, was wireless self-service printing, copying, and scanning. Conversely, only 13.9% of respondents indicated that they would pay for more co-working spaces.
To view the full survey results, click here.
The multifamily budgeting season can be stressful, and this year, COVID-19 has not made it easier. After analyzing data from multiple studies, here are our top five insights to help you plan for the 2021 fiscal year.
Every year during fall and winter, property managers and owners nationally bury their heads in excel and balance sheets in an effort to anticipate and account for expenses that are ahead next year - this is known as multifamily budgeting season. And while most property managers and multifamily executives are no stranger to budgeting for the future, the real conversation this year is “How do you budget for a future that seems so unpredictable due to COVID-19?”
Read our top budgeting tips on how you can add value to your properties.
A crucial aspect of budgeting is about managing expectations of variable stakeholders, from ownership to your staff and residents. For the past few months, the conversation around the “new normal” for multifamily has dominated the headlines in forums, news sites, and webinars. It is easy to be carried away by the transformational and expensive COVID-19 ideas we could implement in the multifamily landscape (for example, implementing hospital-grade ventilation throughout apartments), but realistically, we need to ask ourselves the million-dollar question: “What exactly do existing residents and prospective residents need and want for the next year, and in the long-term?”
In times of uncertainty, we turn to data. Our team at PrintWithMe has pulled together our top five takeaways for the 2020-2021 budgeting season after reviewing the data and insights from leading multifamily surveys to guide your thoughts and decide on the year ahead.
Rent payment is one of the most important revenue sources for management companies and there has been serious, steadfast concern throughout 2020 about whether residents will be able to afford their rent as the economy slows due to COVID-19. While the NMHC Rent Payment Tracker had reported that 86.8% of households made a rent payment by October 13th, 2020, 42% of renters said they are unsure if they are going to make rent in the next 90 days.
It is crucial that we empathize with the residents whose livelihoods may have been severely impacted due to COVID-19 by providing them with resources to help them make rent payments. Other than potentially waiving late fees, property managers can also consider gathering resources online about rental assistance for their residents who might need them and creating cheat sheets regarding these resources for easy reference.
These are stressful times and residents are more likely to renew their lease if they know that their management cares deeply about them and their families regardless of their financial position.
Lia Nichole Smith, the VP of Education and Performance at SatisFacts, said that their studies also demonstrate the shift in residents’ expectations in the frequency and consistency of communications they’ve received from their property staff.
“When [on-site] offices are still closed, residents don’t think anybody’s working because they can’t see their on-site staff and they can’t see their dollars at work,” said Smith
When you’re budgeting for 2021, Smith recommends adopting creative ways, such as slipping a letter at their resident’s door, posting regularly on social media, and sending email updates to keep their residents engaged especially when it comes to COVID-19 related communications.
For digital communications, properties should consider investing in apartment mobile app communication tools, which allow residents and staff to network socially and communicate directly with each other safely online. Explore new multifamily app technologies that enable digital guest check-ins, digital amenity bookings, and virtual resident events. For non-digital communications, plan for the costs of printing additional papers, flyers, and posters that can help with resident education.
A recent survey from SatisFacts also notes that residents are very aware of a community’s social media efforts, and lack thereof.
“Residents are willing to pay more for a place that, to the outside world, looks like they’re celebrating their residents on social media in a positive way,” said Smith.
Fortunately, communicating with your residents via social media, including Instagram and Facebook, is made increasingly simple by using existing social media templates across the internet.
According to the World Economic Forum, a whopping 98% of people surveyed said they would like the option to work remotely for the rest of their careers. However, while we know that the majority of the working population is growing to embrace the transition to working-from-home, 86% of residents are not sure if they will continue to work-from-home after the pandemic concludes, according to the COVID-19 National Renter Study by SatisFacts.
Nonetheless, noting most people’s significant desire to remain in a work-from-home environment, property managers should consider factoring into the 2021 budget new work-from-home solutions to support their residents. The good news is that these new solutions do not have to be expensive, like installing phone booths or buying copper-based gym equipment.
Based on an internal study with SatisFacts, which will be made public in the coming weeks, we found that the top 2 amenities that could increase productivity for residents working/schooling from home are faster internet options (56.4%) and wireless self-service printing, copying, and scanning services (52.6%) - like PrintWithMe.
“Anything that makes working and schooling from home easier for residents will be crucial for at least the next six months,” said Smith. “I think a WiFi extender will make a great renewal gift.”
As you analyze new resident amenities that support working remotely, we suggest you look into the following factors:
According to the COVID-19 National Renter Study by SatisFacts, “Making certain residents feel connected to where they live will positively impact future renewal decisions. In a time of such uncertainty, renters are looking for stability; and they are craving to connect and feel a sense of belonging.”
“Residents want to see if their management has really stepped up their game to go above and beyond for them,” said Smith. “They are willing to pay more for a community that they can vouch for and that they will be confident in recommending their best friend to stay at the same building.”
The budget that may usually be set aside for residents' activities and in-person events could be reallocated to curating fun virtual events, thoughtful and safe gifts, and digital streaming fitness classes.
“I always suggest the ‘Take One, Give Two’ concept,” said Smith. “When you take one amenity away from your residents, you have to give them two in return. For example, if you’re announcing the temporary closing of your fitness center, you should consider providing online fitness classes or virtual fitness memberships so that your residents don’t feel like they are losing.”
The key here is to help your community stay connected while apart by offering gathering opportunities that are social-distance-friendly.
To summarize, as you create your annual budget for 2021, make sure to consider 1) providing rental assistance resources, 2) communicating regularly and effectively with your residents, 3) strengthening your community virtually, and 4) investing in important, affordable, and easy-to-implement resident amenities that help your residents work and school from home. Good luck!
Here are our top 5 ideas to (pumpkin) spice up your resident events this coming fall and keep your communities close while practicing social distancing.
Fall is arguably the most beautiful and fun season of the year, with festivities like Thanksgiving and Halloween or the simple pleasure of watching the changing colors of the leaves. Multifamily apartment communities are often very excited about the fall season, curating fall-themed resident events aimed to bring the community together to celebrate the season of gratitude.
However, thanks to COVID-19, 2020 has a very different plan for fall resident events. While in-person events and parties are off the table, there are plenty of virtual event ideas that property managers can explore to help keep residents engaged and delighted from their very own homes. Virtual resident events provide the perfect opportunity to keep your community connected during these uncertain times.
Here are our top 5 virtual apartment resident events for the Fall 2020 season!
Pumpkin decorating is the staple of the fall season. Although hosting an in-person pumpkin carving contest seems impossible as of now, companies like Garden Streets have just the perfect solution to help make this classic fall activity virtual and memorable.
Garden Streets is a nature-inspired company that hosts hands-on, family-friendly virtual events that will allow your residents and your team to bond over a unique experience. Not only do they supply all the materials needed, but the best part of all, everyone gets to “bring home” a fall centerpiece as a reminder of the wonderful experience.
Connecting with our neighbors while enjoying a glass of wine and snacking on cheese smorgasbord on a Friday happy hour event might feel like history. Luckily, catering companies are aware of the global virtual shift during COVID-19 and are fully capable of catering to your virtual food and drink events as well.
For your next virtual event, have a curated seasonal snack box delivered straight to your residents’ doorsteps or pre-order different wines from your local favorites and coordinate pick-up times with your residents. Then set up a virtual food or wine tasting party for all your residents to log in and enjoy great food and drinks together.
With everyone being stuck at home, refreshing apartments and homes with seasonal decorations become key to getting into the celebratory groove.
Host a simple and effortless Halloween or fall-themed contest and encourage your residents to decorate their apartments with their spookiest ideas. Residents can draw inspiration from Pinterest or blog posts like this by Havenly and then share it on social media. The photo with the most “likes” wins!
After months of quarantining indoors, many of your apartment residents may have run out of ideas on what to cook at home. So, why not bring a twist to the old-school, fall-themed recipe swap and inspire each other to try out new recipes?
Download the printable fall recipe cards from our Activity Center and host a virtual “show and tell” with your residents by having them show off delicious apple pies, share their family recipes, or simply grab a spiked apple cider and join the chat!
Imagine a virtual karaoke party, but swap actual singing for lip-synching, and add lots of wacky costumes. Sounds fun? We thought so too! Check out Hidden Door for easy setup of a remote lip-syncing virtual event for residents. Hidden Door lets you decide on the song or they can give you some options to choose from.
Residents are encouraged to be as creative as they wish to be in their video clips for their temporary stardom. Hidden Door will then compile and edit all the clips you submitted to create a final product like the one shown below. It will certainly get everyone talking about it for the rest of 2020.
Courtesy of Hidden Door (Vimeo)
In these challenging times, property managers are juggling different balls, from budgeting to engaging with residents, when many are still working remotely.
Our team at PrintWithMe admires the dedication property managers have towards curating an enjoyable living experience for their communities so, we want to help make your job easier. Whether it is generating useful content on our Activity Center or taking resident printing off your table, we are here to help.
Leave a comment below if you have tried any of the suggestions listed above or if you have more ideas we should add to the list!
As we grieve over racial discrimination, our team at PrintWithMe is looking forward to how we can make a difference.
At PrintWithMe, we stand firmly against racism, hate, and injustice.
In this moment, we cannot stay neutral to racial injustice and violence. We stand as allies with our black team members and the entire black community nationwide.
During these difficult times, we are supported by the integral values that remain at the core of PrintWithMe:
We look forward to continuing to drive advancement in diversity and we are always going to be listening, learning, and looking for ways to make a positive impact.
Ultimately we know that when we stand together, we can make a real difference.