In Renters’ Wallets...

We’ve all heard that renters are interested in smart home devices. How much are they willing to pay for them, though? We dive into the 2020 National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) & Kingsley Apartment Resident Preferences Survey to find out. What renters value is determined by how much they are willing to pay. The Resident Preferences Survey set out to put a monthly price on smart home features that renters crave. Nearly 373,000 renters living in 5,336 communities across the U.S. submitted their opinions on desired gadgets and pricing. The 2020 report is the largest compilation of apartment resident insights to date. Let’s take a look at which smart home features are most valuable to renters. Most Valued Smart Home Features All valuable smart home gadgets are connected to the internet of things (IoT). It takes more than internet connection for renters to value a gadget. The survey reveals that the most valuable smart home features are those that offer a combination of benefits in a single gadget. One of the most valuable smart home features makes the unit more comfortable, functional, and healthy. Survey respondents are willing to pay $36 for smart or dynamic glass. The technology helps to moderate indoor temperatures. It also reduces glare on display surfaces like televisions and tablets. Additionally, the dynamic glass promotes better health by blocking harmful light rays from the sun. Smart locks are the second most valuable. This product also multitasks: it offers the convenience of keyless entry as well as a layer of security. Most smartphones are protected with face recognition, fingerprint scanners, or PINs. An authorized user must be present to unlock the phone and then use an app on the smartphone to manage the lock to the unit. Renters are willing to...

Rise of the Digital Assistant

Google anticipates that there are more than 20 billion devices connected to the internet of things and the digital assistants that manage it. This increase in connectivity has a dramatic impact on how people interact with their living spaces. Forward-thinking multifamily firms are capitalizing on the new technology and getting ahead of the curve. Renters + Their Digital Roommates Digital assistants like Alexa have become endeared members of American households. They wake us up in the morning and get us started with a pot of coffee. They play our favorite songs while we’re getting dressed and tell us when it’s time to take the kids to school. They also tell us jokes when we’re bored. (Fun fact: Alexa told over 100 million jokes in 2018.) Always cheerful and increasingly helpful, digital assistants have rapidly grown in popularity. About 16 percent of Americans own a smart speaker, which is quite impressive considering that the technology is only four years old. As of January 2019, Amazon sold more than 100 million devices with Alexa onboard, including 28,000 smart home devices from 4,500 different brands. Alexa speaks seven languages and added new customized user experiences for residents of Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Spain and Mexico. She offers 70,000 skills to make daily life more convenient. CNET reports that owners are so satisfied with her performance that the number of households with multiple Echo devices doubled in 2018. Digital assistants and smart home technology are here to stay. The value that they can add to the resident experience makes them a worthy investment for multifamily properties. Optimize Rent Lift with Digital Assistants Renters are among the millions of people who use digital assistants daily. Demand drives the trend of integrating smart home technology into multifamily properties: the 2019 Multi-Res Tenant preference survey, sponsored by Yardi, showed 31 percent of renters prefer a home with automation amenities. Smart home technology is now a competitive differentiator that bolsters revenue and NOI. “Residents equate efficiency with quality,” said Masa Hoshino, product manager at Yardi. “Prospects and residents increasingly care about convenience and experience. Integrating smart home technology is a tool for sales and retention.” The RentCafe Resident Services Alexa Skill expands the value of digital assistants for renters. The program customizes the convenience of home automation to the multifamily lifestyle. After securely linking their account, renters can issue commands like, “Alexa, open RentCafe,” and complete tasks such as “Alexa, ask RentCafe to pay my rent.” Watch the RentCafe Resident Services Alexa Skill video to learn more. This service enhances how renters already use digital assistants. Thermostats, lights, locks and security monitors are just a few of the popular smart home features that residents already value. Residents can control these features via apps and voice commands. “The demand for smart apartments is increasing,” said Patrick Lawler, director of product development at Yardi. “This Alexa skill helps property management businesses stay competitive by offering convenient and intuitive resident service options. Renters can ask Alexa to handle important tasks for them, without having to sit down at the computer or place a phone call.” Read more about RentCafe Resident Services Skill for Alexa. The future is bright for smart home technology. Global News Wire reports that the global smart-home-as-a-service market is forecasted to bring in about US$ 10.9 B in revenue by the end of 2025. Renter adoption rates continue to climb, motivating many multifamily firms to offer digital assistants as move-in...

Alexa and the Elderly...

When conversation shifts to home automation, references to Millennials are rarely far behind. While it’s true that the emerging generation of homeowners loves their tech toys, they aren’t the only ones harnessing the power of smart home technology. Senior living providers have joined other industry leaders in the pursuit of more automated options for residents as well. Amazon + Senior Housing Amazon has made huge strides as a provider of integrated automation and voice control for major home builders across the industry, including prominent developers Lennar and Shea Homes. Communities created by these companies are part of a growing “Wi-Fi Certified” trend, offering housing with built-in automation and voice control. For seniors, that means controlling features within their homes and interacting with the outside world is simplified, thanks to voice commands. Enabling the integration is Amazon’s Alexa, a cloud-based virtual assistant, which appears in various forms throughout the homes. She’s most often takes shape as a sleek, tabletop pillar in the Echo line of products. Through Alexa, seniors can set reminders for appointments and medications; control music and home ambiance; check weather; get news and sports updates; and order just about anything fathomable on Amazon.com. Amazon Echo Dot speakers permit seniors to access Alexa anywhere in their home. They also serve as Bluetooth speakers that are capable of connecting to a myriad of seniors’ personal devices. With so many ways to integrate, Amazon’s variations on Wi-Fi centric homes are quickly becoming the new standard for incoming baby boomers, but the tech toys come with a few caveats. Too Smart for Its Own Good? As technology develops at a rapid pace, home builders are left wondering just how quickly their newly installed gadgets will become obsolete. Alternatively, what are the costs associated with staying up-to-date...

Alexa and AI

As the popularity of Artificial Intelligence is on the rise and corporate giants such as Google, Microsoft, and Apple are racing to develop the best commercial AI product, the focus has shifted from humans being more intelligent like machines, to developing machines to act more like humans. This past July, Amazon acquired a Santa Barbara startup called Graphiq, previously known as FindTheBest, for an estimated 50 million dollars in hopes of using the company’s data analysis and search engine technology to make their digital AI assistant, named Alexa, even smarter. Alexa was first implemented in 2014 with the introduction of Amazon’s Echo, but has come a long way since then by developing complexity that far surpasses its competitors such as Apple’s Siri or Google Assistant. The reason why Alexa has become such an advanced AI is due to the integrations that were built into the voice-controlled platform. For example, users can apply a skill to Alexa, which allows the AI to do various actions such as setting the oven temperature or turn on lights in your home with a simple command. There are currently about 250 or more products offered on Amazon.com that can be integrated with Alexa skills, but there are over 4,000 other products from other manufacturers that can also include the function. Smart Cars get Smarter In addition, Alexa’s API, or application program interface, allows it to integrate seamlessly into the automotive industry. Just recently, Amazon has already created partnerships with automotive manufacturers such as BMW, Hyundai, and Ford. While each car manufacturer will vary in how they will integrate Alexa into their product designs, the voice controlled command system that Alexa offers would remain the same across all manufacturers. For example, simple commands such as opening the car trunk, or...