10 Ways User Reviews Will Change the Apartment Industry

Whether you like it or not, reviews of your community will be as ubiquitous as the devices the reviews will be read on. Reviews of businesses have always been a thorn for publishers. Consumers want reviews, advertisers won’t advertise if there are (negative) reviews.

As an apartment community, being held accountable by your residents, and making positive changes based on the feedback, will inevitably make your community better and more profitable.

Apartment reviews are about to become much more integrated into the rental search experience.

According to various sources, Google is very close to acquiring Yelp, a national business review site, for at least $500 million. This will be the catalyst for empowering current and future residents to easily and honestly communicate their service experience as it relates to finding, renting and living in an apartment community.

How will user reviews impact the apartment industry?

1. Potential residents will have easier access to reviews of apartment communities
2. Positive and negative reviews may be incorporated into future search algorithms
3. Apartment communities will need to embrace positive and negative reviews
4. Proactive communication with current and future residents will become a standard
5. Reviews will become open, shared and on every device
6. Reviews will become harder to “fake”
7. Reviews will become viral
8. Demand will increase for “top” reviewed communities allowing for higher rental pricing
9. Communities will begin to encourage residents to publish feedback
10. All Communities will have to adapt, (focus on the service), or will no longer exist

At the end of the day, potential residents searching for apartments and those already living in a community will see better service, faster response time, and cleaner apartments because of this transition.