By Jenna Weinerman

Published Feb 10, 2026

Updated Feb 10, 2026

Move-in already happens in your product. Connectivity should too.

If you build software for multifamily, you likely sit at one of the most important moments in the resident journey: move-in. 

Whether it’s lease signing, onboarding checklists, a resident portal, or an AI leasing assistant, your product is where residents actively try to get their new home set up. Internet and TV are not optional in that moment – residents expect help, they expect speed, and they expect it to work on day one. 

This post is written for technology platforms that serve multifamily, not for property management companies or on-site operators. It’s for PMS platforms, resident CRMs, and AI-driven leasing tools that own the digital move-in experience and are deciding whether service setup happens inside their workflow or somewhere else. 

When TV and internet setup is embedded directly into leasing and move-in flows, residents can complete a task they already need to do without leaving the experience. Platforms benefit from faster activations, fewer support issues, and revenue that follows naturally from good execution, without turning product teams into service commerce operators.

The rest of this post explores why move-in is such a high-intent moment, who this approach is actually for, and how platforms use Updater’s PoweredBy to execute TV and internet orders end-to-end instead of sending residents elsewhere. 

Why the move-in moment matters

Moving is stressful and residents are already juggling too much. Internet and TV are day-one requirements, which is why move-in is such a powerful moment. When connectivity is handled where residents are already completing required steps, friction drops instead of increasing.

When plans, bundles, and deals are embedded thoughtfully and transparently, onsite teams consistently see:

• Faster time-to-activation because orders are submitted directly to providers without residents leaving the move-in platform or checklist
• Fewer support questions because service setup, scheduling, and order status are handled end-to-end
• Higher satisfaction during one of the most stressful moments of the resident lifecycle

The difference comes down to execution. Sending residents to third-party websites or provider-specific rep phone numbers breaks momentum and trust. Executing the transaction inside your workflow keeps the experience intact, and revenue follows naturally.

Who this is for (and who it’s not)

This post is not written for property management companies or on-site operators. It’s intended for the technology platforms that serve multifamily and own the digital move-in experience.

Specifically:

Property management software (PMS) platforms
If your product touches lease signing, move-in checklists, or resident portals, you already sit at the moment when connectivity decisions are made. Embedding TV and internet turns that moment into revenue without adding operational work or support burden.

Resident CRMs and lifecycle platforms
If you manage resident communications or onboarding, connectivity fits naturally into workflows residents already expect help with. Embedding plans and shopping keeps residents in your ecosystem and ties monetization to completed orders, not outbound clicks.

AI leasing agents and virtual assistants
If your AI agent helps residents tour, sign, or prepare for move-in, service setup is the logical next step. PoweredBy allows these experiences to complete transactions, not just answer questions or send links.

Multifamily portals and embedded experiences
Any owned surface where residents complete required move-in tasks, apps, portals, checklists, or guided flows, is a strong candidate for embedded service setup.

If you don’t own a digital surface where residents interact during move-in, this likely isn’t a fit. If you do, this is one of the clearest opportunities to reduce friction at move-in, with monetization as a secondary benefit.

Integration options: start simple, expand when it works

PoweredBy is designed to let teams move at their own pace. You can launch quickly, prove value, and only go deeper when it makes sense.

Embed
Place a fully optimized TV and internet shopping experience directly inside your leasing flow, move-in checklist, or resident portal. This is the fastest path to monetization and requires minimal front-end work.

Easy Link
Send residents to a branded, Updater-hosted checkout. This is the lowest lift option and works well for pilots, regional tests, or teams with limited engineering bandwidth.

APIs
For teams that want full control over the experience, APIs allow you to surface providers, pricing, scheduling, and order status directly inside your UI. This path supports deeper customization and analytics once demand is proven.

For assisted or more complex workflows, we offer other phone-based products that allow live agents to step in without the community (or your platform) staffing its own sales operation.

What strong implementations have in common

Successful launches tend to focus on a few practical details:

• Plans show up at natural moments like lease signing, move-in scheduling, or first portal login
• Choices are simplified with clear recommendations and popular defaults
• Only essential data is collected to keep the checkout quick and reduce errors
• Billing and consent are clearly explained, so there are no surprises
• Scheduling happens in-flow to avoid follow-up calls
• Attribution and order status are tracked, so revenue is easy to understand

Final thought

Improving the move-in experience does not require you to become a service commerce company. It requires execution that already works.

Embedding TV and internet setup into your leasing and move-in experience is a straightforward way to create revenue, reduce friction, and help residents feel at home faster.

Ready to turn move-in into a revenue and retention channel?
Talk to Updater about PoweredBy and start a pilot.

Jenna Weinerman

Jenna is Updater’s VP of Marketing and a published ReloTech expert. She’s an endless seeker of knowledge, a lover of craft brews, and a huge Philadelphia sports fan. Follow her on X here.