7 High-End Amenities Residents Are Looking For
Wherever you’re managing an apartment building or condos, from New York City to Los Angeles, in order to compete with other businesses, your building, the units themselves, and the amenities really need to stand out. For residents who are looking for the best, it’s not enough anymore for a home to just have pet-friendly options or in-suite washer and dryer. High-end amenities are going above and beyond to attract top tenants who will stay in the building for longer and will increase the overall look and feel of the building. From doorman services to the latest technology to gym equipment and classes, and more — here are the top amenities that you can’t go without. Apartment and Condo Amenities Residents Need and Want Rooftop Recreation Who wouldn’t want to enjoy a view of NYC’s Empire State Building, Chicago’s Willis Tower, or Miami’s amazing views of the ocean? After a long day at work or to host a classy party on the weekend, rooftop patios are the latest trend to hit the biggest cities, and residents frequently have this on their most-wanted list. Even if your building isn’t located in an ideal area with the best views, the ability to get outside and enjoy a space with a garden, a lounge area, or a BBQ will have potential tenants flocking to your building. Environmentally Friendly Speaking of a rooftop garden, tenants are especially looking for environmentally friendly amenities throughout the building. Equip your apartments or condos with energy-efficient appliances (for both water and electricity), use responsible materials when renovating or painting, switch to LED light bulbs, or upgrade to energy-efficient windows — there are dozens of options to decrease the carbon footprint of your building. If you have on-site parking, consider installing a charging station for electric vehicles. Smart Home Features To go along with the environmentally-friendly amenities, smart features will help increase tenant satisfaction and can even make property managers’ jobs easier and the building more efficient. Options include smart thermostats so tenants can monitor their home’s temperature while they’re away and make adjustments on the fly, smart locks and light switches, and if you have the budget, smart refrigerators. When a tenant moves out of the building, it’s a quick fix to turn off the thermostat in order to save money. Add a Gym Any amenity that will reduce a tenant’s monthly expenses is a must. When a gym membership can range from $60 to well over $100 a month, it’s a significant perk when there is an on-site gym. However, when you want to truly provide residents with high-end amenities, consider including regular fitness classes, a sauna, basketball court, or a hot tub. And if you’re looking to take amenities to another level, add spa services, such as nail care and facials. Coworking Spaces The traditional office space is disappearing these days, so giving your tenants a place to work can be incredibly appealing. And when it’s impossible to tell what professions your tenants will have, make the coworking space as diverse as possible. Don’t just add a few tables with a couple of ethernet hookups, make the space large enough so residents can schedule conferences, include a snack bar, espresso bar, and other features that will entice people to actually use the space as well as bring coworkers or clients there. Wi-Fi Internet One of the most arduous tasks of moving into a new apartment building is having to sign up for internet services and have them installed. When residents simply need to find someone to help them move, that may be what they need to choose your building over another. High-speed internet is more than just a convenience, it’s a must for anyone who is on the go and wants to stay connected. Security Cities like New York City are getting safer every day, but crime is still a significant concern. Having key fob access to the building is a start as the cards are harder to duplicate than traditional keys, but there are many other options when it comes to building security. Doorman services is also a great place to start and offers residents a friendly face when they enter their building. Virtual Doorman A high-end amenity that is becoming more and more popular is having a remote doorman. Instead of a physical doorman, who will need weeks of training to recognize who lives in the building, property managers will also need to work out a schedule, payroll, and many other tasks involved with a doorman standing at the entry. Instead, have Virtual Doorman install a welcome station where residents can communicate through video chat with support staff for a variety of needs. With Virtual Doorman, residents can: Schedule deliveries Input guests and visitor authorizations Request maintenance Request additional key fobs Download a mobile app to monitor deliveries or grant entry to visitors Chat with staff with any account needs Offer residents the same great doorman services at a fraction of the cost. Virtual Doorman isn’t just for residents, though, property managers can also experience a variety of benefits. Remote staff can: Help manage service requests that come in Add new residents Manage authorized access Activate/deactivate access cards and fobs View resident contact information Manage deliveries and guests Grant access for vendors and contractors Security is a significant concern for many residents, so Virtual Doorman will also install security cameras near the entryway and in storage areas where deliveries are kept until the resident can pick them up. Anyone who enters the building will be monitored, increasing tenant peace of mind. Lower rent, pet-friendly apartments, and granite countertops are nice, but it takes another level of high-end amenities to attract the best residents. At Virtual Doorman, we believe our doorman service technology, our friendly staff, and the ability to increase efficiency for property managers is one of the best ways to bring in tenants who will stay in your building for longer. Serving several large cities across the country, learn more about how Virtual
How to Offer Peace of Mind to Your Residents
It’s an unfortunate truth that there are security risks every day, especially in cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. According to NYC Crime Map, there were hundreds of burglaries in September, 2019 throughout the city. New York City has become safer than decades ago, but tenants everywhere still worry about the safety of their home, whether they live in a single-family home, an apartment building, or a condo. But the good news is that homeowners, building owners, and property managers can do something about it! If you’re a property owner or manager, tenant peace of mind is most likely a high priority. But what are the best ways of increasing security for your buildings and allowing your residents to feel safe and secure? At Virtual Doorman, we offer remote doorman services that provide the same great benefits as a physical doorman, but at a fraction of the cost. With innovative technology and experienced staff who are passionate about helping you and your residents, you can provide a safe home for everyone living in your building. Increasing Safety and Security For Managed Properties Install Lighting Having well-lit entryways, hallways, and parking areas is a great method for deterring crime. In the event that someone does try to commit a crime, it will be easier to catch and stop them in the act. Exterior entryways should always have a light on, but for some interior spaces, you can consider installing motion-sensor lights that can warn anyone who isn’t aware of them. It’s also important to keep up with any damaged lighting as well. Flickering lights or bulbs that have broken make the building appear unsafe, and as if the management doesn’t care. Complete a Risk Assessment It will be hard for property managers to know how to protect a building when they don’t fully understand what is wrong in the first place. A professional risk assessment will provide valuable insight into the security of your building, including entryways, doors, locks, and how easy it could be for someone to break in. When you understand how to make improvements, it will be much easier to put an action plan in place. High-Security Locks Doors to individual homes should be equipped with high-security locks to further prevent break-ins. Many interior doors come with a basic lock that can be broken fairly easily. But a high-quality lock is made of strong materials that are harder to break and will extend the life of the lock. Install Stronger Doors Along with high-security locks, exterior and unit doors should also be incredibly strong and difficult to break. The door itself can be made with steel, aluminum, or a metal alloy, and using three-inch screws for the door’s strike plate and hinges can increase the strength of the door. Security Cameras Installing a security camera is a great way to prevent crime and increase resident peace of mind. Even if the only thing the cameras capture is residents and guests walking in and out, it’s a history and timeline of events that could be crucial if a crime does occur. Cameras installed near entryways and hallways will significantly decrease the threat of a crime. Sign Up For Virtual Doorman A physical doorman can be a reassuring presence for tenants, but it can be costly and time-consuming for property managers or owners. With Virtual Doorman, tenants can still be greeted by a human, but they’re simply off-site. With advanced technology, residents can use a video intercom that connects to Virtual Doorman staff who will facilitate letting in guests and screening service or delivery people. The technology features 24/7 instant connection, access to a mobile app for both Apple and Android phones, and a resident portal. The resident portal can be used to grant visitor access, schedule deliveries, request maintenance, request additional key fobs, and more. Each of your tenants will get personalized doorman services without the cost and hassle of having to train, manage, and pay a physical doorman. To go one step further, Virtual Doorman also offers remote camera viewing. When you work with us, we’ll install cameras throughout the building so our staff can monitor deliveries and residents can track visitors on their smartphone, wherever they are at the time. There’s no more missing a delivery just because tenants can’t be home at the time. Virtual Doorman doesn’t just provide peace of mind for the residents, though. We strive to help property managers as well. With our technology and staff, managing maintenance requests will be a breeze. We take over a variety of services to ensure that your tenants are getting the best possible experience, and you can save time and money at the same time. Building security may seem like a challenging task, but with the right combination of technology, hardware, and software, you can provide your tenants with real peace of mind. Virtual Doorman works with hundreds of buildings throughout New York City and other locations across the country. If your tenants are worried about building security, give them the best service possible with Virtual Doorman. View our service options and contact our team today with any questions.
4 Common Times Buildings Switch Over To Virtual Doorman
As we’ve discussed in many of our blogs, more and more building owners and managers are switching from traditional doormen to Virtual Doorman. The reasons are clear: up to 90% cost savings, no awkward chit chat, no tipping, no hiring and firing, and no having to rely on a doorman to decide which people to let into a building and which ones to deny entry to. But those are all reasons why you should use our Virtual Doorman services. Another important question is when you should switch over to our remote doorman service. Let’s take a look at the most common times that buildings finally make the switch from physical doormen to virtual doormen. Renovations Perhaps the most common time that buildings switch over to Virtual Doorman is during a renovation. It makes a lot of sense, considering that it’s a time of flux and that many changes are happening all at once. Installing a virtual doorman during renovations is beneficial because you’ll be able to upgrade your security system while there’s construction taking place. For instance, you can run the wires for the new cameras at the same time ceilings are being replaced, or you can put the Virtual Doorman locks on the doors at the same time you’re replacing the doors themselves. While Virtual Doorman works with many existing security systems, many such systems are getting old and need to be replaced. It simply makes practical and financial sense to install a remote doorman — and maybe the entire security system — at the same time you have easier access to wiring behind the walls, in floors, and in ceilings. When the Traditional Doorman Retires There’s no doubt that people can get attached to a particular doorman. But when you close your eyes and imagine a doorman, you probably think of someone who’s at least 60 years old…and with good reason. Doormen are getting older as the need for them goes away, and many are retiring. It’s perfectly fine to be attached to a doorman who’s been serving the building’s tenants for decades, but their retirement creates a perfect opportunity to switch to Virtual Doorman. During a Rent Decrease Rent doesn’t often go down, but if you are having to decrease rent in order to stay competitive in your market, then saving money by getting Virtual Doorman just makes sense. You can count all of that money you save on a full-time doorman as a means to decrease the rent. During a Rent Increase There are many reasons why tenants love Virtual Doorman. In fact, many times those who live in the building actually consider our remote doorman services to be an upgrade to traditional doormen. If you’re increasing the rent, it could be the time to switch to Virtual Doorman. If Virtual Doorman is indeed an upgrade in people’s eyes, then the tenants shouldn’t mind the rent increase as much. (Don’t worry, we won’t tell them that you’re actually saving money!) Ready To Make the Switch? The fact is, there’s no bad time to switch to Virtual Doorman; just don’t put the savings off anymore. If you’re ready to get all of the advantages of a remote doorman, click here to get a quote.
4 More Advantages of Having a Virtual Doorman Over a Real One
In our most recent article, we talked about three good reasons to have a virtual doorman over a real doorman. Two of those reasons had to do with speech: a remote doorman from Virtual Doorman can greet tenants in their own language (very important in places like NYC where more than 135 languages are spoken on a regular basis), and a virtual doorman also reduces the amount of chit-chat with a real doorman that might make tenants uncomfortable. Of course, we also touched on the primary reason that buildings choose Virtual Doorman: the cost is up to 90% less than hiring a full-time human door opener. But if you thought those were the only three reasons, you’d be wrong! In fact, we have quite a few more excellent reasons why your tenants will enjoy a virtual doorman over having one on-site every day. No Tipping Tipping can be a great practice in some situations, but just about everyone you talk to thinks it’s gotten out of hand. Shouldn’t we just pay everyone a living wage and only tip when we actually note good service…not just because we feel like we have to tip a dozen people a day? Having Virtual Doorman eliminates this awkward situation for tenants. When you tell them, “You don’t have to worry about tipping them today or any day,” they’ll certainly be happy to not have to face those situations again. Remote Doormen Don’t Have To Memorize Faces When you have a remote doorman system like ours, you don’t have to rely on someone to memorize the faces of the tenants or guests. Many of the tenants’ interactions with doors — both the primary entrance door and the door to their apartment — are controlled via their cell phone, so they don’t even have to worry about keys. Virtual Doormen Don’t Have To Be Told Who To Let In There are so many more problems with a real doorman when it comes to deciding who to let in. For instance, if someone is having a friend over, that friend will have to wait in the lobby while the doorman calls up to the tenant. In other circumstances, the tenant will have to come to collect their visitor. On the other hand, a tenant could tell the doorman, “Let in Peggy, who’s 5’4” and has light brown hair. But if Dana, who’s 5’6” and has dark brown hair, shows up, absolutely don’t let her in.” A doorman can easily get confused about who’s welcome and who isn’t, and it just gets worse the more units there are in a building. What if there’s a real doorman and someone is having a party? There’s really no good way for a doorman to decide who’s welcome and who isn’t. It’s so much easier with a virtual doorman. The guest simply presses a button that calls the tenant’s smartphone. When the tenant verifies who it is, they click their smartphone and the visitor is let in. No fuss, no muss. No Hiring and Firing Do you like hiring and firing doormen? Do you like it when they call in sick and you have to find a quick replacement? We didn’t think so. Virtual Doorman is never sick. Give Our Remote Doorman Service a Try! Trust us, Virtual Doorman has so many advantages that you’ll never even think about returning to the old ways. Click here to check out our service options!
3 Advantages of a Virtual Doorman Over a Real One
At Virtual Doorman, we have a bit of problem: Real doormen don’t like us! That’s because we’re providing a service that, in many ways, makes them obsolete. While there are some expensive buildings that will always have doormen as a prestige symbol, our remote doorman service is more than enough to handle the needs of many buildings that would rather not have to have a real person on duty 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week. But why are so many building owners and managers switching over to remote doorman services? Isn’t one as good as the other? In most cases, the answer is clear: virtual doormen provide advantages that just can’t be beaten. Let’s take a look at some of the most common reasons people are switching to a virtual doorman system. No Payroll Without a doubt, this is the primary reason that most building managers decide to go with Virtual Doorman. We’re not talking about small saving here, either. By not having to have a doorman on call around the clock, buildings can end up saving 90% on their doorman services. That cost savings can be used to improve the building, keep rent from rising, or just be pure profit for the building owner. How can we provide such savings? First of all, there’s a considerable amount of automation involved. Renters will be able to open doors remotely with their phones, both for the main doors and for their own apartment. This means that our virtual doormen — actual people manning the system — don’t need to respond every time someone walks into the building. Even more important, our remote doormen are watching over multiple buildings at a time. A real-life doorman can only watch one building, and 95% of the time they aren’t doing anything at all. Our virtual doormen are much more efficient because they don’t experience nearly as much downtime and are able to watch over multiple buildings. Language How many languages does a typical doorman speak? They might be able to greet tenants in a few languages, but that’s it. But there are more than 6,000 languages in the world, 800 spoken in New York City alone, and about 135 commonly spoken languages in NYC. Doormen simply can’t keep up. With the latest version of our virtual doorman, tenants can be greeted in their own language. That’s a nice little touch that a real doorman just can’t pull off. No Awkward Chit Chat The personal touch offered by a real-life doorman can be a pleasant experience for some people. They might even like to get to know their doorman and don’t mind the banter as they make their way to the elevator. But in reality, most people just aren’t interested. It might sound mean, but it’s true. Life in New York is hectic, and most people would rather just have the automatic doors work for them than make small talk with someone they don’t really know. Are You Ready For A Virtual Doorman? Those are far from the only reasons that building owners choose virtual doorman, and, in fact, we’ll be back in the next blog to give you even more reasons why our remote doorman services are a good idea. But if you’re already convinced, click here to compare the service options you can get with Virtual Doorman. We look forward to working with you!
4 Advantages Of Virtual Doorman Services You Can Advertise To Tenants
If you own a building or are a building manager, it’s important to remember just how important your tenants are. You can have the nicest property in the world, but if you don’t have the services customers are looking for then you’re not going to be able to fill the spaces as quickly as you’d like. When potential buyers or tenants are considering your building, they might be looking for the services of a doorman. At first, they might be apprehensive about living in a building that uses Virtual Doorman service, technology they’re probably with unfamiliar with. You might have to sell them on the idea of a virtual doorman system, so here are some advantages to convince them that you should stay in a building with our cyber doorman service. 24/7 Service Having a round-the-clock doorman will cost a building hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. This high price tag has caused some properties to cut back on the hours during which they employee a doorman. This can leave quite a bit of time during which there’s no basic security or package services being provided. Our virtual doorman service is on-call 24/7/365 in order to let the right people into the building and accept packages. There’s no time during which tenants will be left in the lurch. Front Doors Can Always Remain Locked One of the primary duties of doormen is to provide basic security for a building. But in order to do so, they will usually have the front doors unlocked and perform this security from the front desk. That means that anyone who shouldn’t be in the building already has access to the building, and if they overpower the doorman then they have complete access. With our virtual doorman service, the doors remain locked at all times until a tenant or approved guest comes along. This makes sure that the first line of defense — the front doors — aren’t breached. There’s No Tipping This might be a small point, but it can be surprisingly appealing to customers. Even the biggest tippers out there realize that we’re reaching “tipping overload,” as tipping has become more and more ubiquitous. While it’s great to tip actual doormen when they are part of a highrise’s offerings, not having to tip — or worrying about how much to tip — can be an appealing selling point for Virtual Doorman. Virtual Doorman Is Impressive! The job of doorman has been around for at least 2,000 years and a part of New York City life for hundreds of years. So while it still impresses people to say “we have a doorman in our building,” it certainly doesn’t hold the weight it always has. In fact, some people are uncomfortable having someone wait on them in such a fashion. Everyone is impressed with Virtual Doorman, though! We’ve worked hard to incorporate the software and hardware to make it work as smooth as possible and to accommodate every instance in which it could be needed. When you tell potential tenants that they can let their friends in by tapping their phone, they’re going to brag about it! Impress Your Tenants With The Best Services If you’re looking for the best virtual doorman, there’s only one option with all of the services to impress the people who are considering living in your building. Find out more about how it works, then get a free quote.
Virtual Doorman Continues To Bring Service to New Buildings Across the Country
This week our techs have taken off to Sacramento to put another Virtual Doorman building online in California! Our newest VDM building is at the L Street Lofts in the heart of Midtown, Sacramento. The building is eager to experience the amenities of its first remote doorman! There is a lot of planning and coordination that goes into bringing service to buildings outside of our home base in New York City. One of the very first steps to the process of bringing Virtual Doorman to a building is having our Installation Manager complete a site survey by physically visiting the building to make sure our service is a viable option for that location. This is a little harder to do when the building is not around the New York City area. Being that places like California are so far away from us, we have to complete a site survey virtually through pictures and video conferencing to see exactly what we are working with. Things we look for during a site survey are what kind of intercom, access control and CCTV systems a building may already have to see if/how we can integrate those current systems with our own. If a building doesn’t currently have any of these structures in place, we find the best approach to adding them based on the buildings construction. Once this is complete, and the building looks like a good match for our service, our team starts the process of planning installation by working with building management, owners, etc. It’s an extensive process of trip planning, ordering equipment and getting it to the site prior to our techs arriving (or our techs hauling it with them on their trip), ensuring the building has the proper phone and internet lines, and many other important steps to bring the Virtual Doorman service online. Our techs will be in Sacramento for a little less than a week, also stopping in at some of our other buildings in both Sacramento and San Francisco to make some service calls to our customers there. No matter how far away a building is from our home base, we always make sure everything is running smoothly for them, and that we are there to service them if/when needed. In each new city that we put online, we actually train and certify a new dealer in that area so that our client is supported and doesn’t have to wait for one of our homebased techs to fly out. This also makes things easier for future installations. By the end of this week, L Street Lofts will officially be the sixth building to go online with our Virtual Doorman service in the state of California! We look forward to making them a part of our rapidly growing amenity!
Real Doormen vs. Remote Doormen
A doorman is typically defined as a person who is employed to attend the doors at a residential building to welcome residents and their guests, oversee deliveries and provide security for the building. Today the average cost of employing a traditional doorman around the clock is $375,000 a year. While the need for a doorman at many buildings is essential, the cost of employing a traditional doorman is not something that many buildings can justify these days. As building budgets get tighter and the need for security and added amenities increases, remote doorman services are gaining popularity as a cost effective alternative to a physical doorman. Remote doormen are a true alternative to an on-site doorman or concierge and provide the same services as a traditional doorman, but at a fraction of the cost!
Virtual Doorman: Real Savings.
Entrepreneur Regal Real Estate has selected Virtual Doorman (VDM), the remote doorman service bat provides traditional doorman services remotely, to offer services in four of its Manhattan properties, namely: 21 Maiden Lane, 33 Union Square, 9 East 16th Street and 112 Fulton Street. Regal ultimately plans to install VDM throughout its entire 22-multifamily building New York City, portfolio.
Brooklyn Residential Buildings Go High-Tech
Brooklyn Daily Eagle | By Linda Collins BROOKLYN — Virtual Doorman, a high-tech electronic doorman system, is finding acceptance in Brooklyn. Several new condominium buildings have installed the service, including Park Slope’s The Argyle at 251 Seventh St. at Fourth Avenue; 101 N. 5th St. in Williamsburg; and 585 Sixth Ave. in South Slope.