Your Building’s Shadow Economy is Creating Real Liabilities

It’s taboo to be critical of our residents, but the reality is residents create logistical challenges every day for properties by just living their lives.
On any given day, a typical Class A property can have as many as 100 different service providers arriving onsite to deliver goods and services. Every one of these service providers is a potential liability to your community. Did Alex in unit 432 perform a seven-year federal background check on his dog walker? Or did Lindsey in unit 163 check her housekeeper’s certificate of insurance? Not likely.
When multifamily communities offer lifestyle services – like housekeeping, pet care and dry cleaning – they’re providing invaluable and much-appreciated help to busy residents. These hospitality-like services are powerful ways to create resident loyalty and pave the way for high renewal rates.
But lining up service providers to serve residents isn’t without risk. If an apartment community doesn’t have a way to thoroughly vet and screen potential vendors, they could open themselves up to a world of trouble.
Here are three major risks posed by inadequately vetted lifestyle-service providers:
1) Brand damage. Service providers who dress sloppily or carry their equipment around in a trash bag while onsite can be off-putting to residents. These may seem like minor matters, but they can certainly lead to a less-than-ideal experience for renters and make them feel poorly about your community and company.
2) Liability. Few things are more important when vetting service providers than making sure they are bonded, background checked and insured. ……