Beyond Rent: How to Unlock Other Benefits of Revenue Management

Revenue management isn’t just about establishing rent prices in multifamily housing. Many apartment operators believe that industry solutions are sort of a one-trick pony – they set rent and are limited to certain classes and leasing verticals. Not true, according to industry experts. Upwards of a quarter of the multifamily industry uses revenue management tools, and they do far more than establish rent in today’s market. They also aren’t limited to certain apartment classes, as some in the industry believe. The systematic approach – an application of disciplined analytics that balances supply and demand to maximize revenue growth – works in all rental segments, including student housing, and establishes rent based on investment strategy given the place and time in the market. “There is a huge difference between a rent-setting tool and revenue management,” Industry Principal Andrew Bowen said recently in the RealPage webcast, “Beyond Rent: Unlock Other Benefits of Revenue Management.” “Revenue management moves past rent setting tools and truly optimizes the rent presented to a prospect on the new lease side and current resident on the renewal side. It systemically prioritizes the investment strategy and assures that it is at the core at every pricing decision we make. Rent-setting tools just don’t have that capability.” The hidden advantages of revenue management The beauty of the right revenue management system is what’s within. Along with Industry Principal David Polewchak, Bowen outlined a handful of the meaningful benefits that the analytical approach based on lease transaction data generates beyond just a rent price. The primary hidden advantage of a revenue management system is ensuring a property’s or portfolio’s investment strategy is at the heart of every pricing decision made on an asset. The tool also provides transparency into internal and external perf...