Cut Through the Self-Tour Clutter: The Best Experience for Your Prospects and You

Since the coronavirus pandemic hit, apartment operators have had to rethink the prospect visit and the prospect experience at their communities. As such, the term “self-guided tour” has gained significant fanfare – think “business intelligence” of five years ago – and gets tossed around constantly. (It’s even got its own acronym: SGT.) Unfortunately, a lot of confusion exists around this self-guided tour concept. Operators often are left uncertain about the technologies and solutions they need in place to offer SGTs. Some property managers seem to think all they need to do is install smart locks, but a smart lock alone doesn’t equal a self-guided tour. The truth is, these tours come in different shapes and sizes. To implement self-guided tours that fit your goals – and to determine what technologies you need to offer them – ask yourself the following questions: Actually, before you do that, let’s clarify a few things – self-guide tours are not the same thing as virtual tours or even video tours. Virtual tours are when a prospect “visits” a community remotely. A live virtual tour occurs when a leasing associate shows a prospect around a property via a video call. Pre-recorded videos of a community offer prospects another kind of virtual tour. Self-guided tours are when prospects visit a property and tours it unaccompanied by an associate. All of these tours can benefit prospects and communities. Now, on with the questions: 1. Do you want prospects taking self-guided tours to have any interactions with leasing associates? Some operators seem t……