7 Creative Ways to Welcome New Multifamily Residents
You’ve seen it first hand: Improving resident move-in does wonders for driving resident satisfaction and retention at your multifamily property. Your problem? You’d like to be a bit more creative with your grand welcome than sending the all-too-expected gift basket.
In truth, it’s often all in the small touches that reveal how well you understand your residents’ needs. And a big part of that is realizing that the welcome starts well before your residents open the front door. Read on for a number of ways to improve resident move-in.
Set up a move-in appointment with your service techs
Ask your service techs to drop by your new resident’s home to assist in a walkthrough of the apartment. Make sure they touch on useful tips like how to work the A/C, what can and cannot go in the garbage disposal, and where to put the recycling. However obvious a few of their pointers are, it will help new residents get to know their new home from top to bottom.
Recommend nearby services
It may be the age of Yelp, but providing your new residents with a recommended list of nearby services goes a long way. A personal recommendation for nearby babysitting or dog walking services (“We recommend Mary’s Toddler Center on Main – they’re great with kids!”) will make your residents feel like they’re in good hands.
Hand out menus for local eateries
It’s your residents’ first night in the apartment, and cooking a three-course meal is probably the last thing on their mind. Drop off a menu or coupons for the local pizza shop so they’re not staring at an empty fridge the first night in their new home.
Help with move-in
It’s 9 PM on move-in day, and after a day’s worth of unpacking, your residents are ready to unwind in front of the TV. The one problem? Their cable’s not set up yet.
With Updater, you can improve resident move-in by welcoming your residents weeks before they arrive. Minutes after they sign the lease, your residents can begin to hook up digital home services like internet and cable, forward their mail, update their accounts and records, send digital moving announcements, and much more.
Don’t underestimate the small touches
Leave it to the small gestures to enter into your new residents’ good graces. Consider throwing in a complimentary carpet cleaning, hanging new towels in the bathroom, leaving a coupon for a free meal at the local pizza place, or offering doggy daycare services on move-in day.
Print out a copy of your community newsletter
What better way to introduce your resident to the community than by letting them know about local and community events like wine tastings and community barbecues? Your newsletter is the perfect resource for them as they begin to navigate your community’s social landscape and meet other residents.
Direct them to your borrowing closet
It’s move-in day, and the kid’s have already spilled a box of cereal on the floor. The one problem? The vacuum’s packed tight away. If your community has one, direct your new residents to your borrowing closet so they can borrow useful tools for move-in like a tool kit, power drill, vacuum, or dolly on a moment’s notice.
With this advice, go ahead and save the welcome basket for another time. It’s often in the smaller, practical gestures that really pack a punch and help you improve your resident move-in delivery.
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