Sentiment, Causality, and the Renewal-Maintenance Connection
Delivering keynotes is fun, mainly because they usually require the person delivering them to pull together multiple strands of thought into a single coherent narrative.
The "Widget" Mindset: A Dead End for Multifamily Technology
One of the biggest risks with any emerging technology is that potential customers will fail to see the improvement opportunity the technology offers. With transformational technologies, the risk is particularly acute, as potential users may struggle to imagine the impact on today's business.
The Vogue for Efficiency in Multifamily Operations
Most new ideas or ways of working don't spread quickly, until they do. It's a bit like Hemingway's description of bankruptcy happening in two ways, "gradually, then suddenly." Something similar might be happening at the moment with multifamily's tech-enabled reinvention of its long-standing operating model.
We Need to Talk About Tech Selection
Fall conference season is fast approaching, and this year's program promises a few interesting conversations. I've been preparing what promises to be an intriguing conversation on a topic that seems to be growing in importance: how multifamily operators select technology. A lot has changed about the tech itself and how we fund the companies that make it. Both provide important context for a session that I am particularly looking forward to at Blueprint next month.
Learning the Wrong Lessons From Seattle's New Pricing Law
"There's no smoke without fire" has always been a dubious expression—and one most commonly heard in the context of gossip. It came to mind as the rumor mill started up again following the most recent local government action against revenue management (RM), this time in Seattle.
It's Time to Go Deeper on Multifamily Fraud
A little over a year ago, I recorded a series of interviews with the leaders of technology companies helping our industry address the growing problem of fraud.The interviews developed a couple of themes emerging from the most recent 20for20 Annual Survey. Fraud had jumped to the top of many executives' priorities, and there seemed to be an unusually large number of software vendors helping to address the problem.
When Multifamily Tech Gets in the way of Centralization
Two major themes seem to be coming up lately in multifamily technology and operations. One is centralization—the dominant idea in how companies are restructuring work. The other is tech bloat—the growing problem of companies buying too much technology without fully accounting for the associated costs. As with so many big topics in multifamily, the two ideas are starting to converge.
The Multifamily Tech Stack - Do Tech Categories Help?
It's safe to say that technology is changing. There's more of it than ever before, and, as this year's 20for20 Annual Survey highlighted, "tech bloat" is a growing problem in multifamily operations. The topic came up repeatedly in conversations at the recent AIM conference and will probably continue to surface throughout the rest of the conference season.
Transparency, Tactics and Tech Bloat – AIM 2025 in Review
Another outstanding AIM conference is in the books. It was a terrific few days in Huntington Beach—with what felt like the best ever crowd in this event's long and successful history. Among the many interesting conversations at the show, some focused on topics familiar to readers of this blog, a few of which are outlined below.
The Funnel Forum Frames the AI-Human Handoff
The second Funnel Forum is in the books, and it was a great few days in paradise—sorry, I mean Terranea—one of the most beautiful resorts on the conference circuit. A busy week saw lots of announcements and deep conversations about the hot topics of AI and centralization.
Sentiment, Causality, and the Renewal-Maintenance Connection
Delivering keynotes is fun, mainly because they usually require the person delivering them to pull together multiple strands of thought into a single coherent narrative.
The "Widget" Mindset: A Dead End for Multifamily Technology
One of the biggest risks with any emerging technology is that potential customers will fail to see the improvement opportunity the technology offers. With transformational technologies, the risk is particularly acute, as potential users may struggle to imagine the impact on today's business.
The Vogue for Efficiency in Multifamily Operations
Most new ideas or ways of working don't spread quickly, until they do. It's a bit like Hemingway's description of bankruptcy happening in two ways, "gradually, then suddenly." Something similar might be happening at the moment with multifamily's tech-enabled reinvention of its long-standing operating model.
We Need to Talk About Tech Selection
Fall conference season is fast approaching, and this year's program promises a few interesting conversations. I've been preparing what promises to be an intriguing conversation on a topic that seems to be growing in importance: how multifamily operators select technology. A lot has changed about the tech itself and how we fund the companies that make it. Both provide important context for a session that I am particularly looking forward to at Blueprint next month.
Learning the Wrong Lessons From Seattle's New Pricing Law
"There's no smoke without fire" has always been a dubious expression—and one most commonly heard in the context of gossip. It came to mind as the rumor mill started up again following the most recent local government action against revenue management (RM), this time in Seattle.
It's Time to Go Deeper on Multifamily Fraud
A little over a year ago, I recorded a series of interviews with the leaders of technology companies helping our industry address the growing problem of fraud.The interviews developed a couple of themes emerging from the most recent 20for20 Annual Survey. Fraud had jumped to the top of many executives' priorities, and there seemed to be an unusually large number of software vendors helping to address the problem.
When Multifamily Tech Gets in the way of Centralization
Two major themes seem to be coming up lately in multifamily technology and operations. One is centralization—the dominant idea in how companies are restructuring work. The other is tech bloat—the growing problem of companies buying too much technology without fully accounting for the associated costs. As with so many big topics in multifamily, the two ideas are starting to converge.
The Multifamily Tech Stack - Do Tech Categories Help?
It's safe to say that technology is changing. There's more of it than ever before, and, as this year's 20for20 Annual Survey highlighted, "tech bloat" is a growing problem in multifamily operations. The topic came up repeatedly in conversations at the recent AIM conference and will probably continue to surface throughout the rest of the conference season.
Transparency, Tactics and Tech Bloat – AIM 2025 in Review
Another outstanding AIM conference is in the books. It was a terrific few days in Huntington Beach—with what felt like the best ever crowd in this event's long and successful history. Among the many interesting conversations at the show, some focused on topics familiar to readers of this blog, a few of which are outlined below.
The Funnel Forum Frames the AI-Human Handoff
The second Funnel Forum is in the books, and it was a great few days in paradise—sorry, I mean Terranea—one of the most beautiful resorts on the conference circuit. A busy week saw lots of announcements and deep conversations about the hot topics of AI and centralization.