Choosing Mobile Multifamily Apps Is Far Harder Than It Sounds

Morgan Properties has over 350 apartment communities — and something less than 15 different mobile apps. Which seems odd in a way because the message from vendors and consultants is that there are magical digital products that can help unify everything your multifamily (or other type of CRE business) needs and has to do.

Except, as many years of technical innovation have shown, that’s almost never the case in any industry.

“We’re the third largest owner operator of apartment communities in the United States,” Amy Weissberger, senior vice president of corporate strategy and innovation at Morgan Properties, tells GlobeSt.com. “When we choose to use an app, we’re very thoughtful about who we’re choosing and who we’re going to give it to.”

No one and done there. Weissberger says that the number of apps they support is “less than 15” and comes from about eight different software vendors.

“You can get from the whole resident experience through their lifecycle with one vendor,” she says, “but you’re not going to get some of the ancillary pieces the residents are looking for without adding some other apps.”

One reason is that there likely isn’t a single software vendor that can supply everything a company needs, whether for customers or staff.

“We use Yardi for our property management software and our resident portal and our applicants, but as a company we also use RealPage products for other pieces as well, for our purchasing, our call center,” she says. “But there are things like there’s loyalty programs or engagement programs that we’ve seen that we like that neither of those companies offer.” That means a third party, or more than one, is necessary.

“We have a pretty strong team on innovation that we bring in from different departments,” says Weissberger. “We do a lot of vetting. We never start off saying we’re going to get our entire portfolio of 95,000 apartments onto an app.” Instead, there’s always a limited rollout and then expansion as makes sense. Morgan will work with domestic or international providers and will also do business with startups even though they recognize potential risk.

“One of the nice things of working with a startup is when we do that, oftentimes they’re very open to our suggestions,” she says. Morgan can help direct the maturation of a product as a benefit. “If we have more institutional products, they’re not going to change how they operate and they’re not as open to change.”

“What we’re really looking for is if there’s a need for the product,” says Weissberger. “We want to understand what the use is for. How this is going to improve our residents’ experience, how it’s going to help us operate, what we’re going to do to streamline things? We’re very thoughtful with our selection. Some years we don’t add any. Some years we add a couple.”

One thing the company would love to see is “standard integration with the major property management companies.” Especially with startups that need to fit in with what a company already uses.