From check-in to check-out: Creating the perfect resident journey with Inventory Hive

Watch our recent webinar on: How to create the perfect resident journey.

‍

Impeccable resident experience is the backbone of long-stay hospitality. It boosts resident satisfaction, improves the likelihood of contract renewals and creates a loyal customer base of brand advocates. Resident experience begins long before they move in and operators have the opportunity to impress residents from the very first time they encounter the brand all the way through to check-out and beyond.  

Inventory Hive is a cloud-based property reporting solution providing paperless inventory management and easy-to-use 360° virtual tours for over 30,000 units. res:harmonics is delighted to work with Inventory Hive, who have officially been ranked as the No.1 Estate Agent Supplier in the UK at The EA Masters 2022, to create the perfect resident journey. Together, our integrated solution helps long-stay, coliving and BTR operators enhance resident experience from pre check-in to post check-out. Here’s how. 

‍

Check-in

From hours-long inspections to paper-thick inventory reports, an arduous inventory process at the start of a long-term rental sets a negative tone. Especially in today’s slick, app-based world where residents expect a slick app-based check-in process. But, with res:harmonics and Inventory Hive, the check-in inventory process is an opportunity to impress incoming residents in three simple steps. 

1. Personalisation - Instead of creating a bland checklist inventory, you can easily put together a company branded digital inventory report for each property (using one of Inventory Hive’s 30 customisable templates), complete with detailed photos, 360° photos and precise descriptions. In advance of the their arrival (on a day chosen by you), the incoming resident receives a personalised email with the report, automatically translated into their native language. 
2. Collaboration - The resident receives a digital key (i.e. using a smartphone code or link) to access the property (physical keys also available). Armed with the digital report, the resident reviews the property on their own, adding comments, photo evidence and flags for potential repairs, replacements or cleaning. As such, you and the resident are on the same page from the off. 
3. Peace of mind - With both sides agreeing on its contents, a signed PDF version of the report is then shared with all parties and stored on the platform. It serves as a reference for future inspections, ensuring residents have peace of mind during their stay.  

Whether it’s quick-tick condition boxes or movable scales for cleanliness, the streamlined digital process between Inventory Hive and res:harmonics not only ensures that everything in the property is itemised, but the collaborative process makes residents feel valued from the outset. Impressed residents? ✅ 

‍

“Inventories used to be tedious manual processes with residents and operators on opposing sides, but with co-produced inventory reports, residents and operators are now on the same team.” Alex Gooch, Head of Build-to-Rent & Customer Success, Inventory Hive

‍‍

Mid-stay

In an ideal world, residents have no reason to contact the operator and vice-versa during their stay. But, in reality, there will be maintenance issues or queries throughout a long-stay tenancy. With res:harmonics and Inventory Hive, mid-stay interactions are yet another opportunity for operators to impress residents. 

• Maintenance - The Inventory Hive integration with res:harmonics property management system means that residents can report maintenance issues digitally. They can even upload photos, comments and videos to the app. Operators can schedule repairs remotely, assign tasks by urgency and monitor the repair status with real-time updates. As such, the software transforms maintenance issues from a potential experience-dampener to an experience-enhancer. 
• Communication - Whether it’s a housecleaning request or a tenancy-related query, residents will have questions during their stay. res:harmonics has a two-way app that enables residents to speak directly to operators via a chat function (with automatic translation), liaise with other residents via an interactive guest portal (i.e. for organising activities) and receive updated building information (i.e. new developments or legislation). Put simply, better communication = better resident experience. 
• Interim visits - Be it sporadic or planned, quarterly or yearly, longer stays require some type of interim visits, especially during tenancy renewals, energy audits or safety compliance checks. By outlining the state of the property at check-in, Inventory Hive’s interim report feature not only simplifies these visits, but also provides a chance for residents to give feedback on their stay, suggest replacements, highlight wear & tear and make repair requests. What could have been a troublesome touchpoint, becomes an enjoyable one instead. 

Mid-stay, great customer experience boils down to responsiveness. Responding swiftly and efficiently to resident requests is the ultimate way of showing your appreciation of them. Impressed residents? ✅ 

‍

“By integrating with res:harmonics' market-leading PMS, the collaborative inventory process not only makes the resident feel more responsible for the property’s condition, but also reiterates how much you value them throughout their tenancy.” Alex Gooch, Head of Build-to-Rent & Customer Success, Inventory Hive

‍

‍Check-out

For residents, moving out of long-stay accommodation is already laden with stress, even before the fear of the inventory check-out. But Inventory Hive’s check-out process with res:harmonics is streamlined, so residents can look forward to checking-out with confidence. 

• Check-in reference - Both parties have the check-in report for reference, which includes updates on mid-stay repairs and mid-term wear & tear. That means no disagreement over meter readings, no arguments over appliance conditions, no disputes over fixture cleanliness - just a simple, clear record. 
• Joint ownership - Residents tend to take better care of the property when they work with you to take joint ownership for producing the inventory report. What’s more, close collaboration between you and your resident throughout their stay embeds a sense of mutual trust, so residents have more faith in a fair check-out process. 
• Helpful data - The integrated app keeps track of modifications to the property and stores the interactions between you and the resident. Operators can use this data to personalise check-out and improve the experience. 

Just like a seamless check-in sets the tone for a positive stay, a frictionless check-out bookends a residents’ stay with a positive impression, increasing the chances of return custom and brand advocacy. Impressed residents? ✅ 

‍

“Gone are the days of bickering over stains or breakages at the end of a tenancy. With the digital check-out inventory process, residents leave with a great impression of your brand.” Alex Gooch, Head of Build-to-Rent & Customer Success, Inventory Hive

‍‍

Case study

Gravity Co is one of the UK’s fastest growing coliving brands. Named ‘Coliving Operator of the Year’ at the 2022 Coliving Awards, Gravity Co uses res:harmonics and Inventory Hive to manage the inventory process for over 200 units across five UK locations. 

‍“I love how the res:harmonics system supports every single department of our coliving business, even in areas we hadn’t thought of, such as inventories. The integration with Inventory Hive is great as it not only saves us time, which streamlines the check-in and check-out experience, but also puts residents at ease during their stay.” Robert Birch, Chief Operating Officer, Gravity Co. 

‍

The perfect resident journey

Want to learn how you can create the perfect resident journey?

Join our CEO Giles Horwitch-Smith, Alex Gooch, Head of BTR at Inventory Hive, and Robert Birch, Head of Operations at Gravity Co-Living, as they have an open discussion about how to create the perfect resident journey.

Watch the recording here.