Most anyone could look at student housing, which is being occupied now by digital natives in Gen Z, and state that obviously technology is going to continue to grow and impact this market. But technology just for the sake of technology isn’t advantageous to student housing operators, nor is it particularly attractive to today’s student residents. After all, if it was, you’d be seeing each lease come with an Internet connected crockpot or toaster. It’s the technology products that truly impact “the way we interact with our world” that will have the largest effect on student housing.
So what’s coming next and what should you keep an eye out for in student housing?
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Smart Home Technology (IoT)
Smart Home tech and IoT devices are obviously one of the first things that come to mind when it comes to technology, as highlighted in this NAA article. So far, access controls have mostly led the way, with thermostats not far behind. Why? Because those features offer increased property efficiency and can deliver an ROI for operators, rather than just offering shiny new tech to residents. Most importantly, the solutions that will own the market are going to be those that integrate and bring various IoT pieces together. Look for these solutions to continue growing their reach in student housing, especially as the integrations continue to grow for various manufacturers to work together.
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Voice Automation
Voice is one of the most convenient ways to interact with technology, it doesn’t require anything other than speech. The boom of voice devices on the market for Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, and others over the last couple years make it clear that this technology is going to continue to have a big impact. A software enabled voice automation solution at your community could enable residents to easily make work orders through voice commands, find about community events, bridge the gap with University and Res Life through events/schedules, as well as play music and other basic voice directives. It can be expected that voice automation will gain some traction in the near future.
Allbridge is a Full PropTech solution used by thousands of properties nationwide. To learn more about how to upgrade the network at your property to support the growing technology needs of residents, contact Allbridge.
