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The Importance of Gratitude

by Donald Davidoff | Dec 22, 2021 12:00:00 AM

Those of you who know me well know that I’m a fan of Daniel Ariely. He’s a behavioral economist and author of the seminal book, Predictably Irrational. If you haven’t read that book, get it now!

Five Big Take-Aways From A Welcome Return to AIM

by Dom Beveridge | Oct 20, 2021 12:00:00 AM

This week marked an important step in the rehabilitation of the multifamily industry’s annual conference circuit. The Apartment Innovation and...

Why the 1:100 Staffing Rule is More Stubborn Than you Think

by Dom Beveridge | Jul 14, 2021 12:00:00 AM

An interesting thread caught my eye last week on the always-engaging Multifamily Insiders website. The chat, entitled: "Am I alone in thinking that...

A New Consumer-Reporting Law Creates an Amenity Opportunity

by Dom Beveridge | Jun 29, 2021 12:00:00 AM

On this blog, we frequently write about amenities. We praise those that deliver ROI to apartment operators, criticize the habit of adding amenities...

NMHC Annual Meeting Review: The Next Chapter Starts

by Donald Davidoff | Jun 14, 2021 12:00:00 AM

I just returned from the 2021 NMHC Annual Meeting in San Diego (six months deferred from its customary time). I can't help but reflect on our...

7 Big Questions for 2021 Multifamily Leasing Season

by Donald Davidoff | May 11, 2021 12:00:00 AM

Now that we're in the early stages of the leasing season, it's a great time to take stock of where we are with our sales platform. With 3-4 months of...

Don't Miss The Biggest Opportunity of the Recovery!

by Donald Davidoff | Apr 27, 2021 12:00:00 AM

It is becoming clear that we're in the early stages of what will be an incredible economic recovery, especially for multifamily rental housing. In...

How COVID Changed the "AI vs. People" Debate in Leasing

by Dom Beveridge | Apr 21, 2021 12:00:00 AM

Of the many things that changed in multifamily over the past year, one of the most intriguing is the way that operators are thinking about the role...

It's Time to Measure how Customer Experience Impacts Revenue

by Dom Beveridge | Apr 13, 2021 12:00:00 AM

Last week I was curious to hear about some new research conducted by J Turner Research and RealPage, into the impact of online reputation on...

The Return of Pricing Power, And What You Should Do With It

by Donald Davidoff | Mar 30, 2021 12:00:00 AM

Spring is arriving, and revenue manager's thoughts typically turn not just to baseball but to sequential rent growth. Of course, this year is...

Why CRM Is Flavor of the Month in Multifamily Technology

by Dom Beveridge | Mar 25, 2021 12:00:00 AM

Over the last few years, multifamily CRM (the systems that management companies use to track leads through the leasing process) has been changing....

What COVID Really Taught Us About Self-Show

by Dom Beveridge | Mar 16, 2021 12:00:00 AM

When the multifamily industry looks back at the unprecedented events of 2020, one of the most remarkable characteristics will be the meteoric rise of...

What One Firm's Daily Stand-Up Tells Us About 2021 Renewals

by Dom Beveridge | Mar 9, 2021 12:00:00 AM

As revenue management people, we at D2 naturally bias toward strategies and tactics that optimize top-line performance. For the last year or so, we...

20 for ‘20 - 2021 Edition (AKA “The COVID Issue”) Is Out Now!

by Dom Beveridge | Mar 3, 2021 12:00:00 AM

It's that time of year again! The sun is getting a bit higher in the sky. Leasing season is around the corner. And we at D2 are once again proud to...

The Pros and Cons of Lease Terms Longer Than 12 Months

by Donald Davidoff | Feb 9, 2021 12:00:00 AM

Over the past decade, there's been an increasing number of operators regularly offering lease terms longer than 12 months. It's part of a natural...

What Unit Amenity Matters More Than Square Footage?

by Donald Davidoff | Feb 2, 2021 12:00:00 AM

Over the past 10+ months, we've observed, blogged and presented webinars about this recession. We've compared our observations to our experience of...

Another Big Week in Multifamily Smart Home Technology

by Dom Beveridge | Jan 27, 2021 12:00:00 AM

Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with our interest in Smart Home/Smart Building technology (along with most forms of multifamily...

The Ingredients of a Good Pricing Call

by Dom Beveridge | Jan 21, 2021 12:00:00 AM

The decade of growth that came before COVID-19 covered a multitude of sins in our industry. As we have written in these pages, pricing and revenue...

The K-Shaped Recovery: What it Means for Multifamily Pricing

by Donald Davidoff | Jan 12, 2021 12:00:00 AM

When the recession first hit so quickly back in March, pundits naturally and immediately began to predict what would happen as the country navigated...

Five Things to do NOW to Prepare for the Post-Vaccine World

by Donald Davidoff | Jan 6, 2021 12:00:00 AM

As we enter this year full of hope (knock on wood) that there's no way that 2021 won't be better than 2020, there's still a lot of uncertainty...

Why Strategy Trumps AI in Multifamily Pricing

by Dom Beveridge | Dec 28, 2020 12:00:00 AM

There's a conversation in progress in our industry about AI and the potential that it offers pricing and revenue management (PRM). It came to my mind...

5 Top Pricing Tips for Getting Through Low Season

by Donald Davidoff | Dec 17, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Here we are about to go through the lowest part of our season, all while still dealing with pandemic effects. While there are clearly smoother seas...

COVID-19 Vaccines: A Multifamily Revenue Manager's Guide

by Donald Davidoff | Dec 2, 2020 12:00:00 AM

The last few weeks have been quite the mix of bad and good news with respect to COVID-19. As the virus rages essentially out of control, increasing...

NMHC OPTECH 2020 - Making a Virtue of a Virtual Format

by Dom Beveridge | Nov 20, 2020 12:00:00 AM

We recently wrapped the multifamily industry's traditional pre-Thanksgiving technology pow-wow, NMHC OPTECH. Of course, as COVID levels spike across...

The Four Stages of Business Intelligence Maturity

by Donald Davidoff | Nov 10, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Information is power. Slowly but surely, multifamily housing is coming to realize how impactful business intelligence platforms can be. As we...

Decision 2020 - A Revenue Management Parable

by Dom Beveridge | Nov 5, 2020 12:00:00 AM

It's election week, and there is an air of limbo in the country as we wait for the result and generally try to make sense of one of the strangest...

7 Amenity Habits That Improve Community Health for Life

by Donald Davidoff | Oct 28, 2020 12:00:00 AM

We're all familiar with it. At some point in our childhood, a seemingly overbearing adult told us to finish our greens. Or not to eat that piece of...

Five Top Leasing Agent Skills for an Automated World

by Donald Davidoff | Oct 7, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Of all roles in multifamily operations, few have changed more radically in the last year than that of the leasing agent. The COVID-19 crisis has...

Why You're Looking at Unit Amenity Pricing the Wrong Way

by Dom Beveridge | Sep 29, 2020 12:00:00 AM

It happens occasionally that we spend a lot of time trying to solve a problem, only to find that we have been looking at it the wrong way. Victorian...

5 Ways Unit Amenities Boost Revenue, Even in This Recession

by Donald Davidoff | Sep 23, 2020 12:00:00 AM

More than six months into the health and economic crisis, most operators and revenue managers have been focusing on finding ways to defend rents....

Thinking Differently About Lease Trade-Outs in Today's Market

by Trachelle Spencer | Sep 23, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Would you try to build a puzzle with just one piece? You already know the answer is no, so why would you try to make pricing decisions based on just...

CLONE Differently About Lease Trade-Outs in Today's Market

by Trachelle Spencer | Sep 17, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Would you try to build a puzzle with just one piece? You already know the answer is no, so why would you try to make pricing decisions based on just...

Budgeting for Uncertainty and an Eviction Moratorium

by Donald Davidoff | Sep 9, 2020 12:00:00 AM

It's that time of the year when we are all deep in the process of budgeting. Most years, budgeting is hard enough, and this year the backdrop of the...

How to Approach Renewal Trade-Outs This Fall

by Donald Davidoff | Sep 1, 2020 12:00:00 AM

As we begin to enter a lower season while still dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and concomitant recession, we thought it would be a...

Three Principles for Forecasting Fall 2020

by Donald Davidoff | Aug 24, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Much has been written about our industry's remarkably good performance since March, including several pieces of our own. The NMHC rent payment data...

They're Heckling Revenue Management Again

by Donald Davidoff | Aug 18, 2020 12:00:00 AM

In the current period of rapid change, there is no shortage of views on what it all means, and what the post-COVID world will look like. Readers of...

How to Measure the Impact of Technology on Rent Growth

by Donald Davidoff | Aug 11, 2020 12:00:00 AM

In recent weeks we've been examining some changes to technology adoption through the COVID-dominated months of 2020. Curb-to-couch access control and...

5 Ways Smart Multifamily Communities Generate Higher Returns

by Dom Beveridge | Aug 4, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Over the last year or so, as proptech has exploded, showering the multifamily industry with new and exciting technology, it has become harder to...

18 Months That Shook Multifamily Leasing (And What’s Next)

by Dom Beveridge | Jul 28, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Several months ago I started to write a post about the extraordinary changes to leasing processes that we had seen over the previous 12 months. The...

Two Multifamily Misconceptions About Smart Home Technology

by Dom Beveridge | Jul 22, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Now I'll admit that it's hard to remember what was going on in the days before the COVID-19 lockdown disrupted our industry, but stuff was going on....

Thinking Differently About Lease Trade-Outs in Today's Market

by Trachelle Spencer | Jul 14, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Would you try to build a puzzle with just one piece? You already know the answer is no, so why would you try to make pricing decisions based on just...

How to Win Big in a Downturn with Revenue Management

by Donald Davidoff | Jul 7, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Watching pricing performance since the downturn started and reflecting on all the things we've done with our clients over the past three months...

5 Tips for Effective Multi-Family Email Marketing

by Doug Davidoff | Jul 7, 2020 12:00:00 AM

The possibilities with email marketing have come a long way. Greater functionality and the plethora of automated email marketing platforms represent...

Multifamily's BI Evolution (Not Revolution)

by Dom Beveridge | Jun 30, 2020 12:00:00 AM

When we come to write the history of the changes that coronavirus forced upon multifamily, there will be plenty to say about its impact on...

How Multifamily Pricing Systems are Handling this Downturn

by Dom Beveridge | Jun 23, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Over the last few months, we at D2 have been developing and sharing insight about the state of the market and the ways that companies are managing...

When the Other Shoe Drops: Avoiding Evictions After Lockdown

by Guest Contributor | Jun 11, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Over the last few weeks, as we have tracked multifamily performance through turbulent markets, collections have been a natural and frequent focus....

Is Your Fall Revenue Management Playbook Ready?

by Donald Davidoff | Jun 1, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Each week we have been summarizing insights from our weekly "downturn" round table conversations. This week we share a few highlights of our most...

Multifamily Downturn Q&A - May 26th, 2020

by Donald Davidoff | May 26, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Each week our "downturn" roundtable enables us to discuss current pricing and revenue management (PRM) issues with some of the most experienced PRM...

3 Reasons Multifamily Needs to Prepare for September 1

by Donald Davidoff | May 20, 2020 12:00:00 AM

During these first few months of the COVID-19 crisis, the two things that multifamily operators are most concerned about are rent collections and...

Multifamily Downturn Q&A - May 18th, 2020

by Donald Davidoff | May 18, 2020 12:00:00 AM

For the last few weeks, we have been running a weekly "downturn" roundtable discussion for our clients (a group that includes some of the most...

Taking Stock: Nine Weeks Into COVID 19

by Donald Davidoff | May 11, 2020 12:00:00 AM

As we enter the 9th week of the public health and the ensuing economic crises, it’s probably a good time to take stock. It’s been a bit of a roller...

Multifamily Downturn Q&A - May 4th, 2020

by Dom Beveridge | May 4, 2020 12:00:00 AM

For the last few weeks, we have been running a weekly "downturn" roundtable discussion for our clients (a group that includes some of the most...

Multifamily Downturn Q&A - April 27th, 2020

by Donald Davidoff | Apr 27, 2020 12:00:00 AM

For the past few weeks, we have been holding a weekly "downturn" roundtable discussion for our clients. This group includes some of the most...

Multifamily Downturn Q&A - April 20th, 2020

by Dom Beveridge | Apr 20, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Last week we shared some of the talking points from our weekly "downturn" roundtable discussion for our clients. We are convening this group, which...

Multifamily Downturn Q&A - April 13th, 2020

by Dom Beveridge | Apr 13, 2020 12:00:00 AM

For the last couple of weeks, we've been sharing insights designed to help multifamily companies to steer through the challenging market conditions...

The "Downturn" Playbook - Your Questions Answered

by Dom Beveridge | Apr 6, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Last week we ran a webinar where three of our experts shared their first-hand experiences of managing multifamily pricing through previous...

Why This Downturn is Different for Multifamily

by Donald Davidoff | Mar 26, 2020 12:00:00 AM

I often think of the economy as a metaphorical set of pipes with money (the "water") flowing through them. Recessions typically happen when the pipes...

20 for ‘20 - What a Difference a Year Makes!

by Dom Beveridge | Mar 24, 2020 12:00:00 AM

As many of you will already be aware, we recently published the 2020 edition of our 20 for '20 white paper. Just as we did a year ago, we sat down...

A Bump in the Road for Short-Term Rentals

by Dom Beveridge | Mar 17, 2020 12:00:00 AM

A couple of weeks ago, before coronavirus took over our attention, we learned some potentially important news about the short-term rental (STR)...

Coronavirus: Catalyst or Catastrophe?

by Donald Davidoff | Mar 10, 2020 12:00:00 AM

I’m writing this sitting on an airplane wondering whether this week will be the last week I travel for quite a while. As the level of fear (dare I...

The Coming Dichotomy of Multifamily Leasing

by Dom Beveridge | Mar 2, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Where I come from (the UK), the English language is peppered with curious variations. One of the strangest is the perpetual controversy over the...

What Multifamily Gets Wrong About Renovation Pricing

by Donald Davidoff | Feb 20, 2020 12:00:00 AM

(This is the third blog in our current series on amenity pricing) It’s a classic conversation that will be familiar to every revenue manager who has...

The Surprising Persistence of Old-School Multifamily Selling

by Donald Davidoff | Jan 30, 2020 12:00:00 AM

A couple of months ago, I read a blog about multifamily sales. It caught my attention because the title referred to closing as "the bottom line."...

NMHC Annual 2020: When Even White Shirts Get Disrupted

by Dom Beveridge | Jan 23, 2020 12:00:00 AM

It’s not often that one finds oneself struggling to stay warm in Florida, but it’s been happening this week in Orlando, where we’ve been these last...

Five Reasons Why Unit Amenities May Be Harder Than You Think

by Donald Davidoff | Jan 14, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Last week, we talked about how unit amenity pricing is the most common place to uncover hidden NOI in multifamily rental operations, and we covered...

The Lowest-Hanging Fruit in Multifamily Revenue Management

by Donald Davidoff | Jan 8, 2020 12:00:00 AM

I toyed with a “New year’s resolution” post, to welcome the new year, but as 2020 gets underway there’s something that we at D2 are really excited...

What Freddie and Fannie Say About Short Term Rental Revenue

by Donald Davidoff | Dec 31, 2019 12:00:00 AM

I was recently moderating a panel on short-term rentals (STRs) at the Indiana Apartment Association’s Multifamily Industry Summit, and a question...

How To Beat The Multifamily Holiday Blues

by Donald Davidoff | Dec 19, 2019 12:00:00 AM

As we head into the holidays, I hope everyone has some time planned for family, fun and just winding down a bit. Taking a lesson from Stephen Covey’s...

Hitting the Slopes: Why Lease Expirations Matter at Year-End

by Donald Davidoff | Dec 3, 2019 12:00:00 AM

As we head into the winter months, it’s normal to think about slopes - especially if you live in Denver, as I do. Denver is famous, amongst other...

The Statistic that Predicted the Last Recession

by Donald Davidoff | Nov 20, 2019 12:00:00 AM

There's been a lot of talk of downturns lately in Pricing and Revenue Management (PRM) circles. It was a major theme of the recent NAA Maximize...

Five Hot Takes from NMHC OPTECH

by Dom Beveridge | Nov 15, 2019 12:00:00 AM

I think it was probably a record, and by some distance. A whopping 2,300+ attendees were registered for NMHC OPTECH, and it made for a busy, busy...

NMHC OPTECH 2019: We Need To Talk About Pricing

by Dom Beveridge | Nov 4, 2019 12:00:00 AM

Can it really be time for NMHC OPTECH already? It appears so, and I’m looking forward to joining industry leaders and technology luminaries next week...

Blurring the Lines in Housing - FLEX 2019 Conference in Review

by Donald Davidoff | Oct 28, 2019 12:00:00 AM

I just got back from attending the inaugural FLEX conference. More than 200 industry professionals spent a day and a half focused on the issues of...

Gross Potential Rent: A Case Study in Wrongheadedness

by Donald Davidoff | Oct 22, 2019 12:00:00 AM

In recent weeks we've been both thinking and writing about two things: pricing and revenue management (PRM) skills and the possible impact of an...

Are Short-Term Rentals The Pet Rent of 2020?

by Donald Davidoff | Oct 15, 2019 12:00:00 AM

“What about the liability?” “What about noise complaints from neighbors?” “What about the extra costs involved?” “It will totally change the...

CoStar Shoots for the STRs - Big News for Multifamily?

by Dom Beveridge | Oct 8, 2019 12:00:00 AM

I must admit, last week's acquisition of Smith Travel Research (STR) by the CoStar group took me by surprise. And it wasn't just me - few observers...

Forewarned is Forearmed: NAA Maximize 2019 in Review

by Jessica Mills | Oct 2, 2019 12:00:00 AM

Lately, we've been writing about the possibility of a downturn, and the impact that it will have on multifamily revenue management. It came as no...

Why Price Optimization Doesn't Happen Without Tension

by Donald Davidoff | Sep 24, 2019 12:00:00 AM

Do your community and regional property managers have such a great relationship with their pricing and revenue managers that there is no sense of...

Ten Questions Asset Managers Should Ask About Pricing

by Dom Beveridge | Sep 10, 2019 12:00:00 AM

Recently we have written extensively on the skills that are needed to run an effective pricing and revenue management (PRM) organization. We normally...

What Santa Claus Can Teach Us About Pricing Math

by Donald Davidoff | Sep 4, 2019 12:00:00 AM

I’m looking forward to the upcoming Maximize revenue and asset management conference September 23-24 in Atlanta. Kicking off the conference late...

Bridging the Business Intelligence Divide

by Dom Beveridge | Aug 26, 2019 12:00:00 AM

Lately, I’ve been talking to a lot of companies about business intelligence, and the ways that organizations attempt to deliver this key capability....

It’s the (Revenue Management) Strategy, Stupid!

by Dom Beveridge | Aug 14, 2019 12:00:00 AM

You reach an age when everything reminds you of something in the past, often for reasons that aren’t immediately obvious. A few weeks ago I was...

The 5 Top Attributes for Successful Revenue Managers

by Donald Davidoff | Aug 6, 2019 12:00:00 AM

Pricing and Revenue Management (PRM) has been in mass-adoption in multifamily for more than a decade. During that time, an industry talent pool has...

7 Reasons Why There Ain’t Nothing Like a Downturn

by Donald Davidoff | Jul 30, 2019 12:00:00 AM

A few weeks ago, I wrote about some of the core skills of Pricing and Revenue Management (PRM) and how those skills have diminished in the industry...

7 Ways to Tell if Your Revenue Manager is Skinny Dipping

by Donald Davidoff | Jul 24, 2019 12:00:00 AM

One of the challenges with pricing and revenue management (PRM) being more than 18 years old is that most of the pioneers in designing and developing...

3 Reasons Multifamily Pricing Needs an Ownership Mentality

by Donald Davidoff | Jul 16, 2019 12:00:00 AM

It’s been more than 18 years since the first property went live on the first automated pricing and revenue management (PRM) system in multifamily...

9 Take-Aways from NAA Apartmentalize 2019

by Donald Davidoff | Jul 10, 2019 12:00:00 AM

A little over a week ago, 10,000+ apartment industry colleagues descended upon our hometown of Denver, Colorado for NAA’s annual Apartmentalize...

Are We Looking at Property Differentiation the Wrong Way?

by Trachelle Spencer | Jul 2, 2019 12:00:00 AM

I recently read - with interest - the coverage of NMHC's recent spring Board of Directors meeting in Chicago. What really caught my eye was a talk...

Multifamily Pricing: The Danger of “Doing Fine”

by Dom Beveridge | Jun 25, 2019 12:00:00 AM

A couple of weeks ago, we published a post about the risk to multifamily operators of complacency in their approach to pricing and revenue management...

NAA Apartmentalize:  3 Killer Pricing and Marketing Tactics

by Trachelle Spencer | Jun 18, 2019 12:00:00 AM

It's June, the sun is out (mostly) here in Denver, and like all locals involved in the multifamily industry, I'm looking forward to welcoming a few...

NAA Apartmentalize - A Long View on Short Term Rentals

by Donald Davidoff | Jun 11, 2019 12:00:00 AM

In just a couple of weeks, I’ll be joined by industry veterans Melanie French, Steve Hallsey and Marcie Williams as I moderate a panel, “A Long View...

3 Steps to Avoiding Pricing Complacency

by Donald Davidoff | May 29, 2019 12:00:00 AM

The legendary golfer, Jack Nicklaus is often quoted as saying, "Complacency is a continuous struggle that we all have to fight." We have frequently...

The Research Is In On Multifamily Lead Conversions

by Donald Davidoff | May 21, 2019 12:00:00 AM

If - like me - you're in the business of demand optimization, you'll know that it's been getting harder and harder to talk about any trend in...

The Role of On-Site Sales Associates

by Donald Davidoff | May 17, 2019 12:00:00 AM

Think about the experience last time you bought a new car. It seems to me that nobody enjoys the experience of sitting across the desk from a...

What to do About Challenging Multifamily Recruitment and Retention

by Donald Davidoff | May 13, 2019 12:00:00 AM

Given sustained, record low unemployment in the general economy, it’s not surprising that attracting and retaining quality associates is universally...

The Year They Put the “Innovation” into AIM

by Dom Beveridge | May 8, 2019 12:00:00 AM

Early May has long been the time of year for multifamily marketers to head to Orange County, CA for AIM. As convivial networking opportunities go...

Floor Plans: Why Too Much Choice Can Be Worse Than Too Little

by Trachelle Spencer | May 1, 2019 12:00:00 AM

A few weeks ago we discussed the experience of leasing up big projects and the importance of setting up unit type groupings in the pricing & revenue...

Three Top Multifamily Training Priorities for 2019

by Donald Davidoff | Apr 25, 2019 12:00:00 AM

As we researched 20 for '20 - our white paper on the outlook for multifamily based on 20 interviews with senior executives - we were struck by the...

The Next Big Thing in Multifamily Revenue Management

by Dom Beveridge | Apr 23, 2019 12:00:00 AM

Pricing and Revenue Management (PRM) in multifamily turned 18 years old this year. For those interested, the first-ever deployment of a PRM system...

3 Reasons Why Multifamily Must Adopt Self-Show

by Donald Davidoff | Apr 17, 2019 12:00:00 AM

As we get near the Apartment Innovation and Marketing (AIM) conference, I wanted to take a moment to discuss an innovation from single-family rentals...

Multifamily’s Last Technological Inflection Point

by Dan Amedro | Apr 9, 2019 12:00:00 AM

Since we published the findings of our 20 for ‘20 research, we have found a broad consensus that multifamily technology is at a technology inflection...

Technological Innovation in the Multifamily Industry: Separating Hype from Reality

by Donald Davidoff | Apr 8, 2019 12:00:00 AM

As winter turns to spring, my thoughts turn to the annual Apartment Innovation and Marketing (AIM) conference. AIM has always been interesting as it...

How the Multifamily Technology Environment is Changing

by John Helm | Apr 1, 2019 12:00:00 AM

As we were researching our new white paper, 20 for ‘20 - we learned about the multifamily technologies that are currently top of mind from the 20...

Why Short and Long-Term Priorities Aren't the Same for Multifamily Leaders

by Dom Beveridge | Mar 27, 2019 12:00:00 AM

After a decade of unprecedented growth, the multifamily cycle is hard to predict, as each new year of growth moves us further beyond historical...

The Multifamily Technology Projects that Dominated 2018

by Dom Beveridge | Mar 21, 2019 12:00:00 AM

It’s easy to get caught up in industry hype – especially when new and exciting technologies come along. Industry press, conferences and blogs like...

Multifamily Talent and Culture: When People Issues Align

by Andy Helmer | Mar 12, 2019 12:00:00 AM

As we were researching our new white paper, 20 for ‘20 - we asked senior multifamily operators about a range of issues, including recruitment and...

20 for '20 - A New Perspective on Multifamily Leadership

by Donald Davidoff | Mar 6, 2019 12:00:00 AM

This week we released our much-anticipated white paper, 20 for '20: 20 Conversations with Senior Executives About the Outlook for 2020 and Beyond....

Putting Opinions Aside: An Outlook on Mutlifamily for 2020 and Beyond

by Donald Davidoff | Mar 5, 2019 12:00:00 AM

In the past week, we released our much-anticipated white paper, 20for20: 20 Conversations with Senior Executives About the Outlook for 2020 and...

Why Grouping Floor Plans Is Like Selling Shoes

by Trachelle Spencer | Feb 26, 2019 12:00:00 AM

Last week we were talking about the experience of leasing up big projects, and it reminded me of something that I’ve advised companies against doing...

Leasing Up in London - Familiar Challenges in a New Multifamily Market

by Dom Beveridge | Feb 19, 2019 12:00:00 AM

Last week I was in London – the city where I grew up and spent most of my formative years. I have never used trips home to view multifamily real...

From Imagination to Implementation – MICA in Review

by Dom Beveridge | Feb 12, 2019 12:00:00 AM

As long-standing supporters of the annual AIM conference in Southern California, we had been looking forward to the launch of its south-eastern...

The Technology Tipping Point: The Future of Multifamily Housing

by Donald Davidoff | Feb 8, 2019 12:00:00 AM

In November 2018, we interviewed 20 COOs and CIOs to get a sense of the “state of the state” in multifamily housing operations, and a glimpse into...

Ten Questions You Should be Asking Yourself about Leasing

by Dom Beveridge | Feb 6, 2019 12:00:00 AM

Recently it's been my privilege to interview 20 senior multifamily executives to get their viewpoints and understand their priorities for the next...

Four Common Misunderstandings about Centralized Revenue Management

by Donald Davidoff | Jan 23, 2019 12:00:00 AM

There’s an interesting debate we’ve seen start to percolate in pricing and revenue management (PRM) these days—whether to have pricing authority...

Why The Challenger Sale Matters to Multifamily Leasing

by Dom Beveridge | Jan 16, 2019 12:00:00 AM

If you're anything like me, then this is the time of year when your nightstand groans with books that friends and family kindly sent you over the...

Why A Re-Think of Leasing Should Be Your 2019 Resolution

by Dom Beveridge | Jan 9, 2019 12:00:00 AM

In the closing weeks of 2018 I had the pleasure of interviewing 20 leaders in multifamily operations and technology about the outlook for 2019 and...

How to Make That Big Box of Unrealized Revenue Your 2019 Resolution

by Jessica Mills | Jan 7, 2019 12:00:00 AM

Happy new year everyone! Now that the holidays are over, we turn to resolute goal setting for the year to come. My gift to you is a big box of...

My New Year’s Resolution: Get Systematic About Team Development

by Donald Davidoff | Jan 4, 2019 12:00:00 AM

For my New Year’s resolution, I want to focus on how to better develop associates and create environments in which they will be successful. In short,...

2019 Resolutions: Resident Loyalty Lessons from the Hospitality Industry

by Trachelle Spencer | Jan 2, 2019 12:00:00 AM

Just before a 29-year-old friend of mine was due to stay in a fairly upscale hotel recently, the staff texted her before check-in and suggested that...

2019 Resolutions: Three Ways to Create Effective Organizational Change

by Joanne Chapman-Reps | Dec 27, 2018 12:00:00 AM

New Year’s resolutions typically revolve around some type of change. It might be a change to our routine and well-being (such as fitness, yoga or...

Spotlight Interview: Chad Greiwe of Gene B. Glick Company

by Donald Davidoff | Dec 17, 2018 12:00:00 AM

Chad Greiwe is what you could call a jack of all trades. He’s the executive vice president of operations at the Gene B. Glick Company, one of the...

The Supply and Demand Sides of Short Term Rentals

by Dom Beveridge | Dec 10, 2018 12:00:00 AM

Sometimes new technologies and strategies change the way that we do business. More frequently, though, things that have worked in one industry find...

Spotlight Interview: Linda Early on Landing Her First Job And The Future Of The Multifamily Industry

by Donald Davidoff | Dec 4, 2018 12:00:00 AM

Success equals talent plus luck. No one knows this more than Linda Early. Linda got her first gig in the multifamily industry by chance (otherwise...

What Would You Do? Tips to Reduce Staff Turnover

by Donald Davidoff | Nov 27, 2018 12:00:00 AM

In our new series, we’ll be tackling common and frequently asked questions from operators and operator executives in the multi-family housing...

NMHC OPTECH 2018 In Review: Disruption and the Hype Cycle

by Dom Beveridge | Nov 19, 2018 12:00:00 AM

NMHC OPTECH 2018 is in the books, and once again this year the mix of fresh ideas and great minds to discuss them with made for a great conversation....

Apartment Leasing: Are You Looking in the Right Places to Differentiate your Property?

by Donald Davidoff | Nov 8, 2018 12:00:00 AM

A headline about consumer preferences caught my eye recently. It was from the recent annual meeting of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) in Boston, and...

What Do These Millennial Insights Mean For Your Business?

by Donald Davidoff | Oct 30, 2018 12:00:00 AM

A couple of weeks ago we posted the latest in a series of blogs about the tastes of the millennial generation and how to appeal to them. It's always...

Is Your Sales Process Creating a "Buyer-Beware" Environment?

by Donald Davidoff | Oct 25, 2018 12:00:00 AM

Fall is upon us. As usual for multifamily operators, Halloween preparations and pumpkin spice treats provide the backdrop to the main event - next...

More on that Strange Creature, Homo Millennius

by Donald Davidoff | Oct 17, 2018 12:00:00 AM

I’m an avid reader of The Economist, and I recently read an interesting article on how marketers are trying to address the Millennial generation. As...

Allowing Short-term Rentals in Multi-family Buildings: The Benefits and the Risks Based on Real-world Data.

by Donald Davidoff | Sep 27, 2018 12:00:00 AM

Just yesterday, Pillow Homes released a white paper I authored, “Allowing Short-term Rentals in Multi-family Buildings: The Benefits and the Risks...

Diversity and Inclusion: Breaking Out of Unconscious Gender Patterning

by Donald Davidoff | Sep 18, 2018 12:00:00 AM

I’m writing this after attending the NMHC Fall Board of Directors meeting. It’s always inspiring to connect with many of the best and the brightest...

Break Through The Freeze To Get Your Voice Heard...Anywhere

by Rebecca Folsom | Sep 18, 2018 12:00:00 AM

Have you ever tried to give a presentation or speak up in a meeting and felt your body freeze up and your mind start to  spin towards  panic? Many of...

The Fill Down Function: A Fast Way to Repeat Excel Formulas

by Donald Davidoff | Sep 12, 2018 12:00:00 AM

I’ve often had customers watch me work in an Excel sheet and ask about various shortcuts they see me use. So, this is the first in a series of...

4 Ways Multifamily Operators Can Use Technology to Improve Resident Experience

by Donald Davidoff | Aug 31, 2018 12:00:00 AM

As we head into the Labor Day weekend residents will be heading out of town to visit family, welcoming visitors into town, or heading out to picnics...

The 7 Most Common Mistakes Found in Our Amenities Audit

by Donald Davidoff | Aug 21, 2018 12:00:00 AM

Over the past couple of years, our company has conducted unit amenity audits for many different operators. The good news is that the concept of...

Maximize Preview - A Deep Dive into the Math Behind PRM

by Donald Davidoff | Aug 8, 2018 12:00:00 AM

I started planning for my session with Annie Laurie McCulloh at Maximize, October 1-3 in San Diego. This will be the third year in the past four that...

5 Highlights of Donald Davidoff’s Multifamily Matters Interview

by Donald Davidoff | Jul 9, 2018 12:00:00 AM

You probably already know that D2’s CEO, Donald Davidoff, revolutionized the multi-housing industry seventeen years ago when he led the team that...

7 Common Common Pricing Trends - How to Optimize Performance

by Donald Davidoff | Jun 29, 2018 12:00:00 AM

I’ve written a lot about sales and the sales process over the past few months, but it dawned on me that I haven’t talked much about pricing for a...

The Multifamily Executive's Quick Access Guide to Artificial Intelligence

by Donald Davidoff | Jun 15, 2018 12:00:00 AM

There’s a lot of buzz about artificial intelligence (AI) these days, so much so that it’s hard to separate the reality from the hype. Add to that the...

Investing in Sales Development & The Importance of Training

by Donald Davidoff | Jun 12, 2018 12:00:00 AM

With NAA later this week, I thought it would be a good idea to reflect a bit on the importance of training in our industry. My father was, at one...

An Inside Look at Multi-Family Renewal Behaviors

by Donald Davidoff | Jun 12, 2018 12:00:00 AM

A couple of weeks ago, I had the honor of presenting Multi-family Insider’s bi-monthly “Webinar Wednesday.” The topic of my presentation was “Be a...

Marriott & Short-Term Rentals: A Key to Increasing Multifamily Housing Revenue

by Donald Davidoff | May 29, 2018 12:00:00 AM

I’m not sure how many people in multifamily housing pay close attention to the hospitality industry. Partly because I grew up in travel and...

The Quickest Way to Reduce Vacancy Loss As Much As 75bps

by Donald Davidoff | May 21, 2018 12:00:00 AM

I was recently reviewing detailed lease data for a large metropolitan market for one of my clients and saw something that absolutely fascinated me....

11 Takeaways from the Apartment Internet Marketing (AIM) Conference 2018

by Donald Davidoff | May 14, 2018 12:00:00 AM

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Apartment Internet Marketing (AIM) conference. Aside from the great location in Huntington Beach (I...

7 Tips to Help Leasing Associates Make Sales Faster (And Delight Residents)

by Donald Davidoff | May 9, 2018 12:00:00 AM

Over the last 20 years, the multifamily industry has gotten better at managing the core elements of their business. Companies are smarter regarding...

A Data-Backed Strategy to Drive 150bps to Multifamily Rent Per Unit (RPU)

by Donald Davidoff | Apr 16, 2018 12:00:00 AM

I’d like to take a moment to talk about a piece of the demand management platform that often doesn’t get much attention—handling the initial prospect...

More Insights from A Millennial (and my shortest blog ever)

by Donald Davidoff | Apr 10, 2018 12:00:00 AM

A week or so ago, I blogged on my daughter’s reaction to a study allegedly sharing insights into how you need market to millennials differently than...

Why You Shouldn’t (Over)Invest in Customer Experience

by Donald Davidoff | Mar 30, 2018 12:00:00 AM

Recently I’ve been spending time thinking about Customer Experience, and specifically how the industry talks more about the importance of the...

The Best Apartment Marketing Tips for Millennials...From a Millennial

by Donald Davidoff | Mar 21, 2018 12:00:00 AM

A few days ago, I was catching up on my reading and downloaded a white paper from one of the many marketing vendors in multifamily housing. As with...

MTEC Wrap-up: 5 Key Takeaways

by Donald Davidoff | Mar 13, 2018 12:00:00 AM

I just got back from the 2018 edition of MTEC, the Multifamily Technology Entrepreneur’s Conference, and I must say I was unusually impressed with...

The 3 Points that Make a Leasing Sales Process Great

by Donald Davidoff | Mar 2, 2018 12:00:00 AM

Selling is a lot like hitting a baseball. If you watch any Major League team play, you’ll quickly see two things: first, you’ll see some highly...

How to Know it's Time to Improve Your Leasing and Sales Process

by Donald Davidoff | Feb 20, 2018 12:00:00 AM

Over the years we’ve reviewed quite a few multifamily sales processes and training programs. The number one thing they’ve all had in common is (to...

5 Dimensions to Include in Your Leasing Spring Training

by Donald Davidoff | Feb 9, 2018 12:00:00 AM

I just recently completed the first article in what will be a monthly series for NAA’s marketing and sales newsletter. I thought it was so apropos to...

2018 NMHC Recap & Reflections for the Multifamily Industry

by Donald Davidoff | Jan 19, 2018 12:00:00 AM

Flying back home from the NMHC Annual Meeting in Orlando, I can’t help but reflect on how fortunate we all are to be in this particular industry, at...

3 Areas to Focus on in the Current Multifamily "Goldilocks" Market

by Donald Davidoff | Jan 12, 2018 12:00:00 AM

The multifamily real estate market has softened some over the last few years, but 2017 was again a highly profitable year and there is reason for...

2018 Predictions in Relation to the Demand Management Platform

by Donald Davidoff | Jan 12, 2018 12:00:00 AM

I hope everyone had a great holiday season and is enjoying a happy new year. In that spirit of renewal and rebirth, I thought I would use this...

A Tipping Point on AirBnB?

by Donald Davidoff | Jan 5, 2018 12:00:00 AM

Typically, press releases in our industry are more “promotion” than news, but a press release this past December 18 might just be a critical...

5 Customer Experience Mistakes MFH Operators Make

by Donald Davidoff | Dec 21, 2017 12:00:00 AM

Today, customers want an experience, not just a transaction. In fact, they expect it. They get it in their interactions with many other companies,...

3 Ways Leading Multifamily Operators Are Using Business Intelligence (BI)

by Donald Davidoff | Nov 28, 2017 12:00:00 AM

Most multifamily operators know they should put “gut feelings” aside in exchange for technologies that can turn raw data into meaningful information...

Human Behavior, Marketing Analytics and AI: Takeaways from this Year's OpTech

by Donald Davidoff | Nov 6, 2017 12:00:00 AM

I’m still recovering from an incredibly busy OpTech last week. Shout outs to Doug Bibby, Kim Duty, Rick Haughey and the entire NMHC team for what I...

The 4 Levels of Customer (Resident) Experience

by Joanne Chapman-Reps | Oct 20, 2017 12:00:00 AM

Open up any business publication and it’s a pretty good bet you’ll see something that talks about customer service or the customer experience. In the...

Developments in the Multifamily Industry: 6 Trending Conference Themes

by Donald Davidoff | Oct 6, 2017 12:00:00 AM

The Maximize conference just ended. That’s four down (RealWorld, MFE, NMHC Fall Board Meeting and Maximize) and one more (NMHC OpTech) to go, and...

Is the Multifamily Industry Still Missing Out on Marketing Opportunities?

by Donald Davidoff | Oct 6, 2017 12:00:00 AM

In 2014, we partnered with On-Site to release a study that focused on how effectively multifamily operators were utilizing email marketing. Three...

6 Indicators that it's Time for a Pricing Health Checkup

by Jessica Mills | Sep 26, 2017 12:00:00 AM

Modern pricing strategies and revenue management systems have had a tremendous impact on the performance of multifamily owners and operators. While...

Multifamily Budget Season: 3 Areas that Drive Top-Line Results

by Donald Davidoff | Sep 1, 2017 12:00:00 AM

September is upon us. With it comes shortening days, colorful leaves and crisper weather. And also, for most companies, budget season! This year’s...

Multifamily Technology: Are Marketing & Sales Human Anymore?

by Donald Davidoff | Aug 25, 2017 12:00:00 AM

As we come upon the fall conference season and many panels (and one whole conference) dedicated to technology in multifamily housing, it got me...

How AI is Changing the Ballgame for Multifamily

by Donald Davidoff | Aug 1, 2017 12:00:00 AM

Many of you who know me well have heard me say that I haven’t seen a “home run” in multifamily housing technology in years. There have been several...

5 Things Leasing Associates Can Do to Be Top Performers

by Donald Davidoff | Aug 1, 2017 12:00:00 AM

Over the last few months I’ve had a number of conversations with multifamily executives about important areas of focus for their operations. It...

Lessons Learned: Conducting a Pricing Review

by Jessica Mills | Jul 21, 2017 12:00:00 AM

Weekly or bi-weekly pricing review calls are a great forum to learn more information on why a property is or isn’t leasing. But sometimes when...

9 Tips for Implementing Successful Change Management

by Joanne Chapman-Reps | Jul 14, 2017 12:00:00 AM

Companies spend a lot of time, effort and energy introducing new initiatives into the organization (often referred to as a rollout), some with more...

The Role of Business Intelligence in Multifamily

by Donald Davidoff | Jul 7, 2017 12:00:00 AM

As more apartment operators are embracing data and analytics, and desire making data-backed decisions, (rather than by mere observation or gut) the...

Winner Take All or Winner Take Small? 5 Tips to Stay Ahead of the Competition

by Donald Davidoff | Jul 5, 2017 12:00:00 AM

I’ve been thinking a lot about technology and technology adoption in our industry. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t see some article about Google,...

Ways to Maximize the Value of Your Renewal Policies

by Jessica Mills | Jun 30, 2017 12:00:00 AM

Most companies wisely set renewal policies by month and by property. Certain times of the year may call for different strategies and you’ll want to...

3 Qualities Successful PRMs Share

by Jessica Mills | Jun 23, 2017 12:00:00 AM

A revenue management system is a large company investment. We expect site teams to comply with this pricing and train them on what information they...

Business Communication Tools: Email vs. Slack, Which Do You Prefer?

by Ellen Salzler | Jun 16, 2017 12:00:00 AM

This week's blog post was written by our guest author, Ellen Salzler from Imagine Business Development. Google search the app, Slack and you’ll find...

A Look Into the Future: The Difference Time Can Make

by Donald Davidoff | Jun 2, 2017 12:00:00 AM

I’m going through a very interesting time in my life. Just last week, my younger daughter graduated high school; and I’m about to head to New Jersey...

Client Satisfaction: How Customer Experience Plays a Major Role

by Donald Davidoff | Jun 1, 2017 12:00:00 AM

With all the attention on the recent series of airline service mishaps, we thought it would be a good idea to talk a bit about the difference between...

5 Steps for a Coaching Culture & Why it’s a Must for Sales Teams

by Donald Davidoff | May 11, 2017 12:00:00 AM

The following is taken from our viewpoint document, The Keys to Effective Multifamily Sales Performance. You may download it here. Too many...

5 Multifamily Marketing Tactics You Should AIM For

by Donald Davidoff | May 5, 2017 12:00:00 AM

May brings with it the traditional sojourn of all multi-marketers to the Apartment Internet Marketing (AIM) conference. This year’s agenda looks...

3 Pricing Must-Haves for Softening Markets

by Jessica Mills | Apr 13, 2017 12:00:00 AM

When is the best time to think about how to price your assets in a softening market? Before the market softens. Having a strategy in place before...

6 Tips for Handling Renewals: How to Create Value for Your Resident

by Joanne Chapman-Reps | Apr 6, 2017 12:00:00 AM

When we think about renewals, it’s probably tempting for most of us in the multifamily apartment industry to immediately think about the renewal...

5 Tips for Effective Multifamily Email Marketing

by Doug Davidoff | Mar 31, 2017 12:00:00 AM

The possibilities with email marketing have come a long way. Greater functionality and the plethora of automated email marketing platforms represent...

Connecting with Today's Renter: 5 Ways to Improve Leasing Performance

by Donald Davidoff | Mar 24, 2017 12:00:00 AM

It’s spring, and as the twist on the old saying goes, “a young man’s [or woman’s] fancy turns to thoughts of baseball.” Truth be told, my thoughts...

An Update on Rent Growth Numbers

by Donald Davidoff | Mar 16, 2017 12:00:00 AM

Just as I sent out an executive newsletter highlighting the rapid decline in new rent growth, out comes successive reports from Axiometrics that YOY...

Pricing and Process Recommendations to Improve Renewal Performance

by Donald Davidoff | Mar 1, 2017 12:00:00 AM

It’s been a while since I wrote a newsletter article exclusively on a pricing topic, so I thought I would do that today. Given the uncertainty in...

D2 Demand Solutions Welcomes Joanne Chapman-Reps

by Ellen Salzler | Feb 17, 2017 12:00:00 AM

D2 Demand Solutions would like to introduce the newest member of our team, Joanne Chapman-Reps. Joanne is a process management and learning and...

How Airlines Can Teach Us to Make Student Communities Take Off!

by Jessica Mills | Feb 2, 2017 12:00:00 AM

Students can provide a wonderfully reliable demand stream year after year. Knowing that a large pool of prospects will be looking to move in by a...

Rent Growth Outlook: What Goes Up...Comes Down

by Donald Davidoff | Jan 30, 2017 12:00:00 AM

It’s happened. Axiometrics has reported that, for the first time since July 2010, year-over-year (YOY) rent growth is below the historical average....

How the ZMOT Changes the Multifamily Sales Dynamic

by Donald Davidoff | Jan 25, 2017 12:00:00 AM

I’ve written before about Google’s seminal research on the “Zero Moment of Truth” (ZMOT). For those not familiar with this, Google identified that...

Is Pot the New Pets?

by Donald Davidoff | Jan 18, 2017 12:00:00 AM

(Warning: Don’t read this if you’re not interested in hearing a provocative point of view) I was meeting with a client of mine who has communities in...

The Most Effective Email (or Voicemail) in a Salesperson’s Bag of Tricks

by Donald Davidoff | Jan 11, 2017 12:00:00 AM

I was talking with one of my clients about sales management, and the topic of how many unanswered follow ups are appropriate before declaring a lead...

Hot Topics and Trends for Multifamily in 2017

by Donald Davidoff | Jan 6, 2017 12:00:00 AM

As we close out 2016 and look ahead to 2017, I can’t help but reflect on what I think some of the key multifamily trends will be. We make more of...

5 Actions to Take to Compete & Win in a Softening Market

by Donald Davidoff | Dec 5, 2016 12:00:00 AM

Over the last couple of months, we’ve seen increasing evidence that the historically strong “bull market” in the multifamily industry is at or...

Multifamily Pricing: 5 Actions to Take to Set a Better Sail in 2017

by Donald Davidoff | Dec 2, 2016 12:00:00 AM

November is gone, and that’s a good thing for pricing people in multifamily housing. This was my 16th November in our industry, and I honestly can’t...

Why More Training Isn't Enough to Solve Your Multifamily Sales Problems

by Joanne Chapman-Reps | Nov 17, 2016 12:00:00 AM

Everyone wants positive sales numbers, right? After all, when leasing/sales numbers are strong, it means the overall financial health of the...

8 Drivers of Demand Management in Multifamily Housing

by Donald Davidoff | Nov 4, 2016 12:00:00 AM

Multifamily housing operations often takes a cue from travel and hospitality management. In that vein, I would like to talk about a business term...

State of Technology and Operational Processes in Multifamily Housing

by Donald Davidoff | Nov 2, 2016 12:00:00 AM

Halfway through “conference season,” and with NMHC’s OpTech conference on the way, I thought it might be a good idea to comment on the state of...

Is Your Sales Process Prospect-Centered?

by Stacy Bouchard | Oct 28, 2016 12:00:00 AM

This week we have a guest column from Stacy Bouchard, D2 Demand Solutions Marketing Manager. Recently, I found myself in the market for a new laptop....

Why Multifamily Operators Should Care About Hold Times

by Donald Davidoff | Oct 20, 2016 12:00:00 AM

Over the past 10 years, multifamily housing (MFH) has seen rapid adoption of automated pricing and revenue management (PRM) systems. Based on...

What is a Multifamily Sales Ecosystem?

by Donald Davidoff | Oct 13, 2016 12:00:00 AM

In several blog posts over the last 12 months, I’ve talked about the need for a conversation in the multifamily industry regarding sales. While in my...
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