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LAS VEGAS – Amid the glitz and glamour of the Las Vegas strip, the National Ap
artment Association kicked off its annual education conference and exhibition at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on Tuesday.
According to NAA President Douglas Culkin, this year the event brings together a record-breaking 9,000 multifamily professionals for a week of learning and networking.
The conference showcased an expanded educational “Game Changer” series. The six star-studded sessions focused on topics from technology and leadership to business acumen and industry knowledge. Featured experts included Robin Chase, the founder and former CEO of Zipcar, Buzzcar, and GoLoco, and Richard Karlgaard, angel investor and bestselling author and publisher of Forbes Magazine.
In addition, the conference boasted over sixty industry-focused workshops and breakout sessions. Attendees heard from experts on everything from sub-market trends and digital marketing best practices to revenue management and prospect conversion. This year, NAA’s conference app allowed attendees to create customized schedules, including the ability to select from a variety of industry tracks.
Opening Highlights
Thursday morning’s general session opened by revealing the new NAA logo and tagline. The new NAA tagline, “We Lead the Way Home,” was selected for its representation of the industry and mission of its professionals: To create a sense of community among residents and professionals alike.
Opening remarks also focused on the continued support of the NAA Education Institute, which according to its website, the committee identified several key areas impacting the apartment industry. These included recruitment, training, leadership development, succession and retention of talent.
During the opening session, NAA launched its NAAEI Now capital campaign, which will aim to raise $7.5 million over a multi-year plan to meet these needs. During the launch, conference attendees were invited to contribute to the campaign via text message donation. During the live campaign, over $97,000 was donated by attendees and businesses. Find more details on the campaign here.
Comedian Jay Leno kept the audience laughing during Thursday’s keynote. The exhibition hall officially opened to attendees on Thursday, creating quite a buzz with exhibitors from across the industry offering giveaways and interactive booths.
New this year, NAA added learning zones with rotating speakers right on the exhibition hall floor. In true Las Vegas fashion, many booths were outfitted with casino games and prizes. Overall, the expo floor is humming with energy, laughter, and an occasional Elvis sighting.
The Ideal Customer and Emerging Industry Trends
On Thursday, Jack Kern, publisher of Multi-Housing News (a Yardi digital media product), hosted the data-focused workshop, “Putting Research to Work: Understand Customers and Outperform the Market.”
The session focused on research-backed reporting and the recent growth of categorically unusual sub-markets within the industry. Kern spoke on the many different resident profiles, including the emerging number of senior renters and individuals seeking urban apartment communities.
Stressing the importance of research-backed data coupled with identifying the ideal customer’s housing needs, he noted:
“I would suggest to you the more time you spend thinking about what your most valuable customer is and looking at the profile of the community and deciding what kind of community you want this to be based on the amenities you have and the services you offer and also based on the way you train people, you’ll start to find you will be able to gradually shift this to become more and more of a community that will attract like-minded individuals.”
The NAA Education Conference and Exhibition continues through Saturday, June 27, 2015. You can join the conversation on Twitter by visiting the official NAA Education Conference account (@NAAEduConf) or following the event hashtag (#NAAEduConf).
Kristin Van Ramshorst is Yardi’s social media specialist.
