The real estate industry has been facing challenges for more than a year. From real estate investors to property managers, everyone has struggled with the impact of the pandemic. Most companies have shifted to remote working and relied heavily on technology to make it possible. Thankfully, PropTech has made it easier to deal with changes and uncertainty.
As the industry recovers from the pandemic, PropTech conferences are helping property managers. These serve as great opportunities to come together, learn about innovation, and build connections.
The first half of 2021 has seen two important PropTech conferences. The YASC Global and MRI Ascend focused on empowering the property sector with the latest technological innovations.
YASC Global 2021
The third YASC Global was virtually held from May 18-20. During the conference, more than 17,000 participants viewed a total of 60,000 classes. Through the classes, participants learned more about the latest products and initiatives by Yardi.
The sessions built awareness on how Yardi has helped clients automate their business to keep up with pandemic norms. The event was held on the company's own platform - Yardi Aspire.
We share with you some of the important highlights of the various sessions.
Marketing and automation solutions for residential
Esther Bonardi, vice president of marketing, discussed how Yardi could improve multifamily business marketing. The session shed light on many aspects, such as optimized marketing and automated chatbots. It also focused on the company's solution for marketing - RENTCafé Reach. The software has already optimized around 2000 websites, and given quality leads to clients. It was called the "most cost-effective marketing channel" for its ability to drive organic traffic.
Marketing IQ, a new analysis tool, was also presented in the session. The tool focuses on improving ROI, which positively impacts your NOI.
The informative session dealt with ways to use technology to improve your marketing and analytics. Bonardi spoke about how technology helped during the pandemic. The session also saw Paul Yount conduct some impressive demos of the latest Yardi software.
PropTech trends for the commercial sector
This session held by Rob Teel discussed the various tech trends and how the pandemic has influenced them. Teel spoke of two significant trends in the past 12 months: increased technological adoption and a priority for contactless transactions.
Teel discussed paperless transactions with an example of eliminating documents by using e-signatures. He discussed how getting rid of all physical documents was necessary to become paperless.
Similarly, for contactless transactions, he emphasized the need to make digital payments. Electronic payment options are slowly becoming the norm. Teel encouraged the use of digital payment methods such as credit cards over checkbooks.
And for the last part, he discussed the trend of virtual communication. Yardi has developed several platforms that facilitate online communication. Clients can choose from options such as TenantPortal, VendorCafe, and InvestorPortal.
Investment management embraces portal technology
Industry principal for IM, Chris Barbier, spoke of the important trends in this sector. Investment management platforms help investors understand how their investments are performing. As an investor, you can also manage all documents, such as published reports or even tax documents.
Barbier said that IM software had seen increased adoption last year. Tenant management platforms had also seen a similar trend.
Yardi's Investment Manager is the company's solution to all investor requirements. It allows you to assess your investment's performance and also calculates your returns.
As Richard Malpica, general manager at Yardi, said, "Access to such information is what sets their clients apart."
Senior living showcases product enhancements
This session presented product enhancements for clients dealing in senior living. Ray Elliot gave an overview of updates on Yardi's Senior Living Suite. The talk continued with an in-depth discussion of new features and upgrades in the product.
Development director of senior living, Ram Shanbhag, discussed the latest updates in the Yardi software. He covered different tools like Senior IQ, Voyager Senior Housing, and RENTCafé Suite. Lisa Conrad gave an overview of the EHR features such as immunization dashboard and infection surveillance.
The session focused on Yardi's updates for all of its senior living software.
Affordable housing explores efficiency and asset performance
Matthew Luna and Keisha Flen, managers at Yardi, discussed how affordable housing products could help clients. The features can optimize budgets, improve asset performance and approve renters.
Yardi Elevate Suite helps housing clients increase revenue by driving asset performance. It also helps manage expenses and optimize your budget. Within the product, there are multiple features like:
Asset IQ increases revenue while keeping expenses in check. It also helps to optimize your budget using relevant data.
Revenue IQ helps clients increase their returns by analyzing market trends such as inventory and occupancy.
Maintenance IQ helps with the maintenance of the property.
What's next?
Yardi has planned the next YASC Global in San Diego from October 5-7. The company hopes for an in-person event. We can look forward to learning more about leveraging technology for business development.
You can visit their YASC Global page for updates about the next event!
MRI Ascend APAC 2021
Over 1000 people from the industry attended MRI Ascend APAC for two days on May 18-19. The conference focused on learning through expert talks, technology displays, and interactive Q&As.
The event began with a session from MRI's Executive Leadership team. The CEO of MRI, Patrick Ghilani, marked the 50th anniversary by speaking about the company's leading role in PropTech.
Experts held more than 30 sessions discussing the latest innovations in real estate technology. A special session was held by Simone Heng, focusing on Mastering the Art of Human Connection.
The event held many talks that covered a wide range of topics--from experiences in PropTech to discussing the future of the industry. While all of them were informative, we are sharing a few highlights from the talks we loved.
How to retain great staff in Property & Strata Management
The panel consisting of David Bowie, Leanne Pilkington, and Joshwa Baldwin spoke on the importance of staff retention. Finding and keeping talented staff has been a struggle for the property management industry. The experts spoke on how you can attract the right talent and also gave tips on retaining them. The session mainly focused on residential and strata management.
MRI Social Housing – your proven technology partner
Director of Sales Sean Fogarty spoke on how you can leverage your social housing business through the MRI. He gave insights on the various programs and initiatives taken by the company to improve user experience. He also discussed the different tech solutions MRI offers for social housing.
Trends in Property and Strata Management
Anyone who has been in the real estate industry will know the importance of data analysis. This talk by Josh Symons and Greg Clancy discussed data backed
PropTech and market trends. They also spoke about how you can leverage this data to ensure transparency and improve your business. This talk was especially beneficial for people working in residential and strata management.
Digital transformation in post-COVID commercial real estate
The pandemic has made the industry aware of the uses of technology. It has also been quick to adapt and evolve using automation. In this session, Chuck McDowell, Greg Clancy, and Jason Stevens spoke about the usage of tech in post-covid real estate. They also discussed market changes and key technology trends to look forward to.
Building safety and presence management
Safety is one of the focus areas of property management. WhosOnLocation is a software by MRI that covers all your building safety requirements. Channel Relationship Manager Lindsay Harn spoke of all the possibilities through this software. The platform, already used by more than 1500 companies, lets you track people on-site and manage several access permissions. The talk covered more features and uses of the software, WhosOnLocation.
More initiatives by MRI
Ascend is one of MRI's many programs focusing on technological awareness. You can get more information about PropTech from:
myMRI Client Portal - As a client, this portal gives you access to many resources like software hints and usage tips. If you have any queries, you can also raise the issue through their Support and Services requests option.
Events - The events page gives you updates about upcoming MRI Events such as conferences and webinars. You can also know about any speaking slots and exhibition booths where you can learn more about the sector.
Resources - Get access to a wide range of resources such as ebooks, case studies, and white papers.
Also, you can look forward to the next MRI Conference - Ascend APAC 2022!
Take actions through Assetsoft
Whether you want to implement Yardi or MRI software, Assetsoft can help you with the whole process.
We can set up Yardi by updating your existing data to the new platform. We also provide disaster recovery planning, third-party integration, and training for your staff.
Similarly, Assetsoft helps with different MRI services such as finance, lease back office, MRI support, and help desk. We can assist you with onboarding, implementation, data conversion, and MRI training.
Make the most out of both software by implementing these through our expert team. Book your consultation now!