Three Ways that Self-Guided Tours Create More Effective Leasing Associates

Even before the coronavirus, self-guided tours were beginning to emerge as a major factor in apartment operations and leasing. 
Now, as the industry continues to navigate the effects of the pandemic, self-guided tours are firmly in the multifamily mainstream.
Much has been made about the positive impact these tours have on prospects – and for good reason. More and more of today’s prospective renters want to visit a community without being led around by an associate (and, in the present moment, social-distancing mandates may not give them much of a choice in the matter). In fact, according to a recent RENTCafe survey of 3,500 renters, 83% of the respondents said they would take a self-guided tour if it was available at an apartment community. 
But the benefits of self-guided tours extend well beyond allowing prospects to visit a community in their preferred manner (as critical as that obviously is). These tours also help onsite associates perform their jobs better. Below are three examples of how self-guided tours do just that.
1) They help associates take better care of current residents. Without having to spend so much of their workday touring prospective residents, team members can devote more time to the needs of those who already live at the community.
Associates have more bandwidth to plan great resident events, make sure maintenance requests are completed in a satisfactory manner and handle any other resident issues that may come up. Signing new residents is important, but so is retaining current ones. Self-guided tours c……