![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/04\/YASCGlobal-General-Posts-Instagram-1080x1080-1.jpg?w=1024\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nYASC attendees also enjoyed a virtual fundraising concert by guitarist\/songwriter Jason Mraz. Each view of the performance generated a donation from Yardi, raising nearly $100,000 for COVID-19 relief initiatives. Meditation and mindfulness sessions were available for attendees to enjoy during short breaks between classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Highlights from some of the featured spotlight sessions included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marketing and automation solutions for residential<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Optimized marketing<\/a>, automated chatbots and accessible self-guided tours were among the highlights presented in the residential spotlight session. These fully integrated Yardi solutions are among the ways multifamily clients have continued to see success during the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI want to show you what\u2019s possible when you have the right digital marketing strategy in place,\u201d said Esther Bonardi, vice president of marketing at Yardi. \u201cI bet you have a website. But do you have a comprehensive marketing strategy in place that can help you get your properties on page one of search results and get your customers directly to your website so that you can convert them into paying renters, faster?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n RentCafe Reach helps clients attract qualified prospects with advanced search marketing services. The platform is currently optimizing more than 2,000 industry websites for organic search and driving rent-ready leads to managers. \u201cThis is the most cost-effective marketing channel,\u201d Bonardi said. \u201cAnd you can target exactly the traffic you need for the moment or availability you\u2019re in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additional features like reputation management, search, and a new marketing analytics tool called Marketing IQ were also presented. \u201cMarketing IQ is a one stop shop for all the data you need to make marketing decisions,\u201d Bonardi said. \u201cIt\u2019s really all for the purpose of improving your marketing ROI, which ultimately leads to a stronger NOI.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve got a prospect on the line, engaging immediately to answer their questions is of paramount importance. But what if it\u2019s after hours or your leasing office is closed for the weekend? That\u2019s where chatbots come in<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYour prospective residents want and expect answers quickly, whether you\u2019re open or not, or they quickly move on. This is especially true for popular new channels like text and chat,\u201d said Paul Yount, industry principal for RENTCaf\u00e9. <\/em>\u201cBots and multiple touring options can really complement each other when they work together hand in hand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yount demonstrated a full conversation with a chatbot that answered questions about a property\u2019s electric vehicle charging stations, pet policy, availability and pricing. He was able to schedule a self-guided tour via text and then showed how further AI automation can continue to answer questions even when the leasing office was closed during the tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From a property manager\u2019s perspective, the latest multifamily technology from Yardi not only solves for social distancing and accessibility but reduces staff time spent following up on prospect questions or even leading in-person tours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Proptech trends for the commercial sector<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Rob Teel, senior vice president of global solutions at Yardi, shared that for him, the most overwhelming CRE proptech trend in the last 12 months has been increased technical adoption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat means paperless and contactless transactions, and online communication. When I think about paperless transactions, one of the best examples of innovation that helps eliminate that last piece of paper in the organization \u2013 which we\u2019re all trying to do \u2013 is our e-signature capability for leases. You can now publish a lease for signature, there\u2019s no exchange of FedEx documents and no meeting to get a wet signature. Paperless transactions and getting rid of that last piece of paper is really important,\u201d Teel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another pandemic-prompted trend is an increased prioritization of contactless transactions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen I think about contactless transactions, I\u2019m thinking about payments, and how do we get away from the old checkbook and writing checks with a pen. The checkbook has died a very slow death. But now, electronic payments are more popular than ever, and in the last 12 months, they\u2019ve just accelerated tremendously. Bill Pay is a new product that we\u2019ve launched to help with the payable side of electronic payments, so definitely check that out,\u201d Teel noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, communicating virtually has become more important than ever before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor online communication, what our clients are telling us is that they are really getting a lot out of our Yardi portals \u2013 Tenant Portal, Investor Portal, as well as VendorCafe. They allow third parties or external stakeholders to log in and self-service, avoiding exchanging paper or meeting face to face. These are just some of the technology trends we\u2019re seeing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Investment management embraces portal technology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The investment management (IM) sector<\/a> is another place where the pandemic has prompted increased technical adoption. Chris Barbier, industry principal for IM at Yardi, summarized some of the trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJust as clients have deployed portal technology for tenants as well residents, we are seeing the strong adoption of portal technology for investors as well. Last year we launched Investment Manager, and we have seen great adoption of that over the last year,\u201d Barbier said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cInvestment Manager is a way to provide investors with information about how their investments are performing, as well as get access to documents, whether it be reports that have been published or K1s or other tax documents. They have direct online access to all of that. And in addition, they can participate electronically in subscription agreements or any fundraising or new investment deals that clients are putting out there, all through an online experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Richard Malpica, vice president\/general manager at Yardi, noted that investors are increasingly asking deep questions beyond just the capital transaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s no longer just \u2018how is my money doing?\u2019 It\u2019s \u2018how are the assets that are generating the cash flows for my return doing?\u2019 Whether it\u2019s having read about an occupier that is having financial trouble, and wanting to know if they are in any of the assets \u2026 or asking whether tenants are in the office or going to return to the office. More and more investors are diving into these types of issues and wanting to know more about the property.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cClients using Yardi\u2019s Investment Manager platform can set themselves apart from the competition and provide such details in an easily accessible way,\u201d Malpica said. \u201cNot only can (investors) get their quarterly returns and performance information, but they can self-serve some parsing of the data, and look at returns by asset class. Access to that information is becoming an investor confidence issue, and a way that our investment management clients are distinguishing themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Senior living showcases product enhancements<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The senior living spotlight session focused on product enhancements to aid senior living providers, which have been heavily impacted by the pandemic. \u201cWe\u2019re constantly monitoring industry trends and listening to client feedback in order to ensure that together, both Yardi and our customers can grow and at the same time, the residents you serve receive top-notch care,\u201d said Ray Elliott, vice president of senior living at Yardi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Elliott\u2019s introduction, clients received a high-level overview of Senior Living Suite updates<\/a> \u2014 ranging from product enhancements to an improved implementation process. The remaining team members provided an in-depth, specific view of new features, product upgrades and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ram Shanbhag, development director for senior living, shared the newest features available in Voyager Senior Housing, the RentCafe Suite and Senior IQ. Lisa Conrad, manager of clinical and compliance, covered the latest EHR enhancements, including a brand-new infection surveillance and immunization dashboard. Fil Southerland, director of health care solutions, concluded with a presentation on EHR interfaces, explaining new functionality and introducing Yardi\u2019s partnership with Kno2<\/a> to streamline the exchange of clinical information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The session showcased how the latest product enhancements improve the way senior living operators do business. Addressing client attendees, Elliott explained how the tools \u201chelp you run your business from the first contact with potential residents, as you nurture leads to tracking community census and billing \u2014 and providing excellent care to your residents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Affordable housing explores efficiency and asset performance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n