3 Lessons Learned in Smart Technology Implementation

Ambient’s panel at the 2024 Blueprint conference brought together panelists Patrick Sisson (freelance journalist with work in WSJ, Bloomberg CityLab, Bisnow), Gina Davis (Trilogy Investment Company), James Alfandre (Urban Alfandre), and Mike Rovito (Ambient) to discuss the realities of smart tech implementation.

Below is a recap of the panel, including the three key lessons that panelists shared:

“We spend all this time and energy designing the exterior and interiors, branding, amenities…to give our future resident a reason to live in our property,” says James Alfandre, Founding Principal at Urban Alfandre. But if prospects can’t take a self-guided tour, or have to juggle keys and fobs to navigate the property, that “takes away from the overall experience that we want to provide for that future resident,” he continues.

“We're very big on building communities and wanting our residents to experience a community lifestyle,” says Gina Davis, SVP of Asset Management at Trilogy Investment Company. Providing a community lifestyle requires adding value that enhances residents’ daily lives — which technology can deliver.

For example, a resident in a smart apartment who needs a dog walker can send them a digital access code — and revoke property access right after the walk.

“For the resident we’re designing towards, smart technology is an integral part of our strategy,” James says.

Don’t forget to “look around the corner,” Mike Rovito, CEO at Ambient, says, to ensure “you have technology in place that can be leveraged for additional things down the road. The right smart tech creates optionality.”

Today, we’re seeing owners and developers embrace that optionality to maximize revenue in new, creative ways — such as using technology to enable their buildings for short-term rentals in the future.

Ultimately, having the right technology in place makes these opportunities easier to pursue.

“As developers who hold long-term, we want to design our properties to be used as efficiently as possible at all times,” James says. “We want to have our property set up in such a way that all of these creative ways of maximizing revenue are already built-in.”

“As an industry, we need to make sure we're investing together in technologies that have staying power…and picking protocols and devices that make sense for multifamily,” Mike says.

“We don't have doorbell cameras on our apartment units because there's a level of security” provided by the building’s perimeter access, “but we do have doorbell cams for our townhomes,” James says.

“For us in BTR, there are higher expenses because the homes have a larger footprint,” Gina says. At BTR properties without an on-site team, controlling devices like thermostats and locks from afar helps manage those expenses. Remote management “reduces utility expenses” and improves operations, says Gina.

Choose smart tech according to your asset class.

Be clear about the rationale behind your smart tech investment: Is it about getting more in rent or is it about operational efficiency?

“In retrofits, a smart tech investment is an incremental cost to just running the business as usual — you probably have a more confined set of things with a more pointed purpose,” Mike says. “Whereas in new construction, you’re thinking ‘Let’s take advantage of this opportunity.’”

Also consider how project type impacts which kinds of devices you should invest in. Certain smart devices — like leak sensors — will be most impactful in retrofits where old equipment and infrastructure can cause problems.

Proptech is a relatively new, fast-evolving space.

“As an owner, I would rather work with a company that has a long-term plan for growth and staying power and funding than a company that might provide us value, but their end goal is really just to build up a company and make a quick exit,” James says.

Gina says she looks for a partner who is “very transparent about next steps…and what they’re going to be able to offer later on down the road.”

Armed with this knowledge, owners can make smarter investment decisions.