Customer Support
Setting the Scene
As a marketing or leasing leader, you're constantly looking for ways to help your team close more leases and delight residents — without burning time or budget. What if one smart strategy could take work off your team’s plate while boosting results? That would be a major win for sure, right?
The good news is that these are not far-fetched, pie-in-the-sky goals; the even better news is that now you can achieve all three with one simple tool: video.
Intrigued? Curious how adding video can save your team time and money? Keep reading to hear how Carroll VanHook-Weaver, Director of Leasing and Marketing at Akara Living, made it happen —and in the process, saved her teams countless hours while also cutting costs.
Company Profile
Industry: Multifamily Real Estate Development and Property Management
Headquarters: Miami, Florida
Assets Under Management: $1.5 billion
Years in Business: 12+ years
The Challenge
Akara believes that “real estate should be treated as a service, and not just a commodity, to address the growing demands of real estate occupants in the 21st century.” As such, their mission is “to redefine city development through forward-thinking design, responsible construction practices, and a commitment to building thriving communities.
So when Carroll joined Akara Partners in 2019, one of her pivotal roles was to launch the Kenect brand in Nashville and Phoenix. With 25 years of experience in hospitality and over 14 years in student housing and multifamily management, she excels in customer service and team management. Her commitment to excellence drives her to seek opportunities to save her team time and cut costs.
Carroll shares, “According to our maintenance dashboard, we had 3,048 work orders across 1,000 beds over 12 months. Let’s break down how this time adds up.
“On average, each work order takes about 15 minutes. That totals 762 hours, or almost 32 days of work. After reviewing our top work order categories — appliance requests, GFI issues, HVAC problems, and general maintenance — I found that these accounted for 35% of service requests.”
3,048
Work Orders
x
15
Minutes
=
762
Hours of Work
=
32
Days of Work
"After reviewing our work order categories, I found that these accounted for 35% of service requests."
Carroll VanHook-Weaver
Director of Marketing and Leasing
Wanting to slash hours and boost team productivity, she turned to Realync for help, focusing on two key areas:
- Reducing maintenance work orders.
- Minimizing in-person tours.
With a clear understanding of where time was being lost, Carroll knew it was time for a more innovative, streamlined approach — and that’s where Realync came in.
The Solution
To tackle these issues head-on, Carroll used Realync’s Virtual Leasing and Video Tools for a dual-pronged approach to reduce maintenance work orders and save time on in-person tours.
Goal 1: Reduce Maintenance Work Orders
This solution enabled her team to create video tutorials for common service requests, reducing the need for manual work orders. But more than that, by using video, they empowered residents to resolve simple issues in their apartments safely and efficiently.
Curious what that looks like? Check out the maintenance video Carroll's team created!
Goal 2: Save Time on In-Person Tours
Based on video analytics, Carroll knows that, on average, prospects will view a video tour between 30 seconds and one minute before either losing interest or contacting the leasing team. In contrast, an in-person tour takes about 45 minutes.
So Carroll also used video to embed unit-level video tours and amenity videos on their Internet Listing Sites (ILSs) and SiteMaps. Because Realync integrates with leading tech companies to show where video views originate, this data is available directly from the Realync dashboard. This approach helps prospective renters narrow their apartment search while enabling her leasing team to focus on in-person tours that are more likely to lead to leases.
The outcome is clear: Video helps save time and money in property management — not only for Carroll’s leasing and maintenance teams but also for renters.
The Outcome
Akara Living’s partnership with Realync has reduced maintenance tickets, decreased the barrage of frequently asked questions, and minimized interruptions to the leasing team.
And the results speak for themselves. Below are the positive metrics Carroll experienced after implementing a strategic video solution:
- Maintenance Wins: Estimates they will save 1,100 work orders, which translates to 272 hours — or 11 workdays!
- Video Tours Improve: Akara Living reached 1,462 views across 56 videos, with approximately 1,000 of those views coming directly from in-unit video tours from their ILSs and Engrain SiteMaps.
Bonus: Going “viral” for all the right reasons! At Sora, the onsite team created apartment living hacks — short, easy-to-understand video tips — to reach a broader audience. The result of their efforts: over 624,000 likes!
From cleaning dirty shower glass and tackling stubborn microwave grease to removing pesky command strips from walls, their creativity just keeps coming. It’s just one more example of how Realync has helped create content that offers value, grabs attention, and keeps it.
So what are you waiting for? By implementing maintenance video tutorials and unit-level video tours, you can save your teams a significant amount of time.
Ready to save your team time and money with a video solution that’s easy to implement and proven to work? See how Realync Virtual Leasing and Video Tools can help.
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