2016 NMHC OPTECH Recap

November 22, 2016

Keynote speaker Rachel Botsman set the tone for this year’s OPTECH with a presentation on how, to be successful in the new sharing economy, the need for leaders to understand that today’s consumer values access over ownership of goods, there is an expectation of connected experiences and reputation is the new currency.

Last week, the 2016 OPTECH Conference & Exposition brought together nearly 1,600 apartment executives from the industry’s leading firms.

The program was a one-stop shop with more than 50 sessions and 133 participating speakers, including many of the top minds in the areas of technology, operations, marketing, sustainability and telecom. Key themes centered on how technology is driving the sharing economy and rewriting the rules of business faster than ever, leaving multifamily companies striving to find ways to be more adaptive and innovative.

NMHC thanks all sponsors, exhibitors, speakers and attendees for their contributions, as well as our OPTECH Challenge participants. Congratulations to Joe Melton from The Morgan Group, who won a $500 AmEx gift card; Jason Milam from Camden Property Trust, who won a $1,000 AmEx gift card; and Kathryn Megrue from GrayCo, who won the grand prize trip to Ireland, compliments of Cox Communications.

NMHC thanks all sponsors, exhibitors, speakers and attendees for contributing to another successful OPTECH.

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Integrated Marketing and Pricing Improves Performance

When a property’s performance misses targets, multifamily firms are often quick to pull the pricing lever. However, by better integrating marketing and pricing strategies, firms can often solve performance lags with more than just price.

During a panel discussion on strategies and best practices for ensuring revenue management and demand generation worked together seamlessly during the 2016 OPTECH Conference & Exposition, Catherine Swaback, director of marketing strategy at Alliance Residential, offered a great example of how firms can save costs and preserve asset value by looking more holistically at marketing and pricing strategies.

The company wanted to reduce exposure at one community that was having some performance issues. The initial strategy was to reduce rent. But reducing the rent not only negatively affected property revenue, but also property value. Rather than continue to drop rent to drive down exposure, the team layered in a new targeted marketing strategy. This integrated approach was less costly overall and resulted not only in reduced exposure but in actual rent growth.

Thank You

NMHC thanks all sponsors, exhibitors, speakers and attendees for contributing to another successful OPTECH.

Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the 2017 OPTECH Conference & Exposition, being held Oct. 25-27 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.