By Emily Hassett

Published Oct 16, 2023

Updated Jan 4, 2024

Fairfield Residential, a prominent California-based real estate company and one of NMHC’s 50 largest apartment managers, encountered challenges in smoothing out communication with residents during the period from lease signing to move-in day. Frequently, residents and onsite teams grappled with miscommunications regarding move-in tasks, leading to a less-than-ideal move-in experience for everyone involved.

Fairfield faced a series of challenges due to their manual move-in process and the absence of an effective communication channel. They struggled with:

• Lack of communication platform: Fairfield lacked a dedicated communication platform to assist residents during the period between lease signing and move-in. This meant that residents had no convenient way to receive support and guidance for the actual act of moving.

• Time-consuming questions: Site teams found themselves investing considerable hours in addressing resident inquiries related to utilities, cable providers, local schools, and other relevant matters.

• Missed communications: Residents frequently missed crucial updates and information from Fairfield’s site teams. This oversight led to issues during the move-in process, as residents risked arriving on move-in day unprepared and unable to proceed with their move-in plans.

Seeking to improve the move-in experience for both their residents and onsite teams, Fairfield launched Updater Pro for Multifamily to simplify and digitize the move-in process.

How did Updater help?

• Upon Fairfield’s full deployment, Updater leveraged Fairfield’s use of Yardi and synced both systems seamlessly, so that residents at all 240 properties were automatically invited to use Updater’s suite of moving tools in preparation for their move.
• Updater provided Fairfield with training sessions (live and video), custom marketing materials, and a robust resource center (for both corporate teams and site teams) to ensure that they could communicate the benefits of Updater to potential residents. Over the 6-month period, engagement grew to 70%.
• Within Updater, residents received all of the information needed regarding what utility, cable, and renters insurance providers were available to them, well before move-in, increasing Fairfield’s likelihood of generating ancillary revenue while also helping prevent unnecessary vacancy costs.
• During a 6-month period, Fairfield saved their residents over 7,000 phone calls and emails, totaling over 16,000 hours on time-consuming moving-related tasks. Those hours would have been spent by residents on chores like securing renters insurance, connecting utilities, forwarding mail, updating many accounts/records, and more.
• By making important move-in/property-related information readily available to residents within Updater, Fairfield’s site teams and staff streamlined their processes involving responding to various resident questions/comments/concerns, allowing them to focus their time and efforts elsewhere.

The partnership between Fairfield and Updater is a shining example of how technology and improved communication can revolutionize the resident experience. By harnessing the power of Updater’s platform, Fairfield not only simplified the move-in process but also connected residents with preferred vendor partners, resulting in significant time savings for both residents and onsite teams.

The adoption of Updater’s suite of moving tools resulted in faster move-ins, stronger operational efficiency within site teams, and increased resident satisfaction. This partnership serves as a clear demonstration of Fairfield’s dedication to elevating the standard of living, further solidifying its position as a leader in the multifamily industry.

Emily Hassett

Emily is a Senior Marketing Manager at Updater leading all real estate marketing initiatives. Outside of work, you can find Emily traveling, trying new coffee shops and restaurants, or petting every dog she walks by.