In this technology-driven era, most of us can agree that Alerts (aka notifications) are a daily part of our lives. Whether it be an alert on social media to let us know someone has “liked” one of our photos, an alert on our phone to remind us we have an upcoming appointment, or a desktop alert to tell us we just received a new email – they all serve the same purpose: to notify us of a particular activity as soon as it occurs.

Now, do we NEED to know the second someone likes our most recent photo on Facebook? Probably not – I’m sure we could wait some time before finding that out. But there are definitely situations that the timing of an alert can make all the difference.

Take the student housing property management industry, for example. With most student schedules consisting of rushing back and forth to classes on campus, attending all-night study sessions at the library, and spending weeks back at home with family during winter and summer breaks – it’s safe to assume that keeping a close eye on the performance of their HVAC unit is not at the top of their priority list (or even remotely close to it), especially if they’re barely even home long enough to do the dishes!

And on the rare occasion that a tenant does notice their apartment isn’t cooling as quickly as it should be, for instance, property managers can’t always rely on said tenant to report those problems right away. One thing life teaches us is the longer a problem goes unaddressed, especially maintenance-related problems, the more difficult it is to fix.

But what if property managers didn’t need to rely on students to notify them of HVAC malfunctions? Here lies the beauty of real-time alerts!

TrustHab features a comprehensive alerts system that notifies staff as soon as equipment begins to display signs that something isn’t quite right. Let’s say the HVAC unit in apartment 203 doesn’t seem to be heating and is experiencing an excessive runtime, or the target temperature in unit 102 is set to 75 degrees but the actual temperature is 82 and the device status says “offline.” An alert is displayed on the TrustHab dashboard notifying management that a potential issue has been detected in these residences, allowing them to dispatch the maintenance team immediately to check on the problem(s). Being able to address these equipment malfunctions as soon as they occur can help to avoid any costly repair fees.

Not only do these alerts help to simplify staff workflows by reducing the need for the maintenance guy to go door to door and conduct routine equipment checks in-person, they also help to avoid staff working over-time or having to respond to emergency calls after hours – like during the heat of the summer when a tenant (or a tenant’s parent) makes a disgruntled call to management to say the AC hasn’t been working for the past 4 days and the temperature within the unit has now reached 100 degrees. Situations like that can’t wait to be addressed, and your budget will pay the price (literally!).

Additionally, the added benefit of being able to proactively address any maintenance issues BEFORE students have to endure days of a non-functioning AC unit is a surefire way to improve the student living experience. Happy tenants = happy management!

As humans, we can’t be everywhere at once – even the most efficiently-run businesses encounter hiccups with staff workflows. But time is money, and being able to empower property managers with technology that provides them with data to help run their properties more efficiently is invaluable. Oh, and an increase in ROI is always nice too.

Think TrustHab might be a good fit for your student living community? Contact us now to learn more.

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