Gates Hudson Converting 43.9% of its Virtual Tours to Leases: Here’s How

Conversions rates from live virtual apartment tours are spiking for owner/managers who were quick to implement and train their onsite staff on a variety of platforms to meet the residents’ technology preferences.
Gates Hudson, which owns or manages 22,000 apartment homes across 86 communities in the mid-Atlantic Region reports about a 25 percent boost. It has conducted a staggering 1,262 tours since mid-March and is converting at a 43.9 percent clip in a portfolio just outside of Washington, D.C. (pictured, Crystal Square, Arlington, Va.)
“We’ve been able to maintain a steady occupancy throughout the majority of the portfolio, compared to last year despite all of the Covid-related [challenges],” Gillman says. “We’ve been able to manage our occupancy, which is currently in the mid 90s.”
Its Director of Marketing Shane Gillman calls his leasing teams’ performance phenomenal.
“We pivoted quickly,” he says. “It’s taken a lot of work – especially in the beginning – by our Marketing, IT, Education & Training and onsite teams. Everyone really embraced the change. Our strategy was to put in place these tours on as many technology platforms as we could to give our prospects a way to tour in the manner that they were most comfortable.”
Not wanting to waste a moment in March – even as there were a lot of unknowns about Covid-19s repercussions—Gates Hudson quickly moved to create a training guide on how to conduct tours on each platform. His company’s education and training team taught the finer points at each site, including some one-on-one instruction, where ……