Top 3 Takeaways for Multifamily Leaders from the 2023 ZRS Education & Discovery Conference

ZRS Management recently hosted their annual ZRS Education & Discovery Conference (ZED) in Hollywood, Florida. ZED was specifically designed to educate property managers, leasing professionals and the corporate team about the incredible difference technology can make in areas such as leasing, amenities and marketing. 

Dozens of multifamily vendors, including WithMe, showcased tech-enabled amenities, products and software designed to grow business, support property management teams and increase resident satisfaction. 

Here are 3 key takeaways from ZED 2023: 

1. Invest in the technology that's right for you and your property.

We have all been known to think we can cut costs and even do things better on our own, but that isn’t always the case. In many instances, technology can not only help you reduce expenses, it can also make life better. Don’t get so set in your ways that you neglect to consider the positive value of investing in technology. 

How exactly do you go about finding the technology that will give you the greatest return on your investment? 

First and foremost, identify the amenities or the tasks that cause you the most stress, time and expense. 

Once you’ve identified your pain points, start researching! At conferences and trade shows, make time to visit with exhibitors. Ask your colleagues for insight on what’s been working for them. Keep an eye on trade publications for product announcements, reviews and case studies. 

Technology isn’t one-size-fits all. Take time to find the solutions that increase your efficiency, provide the highest ROI and improve your quality of life. 

2. Always provide exceptional service and maintain a high standard of professionalism. 

When selecting vendors and products, stop to evaluate the impact on the overall quality of the service you’re providing. Automation and centralization can certainly maximize efficiency, but they can also end up creating a cold and impersonal experience. At the end of the day, your residents are people, too, and they deserve to feel valued and important. 

3. Use amenities to reduce employee stress and burnout. 

Attracting residents is tough. But right now, attracting and retaining great multifamily employees is arguably even tougher. 

Your team shouldn’t have to sacrifice their sanity to keep residents happy. It’s important to identify amenity solutions that work for you, not against you. 

While showcasing SipWithMe at ZED, the WithMe team received multiple comments from property managers about how helpful it would be to have a fixed cost for their coffee amenity. Budgeting season is just around the corner. Wouldn’t it be nice to have fewer line items to scrutinize and blindly forecast? Tech-enabled amenities can make that possible! 

Tech-enabled amenities can also reduce time-consuming tasks that create stress and major headaches. Dealing with supplies, for example. Your team has better things to do than try to remember to monitor supply levels and make emergency trips to the store when they forget to reorder things on time. Services like PrintWithMe remotely monitor supply levels and ship them right to your door, right when you need them. 

PrintWithMe and SipWithMe may or may not be the right solutions for your property, but the point is that it’s important to implement technology that makes life better for everyone in your community, and that includes your staff. When your team members are happy, they’re more engaged. And when they’re more engaged, you’re more likely to retain them. 

We hope these takeaways are helpful as you formulate future property management and resident acquisition strategies, and we hope to see you at ZED 2024!