Dive Brief:
- Well over half of positive Google reviews for U.S. apartment properties — 64% — mentioned on-site staff members in a favorable light, according to a report by Burlington, Vermont-based reputation management firm Widewail.
- Based on an analysis of 400,000 multifamily reviews over the last 12 months — carried out using artificial intelligence to sort by specific keywords — location, maintenance, maintenance staff and amenities were the most common topics in positive reviews after staff. A significant portion also talked about the properties’ cleanliness, friendliness and aesthetics.
- In negative reviews, maintenance was the most widely mentioned topic, appearing in 34% of resident feedback. Management and communication were the next most common subjects of these reviews. Staff was No. 4 on this list, mentioned in 18% of reviews.
Dive Insight:
On average, each property studied received 1.59 reviews per month and had a star rating of 3.94 out of five, according to Widewail data. Just over 28% of the cataloged reviews were negative, and the property’s response rate was over 88%.
Some of the keywords that were prominent in one set of reviews were extremely rare in the other. For instance, while rent was mentioned in one in 10 negative reviews, fewer than 1% of positive reviews noted it. The same held true for pests and billing/fees.
Out of these reviews, only 5.85% discussed the tour stage of the renting life cycle. Because reviews of tours tend to be above four stars on average, this is a “huge missed opportunity,” said Jake Hughes, director of marketing at Widewail, in a webinar presenting the data.
“People are happy in the beginning, they’re excited,” Katie Ritter, multifamily lead at Widewail, said during the event. “This is a moment — a really high human touchpoint that can really drive that positive interaction.”
For favorable reviews given during this period, the share that mentioned staff was even higher than the overall average at 75.95%. This means that positive in-person experiences during a tour — as opposed to something entirely virtual or self-guided — are a potential driver of positive reviews, according to Ritter.
“The consensus I hear is [to combine] people plus technology to improve operational efficiency, the resident experience [and] the day-to-day of your team,” Ritter said. “Our data suggests removing people from the process entirely … is not necessarily what is going to drive a great resident experience.”
Aesthetics and amenities were mentioned in almost one in five instances — suggesting these are strong attraction points for potential residents. However, Ritter notes that amenities were also mentioned in 13% of negative reviews, highlighting the importance of curating amenities to residents’ needs.
During move-in, onsite teams are a strong driver of positive experiences, mentioned in 76.4% of positive reviews given during this stage. Maintenance was the strongest driver of negative reviews during unit turnover at 41.2%, followed by unit condition and cleanliness.
The study drew from reviews left on properties owned by 150 multifamily companies, including the NMHC Top 50.
