Our world would hardly be the same without modern technology, and it’s important to understand where and how technology intersects with apartment communities. With an awareness of what renters want and the right technologies to give them what they want, you can run a successful community. There’s no better way to use technology right now than to encourage social distancing through digital business communication and management. Technology can increase resident satisfaction, solve parking problems, and add value to your community.
In this post, we’ll look at the ways to incorporate tech into your community. We’ll also share how Parking Boss offers smart technology for your community while adding convenience for management and enforcement.
Smart Parking & Online Parking Permits
Parking, and more specifically reserved parking, is one of the top 5 desired community amenities that residents desire. According to the 2020 Industry Report by Buildum and NARPM, almost 43% of residents surveyed claimed reserved parking would influence their choice of renting at one community over another. You already have parking spaces, so how do you ensure residents have exclusive access to the reserved spaces they’re willing to pay a premium for? It’s time to consider combining this sought-after amenity with a valuable, convenient technology.
What if you could not only guarantee a more accurate enforcement strategy, but also a mobile way for residents to register new vehicles and obtain guest parking passes?
What Is A Smart Parking System?
A smart parking system is a tool that manages parking spaces for an apartment complex, condo building, business, or public space. It lets you assign parking spaces to residents and guests, receive online payments, and track parking rule violations with license plate recognition (LPR) technology.
With Parking Boss, you can easily set up a smart parking system. The virtual Parking Attendant lets residents and guests create parking permits instantly on their smartphones or computers. If residents invite friends or family to visit, they can handle the guest registration for them or give their guests the passcode that is unique to their unit for registration. This puts guest parking in the residents’ hands and takes away the hassle of obtaining a guest parking permit from the management office. Maintain social distancing and a sense of accountability with tech built specifically for parking.
It seems silly to offer reserved spaces that you have no way of enforcing other than with pen and paper promises or spreadsheet space assignments. It’s easy to keep a history of vehicles, enforcement actions, complaints, and visitor permit registrations when it’s all saved on a cloud-based platform. With Smart Decals on every registered resident vehicle, a quick scan of the decal will tell you if the vehicle is parked where it should be. As a way to create accountability, residents can scan Smart Decals to see whether the car parked in their space really belongs.
Digital Communication
Send community updates by text, email, or through a resident portal rather than posting signs they may or may not notice as they scroll through Instagram. If you don’t already have one, a resident portal or app is the bulletin board of the future. Encourage residents to contact the management office through your online options and give them the tools they need to maintain their home without ever needing to step into the office.
Online rent payments and maintenance requests are just two ways to keep everything streamlined through the use of smartphones. Don’t forget about prospective residents; virtual community tours and meetings are a convenient and contact-free way for them to check out your community.
Package lockers with text/email notifications are highly desired and recommended, too. Residents can easily pick up their packages at their convenience and you don’t have to deal with the headache of sorting through the packages each time a resident comes to pick one up.
Smart Home Technology
There’s an abundance of options when it comes to installing smart home technology in your existing communities.
There’s plenty of advice about how to make sure your existing structures are suitable for adding new technology to your units. If you’re looking for ways to upgrade your units with the technology renters will come to expect, smart locks and thermostats are widely recommended places to start. A smart home system benefits everyone. According to an article by Zego, 82% of residents at an S2 Capital community chose to pay an additional $25 a month for a smart apartment technology package including lights, locks, and thermostats.
When you look into installing desirable technology, it’s important to find out if your existing systems can handle additional integrations. While right now may not be the time for sending crews to install new hardware in apartments, it’s something to keep in mind as social-distancing restrictions lift.
Conclusion
With the rise in millennial renters, technology is the basis of living for most people. With less communication and payments on paper, it not only makes it easier for residents but also keeps records more easily accessible for management. While you may not be able to remodel or add infrastructure, you can still add value and convenience with smart technology. Parking Boss gives you an opportunity to increase the tech offerings in your community and also help you better manage your unique parking challenges.
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