In many aspects of our lives, COVID has accelerated trends that were already underway. We believe this is true of multifamily operations, which are progressing towards a self-serve leasing environment and increasingly tech-enabled operations.
And as technology has advanced, customer expectations have changed. The unprecedented events of 2020 changed how apartment residents live their lives, making access control the essential foundation of resident, prospect and associate experiences.
As the technology has become more widespread, points of difference have emerged between access control platforms - some represent better experiences than others. We teamed up with our friends at Latch to research a white paper on the subject, where we examine what differentiates best-in-class access control from the rest and explain the implications for ROI on smart building investments.
We at D2 are excited about the game-changing possibilities of smart building technology. It is hard to think of any technology with as much potential to revolutionize multifamily housing operations, or one that offers so many sources of potential financial benefit.
Long before macro-economic factors combined to disrupt our industry in 2020, smart building technologies were transforming operating models. Forward-thinking operators were already reaping the benefits, removing friction from their residents and site teams' day-to-day lives, and creating new automation opportunities.
But even if smart building is now an essential part of every multifamily operator's technology strategy, the solutions cost money, and operators must understand the impact that they will have on their businesses. For this reason, we teamed up with our friends at SmartRent to explain the different ways in which operators can underwrite their smart building technology investments.
Multifamily innovation excites us! Our team has firsthand experience designing, developing, using, purchasing, writing about, speaking publicly about, selling and marketing some of the most revolutionary new products in the multifamily industry!
To understand technology, you must look at it both from the operator and the vendor's perspective. Every technology sounds plausible based on the sales pitch, so multifamily operators need to be judicious in their choice of vendors, and vendors compelling in the language and strategies they use to reach customers.
Through our popular industry blog and our frequent publications on technology and industry best practice, D2 is an active participant in the industry conversation. Our unique buy and sell-side perspectives help us understand how to position products and companies to maximize their relevance in the increasingly competitive multifamily market.
D2 helps technology companies in diverse ways, from collaborating on research and developing industry-leading content to the broader positioning of their brand, sales and marketing materials. We use our deep experience of demand generation to turn content into leads and revenue for the leading technology companies we work with.
For some years now, D2 has championed the cause of Short-Term Rentals (STRs). In a world where demand for rental housing and lodging has been evolving rapidly, platforms like VRBO or Airbnb offer an alternative revenue stream for multifamily operators.
Recent changes to the macro-economic environment, particularly the travel industry environment, have been challenging for the STR sector. However, STRs represent an attractive revenue opportunity to multifamily operators, so it seems likely that they will ultimately settle into a more normalized business environment.
To capitalize on the opportunity of STRs, operators must address the operational considerations in delivering short-term hospitality in a predominantly long-term lease environment. They must also understand the ever-changing ecosystem of intermediaries and their business models.
For the foreseeable future, markets will be uncertain, and we can expect a variety of demand conditions across markets and submarkets. Flexibility will be critical to revenue management success. And flexible rentals will become a more useful and ultimately essential part of the revenue mix.
