AUSTIN, Texas – April 14, 2020 – Swivel, Inc., a digital leasing platform for office space, today announced it will unbundle its SaaS leasing application, AgileView, from its proprietary flexible workspace network to support both agile and traditional leasing approaches. AgileView gives office space landlords and their leasing teams the power to digitally transform the office leasing process for any of their properties and leases to maintain momentum and stay ahead of the curve during and after the economic downturn.  The move comes as a direct response from leasing teams needing a fast solution to innovate their processes during this period of social distancing where traditional leasing activities have come to a halt.  "We needed a way to promote and lease our spaces online rather than in person," said Dalton Stogner, Leasing Agent at Lincoln Property Company. "Swivel helped us get setup with 3D virtual touring capabilities and is helping our teams to engage existing and prospective tenants with this interactive, online leasing experience."  AgileView allows landlord leasing teams to immediately engage existing and prospective tenants with: 3D virtual touring that gives a real-world experience of spaces in a variety of finish-out and pricing options. Proposal management and credit scoring…

AUSTIN, Texas – September 1, 2020 – Swivel, Inc., a digital office platform, today announced the availability of a new workspace management application, AgileOffice, to enable employers to streamline office safety and communications in the post Covid-19 age. AgileOffice enables occupiers to set and communicate safety policies, manage workspace access, and notify the team of health events or office closures. Unlike other workspace management applications, AgileOffice links the occupier to the property manager and other property tenants for broader context of building health and safety. The occupier can also engage and share best practices with a broader community of tenants and property managers all navigating their return to office. "Our team was ready to get back to the office, but we knew we needed to have a plan to do that safely and thoughtfully," said Chief Administrative Officer Patricia Ericson, of Floodgate. "With AgileOffice, I feel equipped to bring our employees back in confidently. I set and enforce policies and see clearly who and how the office is being used each day." The product comes as a direct response from teams that are finding remote work to be less than ideal for shared tasks or brainstorming across team members. As…

Aquicore's lite version of its remote monitoring and building performance platform, which requires no hardware and features a frictionless signup process, helps property teams during the COVID-19 pandemic to minimize energy/operating costs and track the effects of reopening facilities. WASHINGTON, May 2020 -- Aquicore, a leading platform for energy and facility performance management in commercial real estate, today announced it is offering free use of a lite version of its cloud-based platform through Aug. 1, 2020. This special program features a frictionless signup process and requires no hardware for users to gain access to new features and reports designed to manage the atypical conditions of buildings during the COVID-19 pandemic. "These extraordinary times require special oversight of commercial buildings. Accurate, up-to-date data and the ability to benchmark are critical to helping property teams react to the rapid changes the industry is experiencing," said Logan Soya, founder and CEO of Aquicore. "I'm proud of the team's ability to rapidly rise to the occasion and adapt our capabilities and features to the unique needs created by the pandemic. We've seen incredible interest in this information and are happy to offer free use of our product. We're eager to help owners and property teams develop optimization strategies…

Commercial real estate industry veteran Kim Ford, LEED AP, announces the formation of Coeo, a tech-enabled online marketplace that will redefine how people find and share commercial real estate. Coeo connects people and teams with move-in-ready, flexible workspaces in seconds. It enables tenants and brokers the ability to find, share, tour and book space quickly and easily. This curated marketplace uses a scientific algorithm matching the desired amenities of a space to the specific user's needs. The platform (always free for the user) then connects the user directly to the host, where they can schedule a tour or book the space. The business idea came from Ms. Ford and other industry executives who saw the demand for a universal PropTech solution in the decentralized and fragmented commercial real estate industry. "We understand the changing needs of today's companies that are demanding more flexibility and immediate results. Business leaders don't want to be distracted with real estate," says Ms. Ford. Having worked in the industry for over 22 years, Ms. Ford wanted to create a solution that benefits all sides of the real estate transaction including brokers, landlords, co-working companies, businesses and individuals looking to find or share space. Businesses with empty offices and workstations now have…

Commercial real estate industry veteran Kim Ford, LEED AP, announces the formation of Coeo, a tech-enabled online marketplace that will redefine how people find and share commercial real estate. Coeo connects people and teams with move-in-ready, flexible workspaces in seconds. It enables tenants and brokers the ability to find, share, tour and book space quickly and easily. This curated marketplace uses a scientific algorithm matching the desired amenities of a space to the specific user's needs. The platform (always free for the user) then connects the user directly to the host, where they can schedule a tour or book the space. The business idea came from Ms. Ford and other industry executives who saw the demand for a universal PropTech solution in the decentralized and fragmented commercial real estate industry. "We understand the changing needs of today's companies that are demanding more flexibility and immediate results. Business leaders don't want to be distracted with real estate," says Ms. Ford. Having worked in the industry for over 22 years, Ms. Ford wanted to create a solution that benefits all sides of the real estate transaction including brokers, landlords, co-working companies, businesses and individuals looking to find or share space. Businesses with empty offices and workstations now have…

AUSTIN, Texas – May 18, 2020 – Swivel, Inc., a digital leasing platform for office space, today announced Cameron Management has implemented its SaaS-based leasing application, AgileView, to give tenants the ability to virtually tour any space and allow broker teams to collaborate with tenants and execute leases more efficiently. Featuring almost 50,000 square feet which is comprised of 12 suites ranging from approximately 600 square feet to 17,000 square feet, Cameron Management accommodates both individual tenants and companies of all sizes with an immersive virtual 3D experience for touring spaces. As a result, the company is able to keep activities moving efficiently to safeguard business and maintain momentum during unpredictable times. "Faced with such an unprecedented circumstance of losing the ability to physically engage with tenants, we knew we had to pivot to a flexible, virtual format to keep business moving for both our brokers and prospective tenants," said Jano Nixon Kelley, Cameron Management's Director of Marketing. "Swivel's application has significantly contributed to our digital transformation success and will continue to do so as we move to balance both digital and traditional leasing practices." Through AgileView, tenants and tenant brokers can explore a self-paced virtual experience of any of…

How We Can All Do Our Part to Help in a Crisis   As we've monitored and responded to COVID-19 developments, one thing has become clear from the beginning: We are all in this together. 3.21.20 As a company that partners hand-in-hand with local entrepreneurs and employs hundreds of hourly workers, we are acutely aware of the existential risks that small businesses face in times of crisis. And yet, as a company with a national presence, experiencing an event powerful and widespread enough to simultaneously impact every one of our 20 cities is indeed rare. In our country, the sad truth is that many members of our workforce are more frightened of losing their jobs than they are of contracting this virus. If Wall Street itself is faltering, imagine what the millions of people who count on each and every paycheck must feel. Weeks ago, as news of the coronavirus picked up, we made two key decisions: First, in a time when many companies are laying people off, we would take a different approach and do our utmost to keep our staff employed for the duration of the outbreak. And second, we would commit to supporting our community and providing the…

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - VoPay, a leader in payment technology innovation, has partnered with Spacelist, the number one commercial real estate listing platform in Canada, to ease payment processing. The partnership will provide an integrated bank account payment solution for SimpleLease, an end-to-end leasing platform being launched by Spacelist. With 97% of businesses in Canada having less than 50 employees, SimpleLease will serve these small and medium-sized businesses to simplify and streamline the leasing process of commercial spaces, including payments. SimpleLease saves the landlord and tenant valuable time by automating lease payments, leveraging VoPay's technology to verify funds and schedule bank transfers automatically based on the terms of the lease agreement. "Our mission is to make leasing a commercial property easy, accessible, and convenient for small business owners," said Steven Jaffe, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of SimpleLease. "The leasing process can be intimidating and overwhelming for small business owners. By offering an easy to understand lease summary, and integrating negotiations within SimpleLease's intuitive workflow, lease terms are easier to review." Spacelist identified this major pain point by servicing thousands of businesses looking for commercial space every day. Spacelist will be an integrated partner of SimpleLease, offering direct access to the commercial real…

Safe Workplaces a Priority for Employers, Employees Alike Ottawa, Canada - Relogix, a leading analytics provider of office workspace occupancy and optimization insights, announced a new partnership with Lenovo to make workplaces measurably safer during office re-entry and moving forward. The Relogix/Lenovo partnership enables organizations to provide a safe return-to-office environment via the Relogix Safe Workspace Monitoring platform. The platform delivers meaningful and intelligent data to better manage workspaces including:  Revealing safe seats available for use  Flagging people clustering too closely together Notifying that recently used spaces require target cleaning Identifying underused space that could be repurposed   Ensuring employee behaviours are reflecting COVID-19 protocols   "Relogix intelligent workspace insights will help companies prepare and manage their return to work safely, identify new patterns of work to inform workspace design, and provide insight for other decisions necessary to adapt to today's very different working environment," says Jeff Bennett, COO of Relogix. "With Relogix joining Lenovo's Think IoT solutions, organizations will also benefit from Lenovo's world class implementation, support, and easy integration with the rest of the suite of services as needed."  Relogix was selected as a founding partner for Lenovo's ThinkIoT Back to Work Solutions suite after a rigorous validation process that includes up to 140 steps covering security, serviceability, scalability and reliability.  Lenovo will market and sell Relogix safe return-to-office solutions through their sales channels as a component of their ThinkIoT Back to Work Solution. Deployments will be facilitated by Lenovo's field network of more than 20,000 technicians.…

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Let's be honest: project management is rarely fun. Guiding a property management project from early planning to the final touches can be stressful and time-consuming. You're risking more than a headache, however; project management is often the main reason that multifamily properties lose money. Without an effective approach, projects are prone to costly delays, miscommunications, and incorrect resource allocations. It's enough to make any multifamily housing (MFH) team hesitant to pull the trigger, but the upside is that there are methods and tools that can ease the burden. Project Management 101 Project management (PM) describes how teams design, conduct, monitor, and assess an initiative within an organization. In property management, these initiatives can range from small-scale renos and restorations to unit-turnovers and property-wide upgrades.  The PM process can assume many forms. The traditional "waterfall" approach, for example, follows a step-by-step methodology in which teams plot out every phase of their journey and tackle them in sequential order. "Agile" methodology, on the other hand, involves breaking a project down into time-sensitive phases (aka "sprints") and assigning them to different teams who tackle them in unison. In so doing, teams can adapt and pivot in response to changes in real-time. Find out…

It's safe to say that COVID-19 has changed the property management game. And in response to growing health and safety challenges, property operations teams of every stripe are exploring new digital tools, systems, and procedures to protect residents and bolster operations both now and in a post-pandemic world. Surely, if digital transformation was on the agenda before the pandemic, now it is a necessity. With that in mind, here are some ways property teams are using technologies to ensure resident safety and give staff an edge in the age of COVID-19. A touchless experience: While "touchless technology" isn't necessarily new, the pandemic has accelerated adoption.  From automated doors to keyless entries (aka "fobs") and cashless payments to virtual communications, many property teams are racing to minimize fears by creating a truly touchless resident experience. On the staff side, there's an increasing demand for automated systems, mobile technologies, and connected back-office systems. The challenge in all of this?  Balancing "smart technology" interactions with human-centered service. Additional communication-via phone, text, or email-can help residents feel more connected to staff, even if in-person interactions are fewer. Remote working: The work-from-home (WFH) revolution has accelerated and likely not going away any time soon. For property management teams, this enables…

Project management is daunting during the best of times. Add a game-changing pandemic to the mix, and it's easy to understand why stress levels among property management teams are running high. Adapting to the "new normal" is key, but where does one begin? Surely, the days of "business as usual" are on indefinite hold. Project teams face a host of new challenges stemming from heightened health risks, displaced workforces, and industry disruption. Keeping projects on track takes fresh outlooks and new strategies for both today and the post-pandemic world.  Here are 5 things to keep in mind as you navigate this new and changing landscape. Stay nimble: Changing times call for adaptable mindsets. And as COVID-19 continues to rewrite the rules and spark industry changes, project managers must be ready to adapt their plans accordingly. This can be difficult for leaders who prefer "sticking to the plan," but failing to adapt to new rules, health risks, or resident trends can mean veering off track completely. Avoid key issues that cause time-delays and increased costs in the make-ready process.  Accommodate hybrid teams: The pandemic has made working from home the rule rather than the exception. This can make it difficult for property management teams…

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This November, I had the opportunity to attend the National Apartment Association's (NAA) 2020 Apartmentalize virtual convention. Much like its previous years, this online event offered valuable insights into the obstacles and opportunities facing apartment building owners/managers at this unique (and challenging) moment in time. There was a lot to soak in over the week-long conference. I've spent a lot of time since the show brainstorming how SuiteSpot's turnovers and facilities management platform can tackle the many issues that came to light. Here are my top Apartmentalize sessions and key takeaways from each one: 1. Work Orders in a Remote World: Real-time Project Management Day-to-day property management operations have been far from "normal" since March. If one thing rang clear in this online roundtable, it's that property stakeholders have been turning to technology for relief. "We're really relying on our maintenance software platforms now more than ever," offered Nick Hecox, Director of Maintenance with AI Angelo Company, noting that in addition to boosting team collaboration and efficiency, "the real value with going digital is the ability to see the data in ways we couldn't before. It's reduced our time spent auditing, and the metrics are amazing." Hecox was joined by…

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It's been a difficult year for the multifamily sector. According to the latest stats, December alone saw a decrease in rent collections by 24% compared with March of this year. This puts even more pressure on property management teams to reduce operating costs and boost efficiencies so they can begin 2021 with a healthier financial outlook. Saving money and bolstering operations have been common themes in our 2020 blogs. Now, as a new (and hopefully brighter) year takes shape, we've collected five New Year's wishes that will help your TRIMM (AKA: Turnovers, Renovations, Inspections and Maintenance Management) processes. 1. Task automation and tracking: The costs of delays, miscommunications, and human errors can add up fast in multifamily management. Using automated programs to set up, monitor, and evaluate tasks in real-time can help overcome these speedbumps while establishing workflows that can be tracked and adapted on the fly. Moreover, automation helps team leaders set up exception reporting, in which project alerts and escalations are sent to the appropriate field staff's mobile device via email or push notification when their intervention is required. This helps teams prioritize the most important tasks each day and resolve potential issues faster. 2. Real-time insights: The best time to…

Empty units mean they're generating zero income, and while multifamily housing (MFH) turnovers dipped to historic lows during the pandemic, the industry cannot bank on this trend lasting. It's likely that residents are just postponing due to the pandemic. The more property teams do now to facilitate efficient turnovers, the better prepared they'll be to manage this costly and time-consuming process once the flood of activity gets underway. Turnovers are often the most expensive part of any multifamily operations. Between repairs, restorations, vendor delays, and team miscommunications, the costs of readying a unit for the market can quickly overshoot your budgeted amount and time to market. The good news is there are many opportunities to enhance the unit turnover process and keep money-making assets from sitting empty. Uncover hidden costs and discover potential savings! Don't miss these 7 Unit Turnover Mistakes that Waste Time and Money As we all know, efficient turnovers hinge on standardized processes, flawless communication, and accurate inspections. Paper-based processes worked in the past, but the complexity and volume of modern turnovers require more advanced tools. For example, inspections used to be conducted with papers, pens, and a camera, but mobile unit inspection apps can provide standardized checklists, collect…

Project managers thrive on their ability to know what's happening, why it's happening, and who's accountable for getting the job done. This is especially true in property management where the success of any activity relies on clear directions and a real-time view into a team's projects and activities. Enter: workflows, data-driven game plans that define the steps and results required to achieve a business outcome. Beyond mapping out the "flow" of activities within a project, workflows illustrate how those tasks intermingle, the information that passes between them, and the timelines each team must follow to ensure everyone reaches the finish line together. Find out if you're truly optimizing your make-readies, inspections, and maintenance tasks in 5 minutes or less! In short, workflows help property management teams continuously improve their activities, both for the benefit of their residents and asset stakeholders. There are several advantages to using a workflow created and managed via property management platforms, including: 1. Automated processes: Plans are smoother when everyone is on the same page. Property management software allows users to embed "smart templates" within their workflows that outline the required steps, notifies teams when it's their "turn" to act, and keeps everyone working from the same playbook.  By…

Waiving fees for the next 90 days to power cloud communication tools for multifamily leasing teams to easily transition to remote leasing                                                       New York, NY - May 13, 2020 - Funnel, the leading multifamily marketing and leasing software by Nestio, have announced today that the company is bringing a first-of-its-kind remote leasing solution to the multifamily industry, powered by Twilio's cloud communications platform. Amid COVID-19 disruptions, the multifamily industry has been forced to pivot most traditional operations to adapt to changing work environments. Transitioning on-site leasing teams into remote teams has been one of the myriad tasks operators are facing as they seek to keep residents, prospects, and associates safe during this world-wide pandemic. "We are eager to help and participate in an opportunity to give back to our industry", said Funnel CEO and Co-Founder Caren Maio. "Twilio has been an outstanding partner to us and our hope is that we can power omnichannel contact centers so that leasing teams can continue to thrive even while working from home." Omnichannel contact centers enable existing contact centers to strengthen their offering and help multifamily operators quickly stand up new contact centers.  It combines Twilio's cloud-based communications APIs with Funnel's innovative…

By Connell McGill, CEO and Co-founder of Enertiv Over the past two years, the commercial real estate industry's engagement with early-stage technology companies has seen a significantly uptick. Despite the growing excitement, we are still in the early stage of the adoption curve. Most real estate professionals do their job in more or less the same way that they have for decades. While innovators and early adopters aggressively incorporate data, analytics and automation into every level of the business, the early and late majority are still waiting to see how it all shakes out. This thinking is understandable. Real estate requires strategic long-term planning to be successful and letting others test the water before jumping in makes sense. What the majority doesn't understand is the numerous tangential benefits from piloting new technologies that are missed in simple payback calculations. #1. Thinking Differently Instead of sticking to processes just because "it works," seeing technology in action encourages teams to think differently about their roles and responsibilities. The more technology helps automate workflows and prioritize activities, the more teams begin to see opportunities for how digitization could improve their jobs and the company's performance. This positive view of technology facilitates two important…

In today's ultra-competitive commercial real estate landscape, having the commercial real estate technology and processes in place is critical for investment sales teams. Traditional transactional models are quickly becoming disrupted as the needs and behaviors of investors are evolving. The amount of information available online and emergence of new technologies now provide greater accessibility and speed to transact.  What are top investment sales brokers doing to win? Below are how investment sales teams are staying ahead of the curve to win more deals. 1. They Build their Own Buyer List The depth and quality of the buyer list is absolutely crucial. High-performing teams continuously expand, nurture and scrub their lists of qualified buyers.  Building an own contact list puts them in command and lets them control and manage communications independent of any 3rd-party platform like RCM or purchasing an external buyer list. 2. They Differentiate the Offering Summary Unless it's a very large deal, most investors are no longer interested in sifting through a 30+ page static offering memorandum. Top brokers know this and are differentiating their deals to cut above the noise of traditional OMs. One effective way to do this, is with an interactive property website that demands attention and creates "wow" factor to…

DevOps DevOps is here to stay, there is no denying it. Majority of large organizations already have DevOps in place. DevOps helps an organization in implementing an IT infrastructure that is both reliable and adaptable for rapid delivery and deployment. In DevOps, the development team and operations team both work collaboratively to create a strategy that is feasible and rapidly productive. The main role of DevOps is to bridge the gap between the development team and the operations team. DevOps handles the whole process of making the build, testing it and then deploying it. Having DevOps in place an organization benefits hugely, as the time and resources required for testing and deploying are minimized. DevOps is not only beneficial for large projects or products but also plays the same vital role in the development of any small scale project. The key concepts that are covered in DevOps help improve the overall integrity of any project. DevOps Engineers mostly are specialized in time management, and set up such a structure that notifies about build fails to every developer involved instantly. The code that is released gets merged or deployed only after all test cases are successfully passed. These test cases in…

These are trying times for property staff, but that doesn't mean relationships with your residents need to suffer. As changes abound and anxiety runs high, it's more important than ever to set and manage resident expectations in order to keep occupants safe and comfortable in the age of COVID-19. On the front lines Maintenance teams have a critical role setting and maintaining resident expectations. With social distancing rules keeping many in isolation, maintenance crews are likely the only point of face-to-face contact between residents and their property management team. As such, they and the admin team must be ready and able to identify, assess, and prioritize maintenance requests to generate trust and peace of mind among building occupants. What does it mean to be equipped? It's about having the right tools, systems, and processes to understand the task at hand and streamline a solution. It's also about communicating effectively with property managers, staff, and residents alike to avoid miscommunications or surprises that will prevent your site teams from meeting resident's expectations. Here are five ways both maintenance teams and their colleagues can meet resident expectations during these uncertain times: 1. Use digital communications: It's no longer feasible to hold face-to-face meetings…

That technology creates disruption is a known fact. Till nearly a decade ago, there were no social media consultants or AI engineers, just two of the many new roles. The onward march of technology and its rapid deployment has meant unprecedented changes for organizations, with new roles coming up as old ones fall by the wayside. This has meant technology has become a key factor enabling the survival of people within and across organizations. Talent managers look for people with the necessary skills or those who can be skilled appropriately, with others falling behind in the race. The relevance of work experience is becoming secondary, with primacy accorded to skills and their application to new environments. How can HR make the right talent available? This is a tough ask. A Dell-EMC study postulated that 85% of the jobs that would exist in the year 2030 are yet to be even invented! This makes it hard to plan talent needs for jobs that may not even exist a few years from now. What must be considered is potential, the likelihood that the person will succeed in the future. Considering the new focus areas when evaluating candidates, there are several steps HR…

From simple repairs to HVAC replacements, and property cleaning to unit turnovers, maintenance plays a significant role in upholding property values and keeping residents happy. Yet while keeping up with daily tasks is key, so is setting and tracking maintenance benchmarks to meet these goals over the long-term. Benchmarking serves the same purpose in property management as it does in any other industry. It is the process of using available metrics (aka data) to establish a base-level of performance for individuals and tasks, and using that data to both compare your organization's performance against industry standards and find areas for improvements. The challenge with benchmarking is that it relies on relevant, accurate, and up-to-date data. This can be difficult to extract in a paper-based system. Here is where investing in the technologies and skills to collect operational data has advantages. For example... Optimizing repairs: What repairs are taking the most amount of time? How often are they occurring? Are certain maintenance team members taking longer to perform them than others? Tracking repair data across a portfolio produces trends and benchmarks, which can be used to unlock efficiencies. For example, if data suggests certain techs are taking longer to address specific repairs,…

Time is of the essence during unit turnovers, which means the pressure is on from the moment you learn that a resident has given notice to vacate their unit. Since every delay means more time off the market and less revenue in your coffers, it's crucial to understand when (and where) the most common setbacks can occur. Unfortunately, the unit turnover process is vulnerable to slowdowns at every stage, so even the smallest miscommunication or mistake can generate additional costs and delays. For example, SuiteSpot's recent research shows there's a 19% chance that a unit will miss its target move-in date if not inspected within 24 hours after turnover completion. That's an easily preventable mistake that can cost thousands of dollars. To compound the error, a typical portfolio of 10,000 units experiences a staggering $2 to $3 million of NOI losses from inefficient turnovers every year.  Avoid key issues that cause time-delays and increased costs in the make-ready process.  You probably already have some sense of where your turnover process is going awry. Remedying delays in the unit turnover process requires stronger collaboration and communication. Improvement hinges on accurate pre-move-out inspections, enhancing the scoping and quoting process, and upgrading how teams monitor their workflows.…

Abseiling has become a favorite choice for cleaning the facades of high-rise commercial buildings. It is a highly specialized industry used for cleaning and maintaining building façades. It means there's no need to use cherry pickers or scaffolding – factors that can make cleaning a building a lengthy and expensive business. It's therefore a very cost-effective alternative to other access methods. All the team needs is a rope system and a trained crew to get started. Not all buildings are the same. Architects and structural engineers work hard to ensure that the design makes the most of the location to deliver the required safety, climate control, and functionality. This means that numerous buildings have intricate designs that make access to cleaning tricky. That's why industrial abseiling is the solution for modern commercial buildings that require cleaning and maintenance.  Let's take a closer look at the benefits of industrial abseiling. It is flexible Pretty much any building can be accessed using a rope crew. The teams also have the know-how and experience to adjust the rope setups to make them suitable for various buildings or situations. They can reach areas that are challenging to get to using traditional equipment – areas…

As a business owner, you might be familiar with conversion rate optimization. As the name suggests, it involves a set of tasks that help boost the number of customers while conducting necessary actions on a website. CRO agencies like Adroit Marketing aim to increase business returns through specialized digital marketing plans. 74% of conversion rate optimization programs boost sales. Building a business and working towards its growth is already a daunting task. So, demanding your constant presence to improve website traffic may seem too far-fetched while exhausting time and money. Here is where CRO agencies take the role of easing your stress. Read along to know the different ways these expert agencies can elevate your CRO and grow your business. In What Ways does an Expert Agency Help? It is given that CRO agencies are well equipped with experts tasked with improving the overall attractiveness of business websites to increase customer traffic. But what do they do to revamp the websites that guarantee profits? Just check them out. Develop Accessibility User accessibility is a critical feature of any website that decides the fate of a business. Inaccessibility and user-friendly websites may irk most customers nowadays as everyone wants fast loading…

By Liz Dion CRX CMD, Customer Relations Manager US and Canada, Mallcomm Imagine a grand opening with seamless, instant communication to all relevant teams 24/7 right in the palm of your hand. In this article I explain how leading proptech solution, Mallcomm, allows center teams to effectively manage communications and operations and develop effective, lasting relationships with their retailers. As most developers and owners know, organized and efficient communication is the key in the run up to, during and after a grand opening, expansion or renovation. It is a major challenge to manage the volume of key messaging to all the various teams involved in the launch of a new shopping center and it can  make the difference between a mediocre grand opening and a major success. A tool that has proven to significantly improve the flow of information and manage key tasks is the center communication and operations platform, Mallcomm. Mallcomm is a multi-platform tool managed by center management teams but allowing the flow of information throughout the retail community through its mobile app. ENGAGE YOUR NEW RETAILERS Through Mallcomm the center management team, or corporate grand opening team, can connect and communicate with all retailers in the center…

The PointGuard Platform: find out exactly where to turn the wrench Building owners and facility management companies can now license the PointGuard Platform to unlock essential insights hidden in building management systems (BMS) data for themselves. The Platform provides forward-thinking teams a tool to strategically manage up to 20 million square feet per engineer. The PointGuard Platform brings powerful technology to facility management with automated fault detection and diagnostics (AFDD) suitable for all buildings with compatible control systems. It's a simple and intuitive platform that clearly tells your teams how to improve the comfort in your buildings, extend the life of your assets, and lower operating and capital costs. Platform users can also eliminate energy data portals, as our Platform includes energy analytics, measurement and verification feedback data, plus sustainability and benchmarking technology across entire building portfolios. "While existing energy analytics platforms provide 'feel good' information, they don't give companies 'do good' information," says Shannon Smith, CEO of PointGuard. "Where does energy analytics really take you other than sustainability reporting? It gives you pattern recognition but doesn't really let you improve specific things. We spend a lot of time talking about ways building teams can know exactly where to turn…

Introducing the PointGuard Platform The PointGuard Platform: find out exactly where to turn the wrench Building owners and facility management companies can now license the PointGuard Platform to unlock essential insights hidden in building management systems (BMS) data for themselves. The Platform provides forward-thinking teams a tool to strategically manage up to 20 million square feet per engineer. The PointGuard Platform brings powerful technology to facility management with automated fault detection and diagnostics (AFDD) suitable for all buildings with compatible control systems. It's a simple and intuitive platform that clearly tells your teams how to improve the comfort in your buildings, extend the life of your assets, and lower operating and capital costs. Platform users can also eliminate energy data portals, as our Platform includes energy analytics, measurement and verification feedback data, plus sustainability and benchmarking technology across entire building portfolios. "While existing energy analytics platforms provide 'feel good' information, they don't give companies 'do good' information," says Shannon Smith, CEO of PointGuard. "Where does energy analytics really take you other than sustainability reporting? It gives you pattern recognition but doesn't really let you improve specific things. We spend a lot of time talking about ways building teams can know…

Denver, July 24, 2019 – Upsuite is excited to announce that we have successfully raised $850,000 (US) fundraising from a stellar consortium of international and domestic investors led by angel investors and global CRE powerhouse firms. The funds will be used to support product development, market expansion and talent acquisition. The new investment round will enable Upsuite to further capitalize on its position as a leader in connecting teams with coworking spaces in North America, where coworking members, operators and commercial real estate brokers are looking to connect teams with the perfect fit coworking office requirements.. New product innovation is a key area of focus for Upsuite, which will enable further expansion into more US and Canadian markets. The funding will also enable Upsuite to execute on growth plans related to growing the coworking advisory, product development and operator relationship management teams at Upsuite. About Upsuite Founded in 2018, Upsuite is a marketplace of coworking offices that helps leaders at growing technology and services companies find and secure an office that is convenient for employees and clients, meets their budget, allows for growth or change in their team, and which requires little time and expense to secure. Upsuite provides the…

The Real Estate Tech Community Comes Together to Rapidly Develop Solutions to Critical Challenges Now Facing the World New York, NY (July 29, 2020) - CREtech (cretech.com), the largest intelligence platform devoted to Reimagining Real Estate, announced today their plans to launch the first ever global virtual real estate tech Hackathon in an effort to meet the urgent tech needs of real estate owners and developers. As the industry faces the significant challenges from the pandemic and subsequent economic fallout, real estate organizations across the world are trying to navigate through uncharted waters to reopen their facilities and embrace innovation and technology in an urgent manner.  CREtech's Reimagining Real Estate Hackathon is engaging innovators and experts from the real estate tech community to contribute to this history making event. The free Hackathon allows real estate companies to submit challenges to be solved, as well as invites technology and solution providers to provide responses to these challenges. Collectively the participants in the Hackathon will be part of creating groundbreaking solutions to some of the most complicated issues of our time.  Confirmed real estate companies who will be submitting challenges include:  Tishman Speyer Jamestown LP Lincoln Property Company Savills Prologis RXR Realty…

The Real Estate Tech Community Comes Together to Rapidly Develop Solutions to Critical Challenges Now Facing the World New York, NY (August 14, 2020) - CREtech (cretech.com), the largest intelligence platform devoted to Reimagining Real Estate, announced today that over 50 challenges have been submitted to their first ever global virtual real estate tech Hackathon since the launch on July 29. The Hackathon was launched in an effort to meet the urgent tech needs of real estate owners and developers. As the industry faces the significant challenges from the pandemic and subsequent economic fallout, real estate organizations across the world are trying to navigate through uncharted waters to reopen their facilities and embrace innovation and technology in an urgent manner.  The Hackathon is still accepting challenges now through August 19 and will run from August 20 to September 10, 2020 with teams collaborating and presenting solutions virtually. This is a free, open access platform to solve some of the world's most pressing current issues the real estate sector is facing in an effort to drive innovation and tech adoption.  CREtech's Reimagining Real Estate Hackathon is engaging innovators and experts from the real estate tech community to contribute to this history…

Open, Enterprise-Class Platform Improves Net Operating Income Across CRE Portfolios Building Engines, the leading provider of building operations software for modern commercial real estate (CRE), today announced the launch of Prism. The new platform is designed to improve net operating income (NOI) across all market sectors, from office, retail, industrial, to medical office and mixed-use buildings. Property teams relying on Prism can deliver the best occupant experience, increase revenue and reduce operating costs, while enjoying a modern software experience that's explicitly designed for each member of the property team. Prism helps property teams deliver an exceptional building experience for all occupants - tenants, visitors, property management teams, engineers and maintenance teams, vendors, leasing teams and asset managers, among others. The platform also facilitates a productive landlord-tenant relationship by addressing long-standing problem areas in CRE by offering simple-to-submit service requests, interactive visualizations of space management and building communications delivered to any device. Today, CRE owners and operators struggle to operate an increasingly complex IT stack, while keeping costs under control and NOI high as they try to balance mounting tenant demands. Now more than ever, it's imperative to have secure, interoperable systems in place that scale cost efficiently as a portfolio grows.…

May, 2019 - Upsuite is proud to announce the launch of our newest coworking market: Chicago. Upsuite provides businesses with the largest coworking selection, a no cost Coworking Advisor, exclusive 5% discounts, plus a satisfaction guarantee for members who book through Upsuite.   Upsuite currently has contracts with 40 local and national coworking operators, including IWG, WeWork, Industrious, Novel and Convene, as well as local favorites in Denver, Toronto, and Chicago. The launch of the Chicago market follows a very successful entry in the Toronto coworking market in Q4 of 2018. Upsuite has detailed listings for over 70 coworking locations in the Chicago market, featuring editorial reviews, photos, maps and amenities, Upsuite provides a one-stop location for Chicago coworking search. Coworking member tenants use Upsuite to find the perfect fit office space for their high-performing teams and Upsuite's coworking advisors help potential members navigate dozens of potential locations and then will help them negotiate the best rate possible. All at zero cost to the member. Coworking operators take advantage of Upsuite's "Verified" status and are able to manage their listings, receive preferred placement in marketing and search results and also receive referrals from Upsuite for potential new members. Commercial real…

August 30, 2019, Dallas, TX – Softweb Solutions, an Avnet company, concluded the five-day hackathon event held across the company's three offices in Dallas, Chicago and Ahmedabad. The multi-shore event kicked off on Monday, 19 August 2019 and finished on Friday, 23 August 2019 where 150+ participants worked on innovative ideas based on IoT and AI technologies, leveraging Avnet's IoTConnect platform. It took the efforts of 50+ people to plan and execute the event. Sixteen teams developed their proof-of-concept projects which were presented to the Softweb panel. The demo included a working model of the project along with a business presentation, technical documentation as well as marketing material. Ripal Vyas, President of Softweb Solutions said, "This was by far the biggest hackathon event held at Softweb. The five-day format served as the perfect stage for our participants to develop their ideas from initiation to execution. The teams consisted of personnel from all the departments which allowed them to get an in depth look at development, marketing and project management. I am really happy with all the teams, the innovative ideas that they set out to address and what they eventually delivered." There were a host of awards for all the teams…

A contentious point with many facility management software platforms is that they're portrayed as able to take care of buildings better than or "equal" to (but with more efficiency and less overhead) than the teams that are and have been running the buildings for years and even decades. Let's get this straight. Good software doesn't replace people, it amplifies them. If a software's automation capabilities take over redundant-type work, then FM teams can have more time for other tasks. With more time, we're going to get closer to that predictive maintenance goal. The popular and obvious benefit of software integration into building operations is in the sudden clarity and usefulness of all the data your building has collected and is currently creating through daily operations. By monitoring and analyzing this data, buildings can be optimized for energy usage, comfort, occupancy and so much more. Another requirement for FM software platforms is in the undeniable fact of a workforce that is largely approaching the age of retirement - in fact, 40% of FMs will retire in the next 8 years. Just like a shift switch, there can be a devastating loss of knowledge during duty transfer from one team to another or…

Organizations around the world are suddenly finding themselves with a distributed workforce overnight. Originate would like to help you conquer the challenges these newly formed remote teams have to overcome through a remote workforce advisory.  As an organization, we've been building software, often with distributed teams, for over ten years. We have experience delivering high velocity and high-quality innovation and digital product development and can offer insights and guidance on what does, and does not, work. Remote Workforce Advisory Service Offering  Remote Advisory We work with your leadership to define a distributed work strategy and implementation plan. Including tooling, processes, best practices, changes to roles and responsibilities, and how to anticipate issues before they become problems.   Remote Coaching A more hands-on offering in which Originate guides your teams on how to work effectively and efficiently while remote. We introduce collaboration platforms your organization is missing and adoption plans for holistic use.    Remote Pods For those companies that recognize now is the time to step on the accelerator and not the brakes, Originate will fully integrate our remote agile product development teams into your project. Our teams will pair with their in-house counterparts to ensure velocity is maximized while…

We're proud to announce today the expansion of our platform's capabilities with the integration of several new leasing features. Agency Brokers can now easily build and generate their own marketing materials including leasing flyers, websites, and other key deliverables for all leasing properties with RealDash's intuitive interface. As part of our release, a new feature was rolled out enabling brokers to embed their sale and leasing inventory on their own website using RealDash's API. These new features add to our set of integrated tools which include automated marketing, deal and pipeline management, customer relationship management (CRM), data analytics, email campaigns, client reporting, a mobile app, and more. Our all-in-one commercial real estate software platform is available online and through our partner organizations, Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) Institute and the National Association of Realtors (NAR). RealDash provides a flexible marketing automation platform suitable for large brokerages and local teams to prepare, launch, market, and close deals. Customized solutions can be tailored to the needs of individual organizations, with an accompanying tiered support structure. Unlike other CRE platforms, RealDash is unconstrained in its ability to integrate productivity-enhancing automation with existing systems and team needs. "With the addition of these features, the RealDash…

Commercial interior designers often have an impossible task of choosing solutions which are both functional and budget-friendly, but at the same time attractive and unique. With expectations and trends constantly shifting, interior spaces often change to match the current taste of employees and customers. In addition, interior designers are not only expected to understand the current trends, but also the future ones, as well as those that never seem to fade. If you're doing a complete office overhaul, reinventing your retail store or just making a few changes to boost your staff's morale, consider these interior trends. Few permanent workspaces Pioneered in Silicon Valley, the idea of the open office has been widely adopted in every commercial segment around the world. While initially met with stubborn resistance, now even insurance and legal businesses which consider them conservative are utilizing elements of an open space plan. These include non-assigned seating, creative hubs, and community work tables which increase collaboration of teams working on the same projects. Twin-purpose designs Unforgiving startup years and seemingly endless belt-tightening often motivate businesses to find imaginative ways of saving money, including optimizing the interior design. The popularity of multipurpose design has given birth to a number…

If you are a real estate industry professional, chances are you use Microsoft Office 365. Most people are familiar with Microsoft Office 365 applications such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint for document creation and Outlook for email. Beyond its use as an everyday platform, Office 365 is an advanced ecosystem that encourages a more level playing field for small and mid-sized companies.   Although the basic capabilities of Office 365 are in the hands of the user, there are robust capabilities that serve to benefit your entire company. These require configuration on the organizational level.   Here is a brief description of each key feature of Office 365.   Productivity Microsoft Office, One Drive, SharePoint, Teams, Office 365 Groups, Project, Planner, Delve and Yammer are all tools designed to enhance the productivity of an organization by promoting collaboration.   Workflows, Systems Integration and Business Intelligence Flow, PowerApps and Power BI facilitate a smooth execution of business processes, interconnected systems and executive dashboards. They each improve data visibility and decision making.   Security & Compliance Protect your data and documents while enforcing regulatory and internal compliance via Active Directory, User Management, Data Governance, Threat Protection and Information Protection capabilities.   The…

There're quite a lot of advantages to gain starting things off on the right foot and on time. One of which is the fact that you get to have a certain bit of organization to get things done. Simply put, project timeline and schedules determine how far any project you take on goes. If you want a genuine overview of your project from day one to provide a sort of launchpad, then you have to structure your project into categories to help you have a greater impact. Timelines and schedules appear easy on the eye and rather straightforward. This is hardly the case because, in practice, programs and projects take a while to breakdown and structure especially for beginners. Figuring out how to draw up a project timeline will save you a lot of stress. Without one, your plans will go past deadlines, milestones will get forgotten and the life will be sucked out of any group you work with. This doesn't bode well for overall productivity or for the motivation to achieve any goals. For this reason, it's beneficial to draw up a project timeline and schedules for each of your projects. Here are ways to help you get…

It's the start of a new decade, and technology is more ubiquitous now than at any other time in human history. Tech is on the mind of every successful building owner and operator, as they seek that extra advantage over their competitors. With so many commercial real estate technology options in the marketplace, how do you choose which ones are right for your CRE tech stack? What's a tech stack? It's the software and applications working behind every successful business. Whether you're managing a balance sheet, keeping track of your leases or overseeing a new construction project, the right technology helps your team feel informed and empowered instead of overwhelmed. This guide will help owners and landlords understand, organize and select the best components for the essential CRE tech stack. Let's dive in. Construction Management Procore Procore helps firms drastically increase project efficiency and accountability by streamlining and mobilizing project communications and documentation. This real time data and accessibility minimizes costly risks and delays-ultimately boosting profits. Procore's products include solutions for: prequalification bid management project management quality & safety design coordination BIM field productivity project financials invoice management portfolio financials capital planning accounting integrations Marketing SharpLaunch SharpLaunch is an all-in-one…

In breaking down all boundaries between work and life, will COVID-19 help us finally find a balance? Numerous friends and colleagues have asked me how I think the world, and specifically the multifamily industry, will change post-pandemic. Will we practice physical distancing long into 2021 and never shake hands, hug or embrace with colleagues or friends? Will people stop moving to cities because they've realized they can work from anywhere? How will these shifts affect work-life balance long term? Over the past several weeks, I've observed several truths emerge as the pandemic has redefined everyday life: Gone are the days where people got dressed up for video calls (if only from the waist up); today, they are perfectly comfortable presenting an unadulterated version of themselves. Those of us with young children emphatically believe in separation of home and work and will be forever grateful for the day when once again we can seek refuge in an office with adults. We've discovered that our aspirational self who wakes up at dawn, meditates, works out and cooks a balanced breakfast is not our actual self, who does none of those things but works and snacks all day. Men will now never underestimate the…

You know you want to try it but…  The market for facility management software solutions is a busy one. With buzz words floating around so much that they've lost their meaning, it can be so overwhelming to start the journey that it continuously gets pushed off to later. Budgets are tight, it is hard to get buy-in and often the only choice is an expensive, time-consuming pilot.  PointGuard wants to cut through the clutter and make this process easier for you. You want results, not an additional burden, and we understand that. Because of this, we have a blog series about why PointGuard is different than the others. We're calling this series the "Proofs" as they will provide authentic validation on what you need to look for in a software solution, and why PointGuard might be the perfect fit.  --- It's been said that the secret to capitalism is not less for more but more for less. This shouldn't come as a surprise, everyone loves a good deal. But how does that relate to software platforms that concentrate on building operations and performance? It does in the way that you don't need to pay more to get more. There is…

While COVID-19 has been devastating to communities across the world, it has also led property management teams everywhere to suddenly become much more creative with their approaches to generating and demonstrating value to their tenants. Indeed, the crisis provides a great opportunity for flexible managers: not only is there a chance to highlight the attention and care being put into keeping spaces clean and healthy, but the disruptiveness of the outbreak means that managers who find unique ways to keep tenants engaged even if they are off-site will earn big points with space users.  This is more important now than ever. While fundamental parts of the real estate world are changing due to the stresses of the outbreak, the demand for advanced technological solutions used in building management will only grow with time. In some ways, COVID-19 represents a trial by fire: who is prepared to take advantage of the tools and new approaches out there to keep occupiers satisfied and deliver value to owners? While there are plenty of big-picture questions that can be asked right now, in more practical terms the most pressing questions are twofold: How exactly are managers responding to the crisis, and what sort of…

In the days of COVID-19, it can be hard to plan ahead. This is doubly true for property maintenance professionals who are too busy addressing today's pandemic challenges to prepare for what comes after. We all know that there will be lots to do in the post-pandemic world. Residents staying home means more wear and tear, and the deferral of non-essential maintenance work by operators is only delaying the inevitable. With fewer team members in the field to manage day-to-day operations, the maintenance "to do" list is only growing. The invisible backlog We know this backlog exists from speaking to operators about the way they're handling maintenance during the pandemic, but we also have some hard data. We've been analyzing the data we've been seeing through our app, and the results are staggering. We used February as our benchmark, since the volume of requests that month was standard.  We dug into the maintenance service data, examining three key metrics: New service requests Service requests completed Cumulative backlog There was more than a 45% drop in service requests from February to April, and while it's recovered, requests are still down more than 20%. Additionally, the percentage of preventative maintenance service requests…

There's a reason user-friendliness ranks high as a priority when deciding on any new tech to implement. Teams can invest in the most advanced tools and sophisticated platforms, but if they can't adapt to your team or operations, they won't last long in the field. Enter no-code software -- aka "noco." (For a more detailed explanation, this article has a good breakdown.) Where traditional software development relies on a knowledge of complex coding languages and lengthy development/upgrade processes, noco software features user-friendly dashboards and tools to create full-fledged applications on the fly. So, what does "noco" mean for multifamily housing (MFH) teams? Property management platforms with noco software give team members the ability to design, tweak, and right-size software tools to meet their specific requirements. Moreover, noco software lets users adopt new tools within their platform more easily and without traditional coding expertise. All told, it's about eliminating the barriers to software design and putting greater control and functionality into the hands of the end-user. Find out if you're truly optimizing your make-readies, inspections, and maintenance tasks in 5 minutes or less! "Noco" design is what drives the SuiteSpot facilities management software. It's what enables our team and clients to add new…