With a 30-year track record as a leader in the multifamily sector, AvalonBay Communities, Inc(NYSE: AVB) continues to transform its operating model to enhance its capabilities, foster innovation, support resident satisfaction, and increase efficiency. The recent opening of the REIT’s second centralized customer service center underscores that strategy, and points to additional innovation to come.
Arlington, Virginia-based AvalonBay has a portfolio of 300 apartment communities with more than 91,000 apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia.
“Our goal is to create a seamless experience for our residents, potential clients, and associates,” says Michael Coyne, vice president of operations at AvalonBay. “Providing that experience requires several components working together: a robust digital platform, an experienced centralized back-office team, and coordination on ‘front office’ client-facing responsibilities between remote and on-site associates.”
In 2007, AvalonBay established its first Customer Service Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia – the first centralized service center in the multifamily sector. Over the past 17 years, the Customer Service Center has provided superior customer service to residents and potential customers at a lower operating cost.
“When we launched the customer service center during our initial wave of centralization efforts, it was primarily related to back-office functions—rent payments, billing, accounting; those were back-office functions that, in our industry, were still being done at the property level,” says Lisa Bongardt, AvalonBay’s senior vice president of operations. “What we did was not something anyone else had done, but we realized there was a more efficient way to operate. That was transformational for us.”
Freeing up resources
Through the Customer Service Center, AvalonBay was able to provide a higher level of support to customers, while freeing up community associates to focus on services that made more sense to provide on-site.
“The on-site associates were able to provide a better touch-point level of service to residents in person in our communities,” says Bongardt. “This led to a really strong partnership between our centralized teams and our on-site teams and impacted how we collaborate to serve the customer.”
As proptech advanced and AvalonBay had more tools available, the company realized it could move front-office functions to a centralized team and enable higher service levels while reducing the overall cost of service.
“Initially, we were working during bankers’ hours, and we could only give tours in those short, old-school timeframes. Then we opened up a new capability to allow potential customers to see our product and make leasing decisions 10 hours a day, seven days a week,” says Bongardt. “By centralizing our renewal support, we allowed people to make decisions at their fingertips, when it was convenient for them, rather than having to go to the property and make an appointment. That really took off and helped us expand and grow over time.”
Historically, apartment sales were done by on-site associates during face-to-face meetings. But eventually this was limited even when leasing associates were available.
Today, AvalonBay is focused on meeting people where they are, accommodating their specific schedules and travel preferences.
Complete set of equipment
While this additional level of service would typically increase costs significantly, AvalonBay’s fully integrated approach allows the company to become more effective and efficient. For example, it can provide high-quality service by leveraging a full suite of digital and AI tools with AI-assisted remote associates at the customer service center.
“Our self-guided tours eliminate the need to coordinate scheduling with an on-site leasing associate and are supported through innovative technology tools including smart locks, AI features that answer potential customers’ most common questions, and a digital platform that provides access details to our potential customers so they can enter and navigate the building through digital maps, community descriptions, photos, and frequently asked questions,” says Coyne. “And we have a button they can press that will connect them to our remote leasing team.”
The AI assistant that handles pre-tour needs is named Sydney, and many visitors on the tour repeatedly ask to meet “Sydney”.
“You know it’s working and it feels like a seamless experience when they ask for AI,” says Bongardt. “It’s powerful when we hear that because we know the customer is being well served, and they’re having a good experience while engaging and exploring the community.”
Additionally, the centralized model and digital advancements also support lease renewals, allowing all satisfied residents to re-sign or extend their leases without any additional hassle. For example, the Virginia Beach center has a team of experts focused solely on renewal conversations, assisting those looking to renew and actively conducting outreach.
“The renewal product we built through our portal provides a self-service renewal experience,” says Bongardt. “Residents receive a notification that their renewal is ready and are then able to do a full self-service process through the digital product so they can see lease term options, rates, when the notice is due, and other important data needed to make a renewal decision.”
This is all done through AI support first, and if the AI is unable to answer a question or finalize a query asked, a centralized associate will follow up directly.
“Residents can execute a lease agreement without talking to anyone if they wish,” says Bongardt. “If someone is more detail-oriented and prefers human interaction, someone will follow suit, and they can get that level of service through a lease-management product.”
This centralised approach also provides vital support during emergencies, including extreme weather events, power outages and fires, as the team can provide critical safety information at a time when on-site staff are busy dealing with the problem.
“Residents can enter their maintenance service requests in real time and receive updates on the project while they’re out or at work,” says Bongardt. “As our residents adjust to this new way of communicating with us, they are appreciating the opportunity to receive more information faster, as well as the peace of mind. The biggest benefit is accessibility.”
second center opened
This spring, the company opened its second customer service center in San Antonio, Texas.
“As we continue to prioritize innovation that strengthens service, we have decided to invest in a second location in San Antonio to reinforce our Virginia Beach capacity and further improve our responsiveness and accessibility to people who live in or have an interest in our communities,” says Bongardt.
San Antonio will eventually employ 100 associates, and AvalonBay is ramping up its customer service there, providing more front-office support, working in leasing, renewals and day-to-day service.
“We’re now starting to expand beyond our residents to provide these services for other companies in the industry,” says Coyne. Last year, AvalonBay partnered with Atlanta-based Gables Residential to provide back-office financial administrative support services for Gables’ 25,000 units.
