The Difference Between a Resident App and a Resident Portal App

Most multi-family properties will make use of a resident portal platform, allowing residents to pay rent and perform basic tasks. As useful as this is, modern residents now expect more from a property. Not only are residents looking for convenience but they’re looking for a property that delivers lifestyle experiences.

This is where a resident engagement app comes in. These apps handle the interaction side of things, complementing and integrating with a resident portal platform. Through a variety of built-in tools, they drive up engagement, increase interactions and ultimately improve retention.

What do resident portal apps do?

Resident portal apps give residents a handy way to perform basic property-related tasks. Portal apps are first and foremost designed for functionality and are not something residents will use unless necessary.

Paying rent

The most common use of a resident portal app is to pay rent. Through a website or mobile app, residents are able to log in and pay rent in a much more streamlined way.

While this might not seem groundbreaking in the 21st century, manual bank transfers are still the most common form of payment. Giving residents a convenient way to set up automatic payments and see past receipts results in rent being paid consistently on time.

Request maintenance

One of the biggest pet peeves for residents is having to request maintenance. Traditional methods of phone calls and form submissions leave a disconnect between the report and the response.

Portal apps bridge this and keep residents in the know with status updates on their maintenance requests. This helps keep relationships between the property and residents positive.

Reserve amenities

Some resident portal apps also allow residents to reserve onsite amenities.

Whether it’s time in the pool, gym, tennis courts, or rooftop garden, resident portal platforms can let residents book these automatically. Apps will give residents several time and day options and give control over capacity and usage limits.

While this is convenient for residents, it also helps free up staff from repetitive tasks, letting them better serve residents elsewhere.

What do resident engagement apps do?

As useful as portal apps are, they aren’t exactly fun to use. Residents will typically have to dig through their phones to find the app on the occasions they need to use it, and it’s unlikely to take up precious home screen real estate.

Engagement apps on the other hand, are something residents will open regularly throughout their day, letting them check in on their community. They typically feature social features, resident messaging, event calendars, and access to useful services.

This all helps keep residents connected anywhere, anytime, forging strong property communities. And, with portal app platforms seamlessly integrated, there’s no reason to choose one or the other.

Drive engagement

Resident engagement apps deliver different ways for residents to keep engaged with a property, the people, and the staff therein.

Engagement is one of the most important factors in how connected a resident feels with a multi-family property. With everyone owning a smartphone, an app serves as an effortless way to keep residents involved in their property’s community.

Each app differs in its approach. Flamingo, for example, uses features that resemble social media such as a community wall feed, direct resident messaging, profiles, photo sharing, and more. This gives residents the sense of being part of an exclusive community.

Surveys, too, empower residents to voice their opinion. This makes them feel listened to and further engaged.

Increase interactions

On top of the social features, in-app resident event calendars and RSVPing can drastically increase interactions. As interactions are the heart of engagement, this is a killer feature of resident engagement apps.

Traditionally, a resident event will be partially attended with a handful of interactions. Engagement apps amplify this before, during, and after. Residents already feel like they know attendees and are more likely to discuss and talk to each other. This then spills over to photo sharing, tagging, and posts discussing the event.

Improve retention

These memories can then be used to remind residents of the fun they’ve had in the property come renewal season. They also serve as the bedrock for tighter-knit communities.

With shared memories, friendships naturally form, delivering a great multifamily experience for residents and staff. This also affects the bottom line. As the property is not just a building, but a community they are part of, residents are far less likely to move out and are more likely to renew their agreement.

Resident engagement apps are a complete solution

Fortunately, resident portal apps and resident engagement apps aren’t at odds with one another. Good resident engagement apps complement resident portal platforms by integrating them into their own software. This includes payments, amenities, maintenance, engagement, events, social features, and tools such as digital keys and granting building access.

All this means a better experience for residents. A resident engagement app combines the convenience of portal apps while also encouraging communities to form through engagement and interaction.