What to Look For in a Student Housing Property Management Software

Around 8.6 million students need rental housing near campus with most Student Housing having a 100% occupancy rate.

One thing all successful Student Housings have is the use of efficient and flexible software to handle their property management.

Therefore, it's no surprise that you're here exploring the idea of investing in software for managing these daily operations rather than relying on manual techniques.

But before you go fishing in the sea of Student Housing software, you must know what exactly it is you're fishing for.

This article covers what to look for in a Student Housing property management software, highlights the best Student Housing PMS in the market currently, and shares the numerous benefits getting the right PMS can bring to your business.

Let's dive right in!

What Is Student Housing Software?

A Student Housing software falls under the category of property management software (PMS). Student Housing Software is essentially designed to help Student Housing managers manage their property in the most modern and efficient way.

In most cases, Student Housing software is a cloud-based application available on the web and in some cases also available as downloadable apps on mobile devices.

There are a handful of Studnet Housing Software and PMS that claim to be the one for you but, not all that glitters is gold.

Luckily, there are key features that you can look out for which we will be discussing shortly.

What Do Property Management Softwares Do?

Before you can dive into your search for the perfect Student Housing software, it's important to understand what they do and what they are capable of.

It's important to note that not all Property Management software is Student Housing software; some only cater to hotels and don't have all the features required to manage Student Housing as they are very specific.

In general, Property Management Software provides a suite of features in a centralized online system that manages day-to-day operations such as organizing, scheduling, account management, occupancy management, and much more.

Automate Tasks

Perhaps one of the most important uses of a PMS is to automate tasks in an establishment.

Irrespective of your industry, there are recurring tasks that arise. These tasks include paying bills, receiving payments, property and employee maintenance, scheduling appointments, and more.

A PMS allows you to automate all your tasks and thus helps in saving time and creating better efficiency.

Data Collection

A Student Housing Software collects data and keeps them safe for future use. If it is a cloud-based PMS, then all your data is stored safely in the cloud while an on-premise PMS saves your data on local hardware.

Having automatically updated reports on your Student Housing can have several benefits such as:

Finding trends based on different strategies you apply
Measure success
Risk assessment before embarking on projects
The efficient use of data results in a drastic increase in revenue as seen in various establishments and even smaller businesses can use data to boost sales.

Integrate With Third-Party Applications

A good PMS integrates your system with third-party applications easily and runs everything from one place without any hassle.

Some of the PMS software already have existing relationships with these third-party applications and working with them helps reduce cost, save time and get you the best service available.

Benefits Of Student Housing Software

The benefits of a Student Housing Software for housing owners are endless especially for housing owners around universities and colleges.

Here are a few super great benefits:

Improve Customer Experience

Your target market is students and they would much rather go for Student Housing that can provide them with basic treatment such as making online reservations, easy communication with your staff and so much more.

These are only achievable with the use of good Student Housing software.

Contactless Service

Now more than ever, the need for contactless service is in high demand. Whether it is making deliveries, booking appointments, collecting data, making complaints, or even leaving feedback.

This in turn helps with customer service and improves employee accountability.

Enhance Employee Productivity

Some PMS provides mobile applications and employee modules that all employees can access on their devices and update the status of various activities in your establishment.

This way all employees can be easily held accountable and all data of their performance are collected and accessible at any time it is needed.

Have Control Over Your Business

This is especially important for you if you run a chain of Student Housing rather than just one. How do you run all the properties efficiently at the same pace when they are different locations being run by different staff and you're not even there?

With the use of the right PMS, you can have proper control over all of your properties and manage them all as a unit.

High Efficiency And Time Saved

Don't be fooled into inaction - all successful establishments in the hospitality industry including Student Housing are dependent on a PMS of some sort to manage their property.

This is because its utilization of technology helps to increase overall functionality and in the end saves time.

You can now focus on other things involving your business since you have all the crucial tasks under control.

Generate Revenue

Having a Student Housing management software in your corner makes revenue management easy to execute and yields results. With all of this data at your disposal, you can use strategic distribution and pricing tactics to sell your property's perishable inventory to the right guests at the right time, to boost revenue growth.

Through the use of data reports and analytics, you can predict when student accommodation is in high demand thus determining the pricing of the services you deliver.

In the end, it helps to boost your establishment's finances.

What To Look For In A Student Housing Property Management Software

Below are some of the most critical features that you must check for in a Student Housing Property system before proceeding to invest your money and time in it.

Accounting Features

When you are managing a large number of properties spread across sites, you need a reliable accounting system that manages accounting simplifies payment modalities and makes rent collection much easier.

An important factor to consider is to look out for a system that makes it easy to pull out basic information for financial reporting and also supports applicable accounting and regulatory standards in your state or country.

SomeStudent Housing softwarealso provides debt management features and helps you track all your debtors, get real data on debt owed, and document everything in detailed reports for any future references.

Online Portal For Students

Nowadays, students are accustomed to getting things done online rather than having to bring all their problems to the front desk. The best way to give them a wonderful customer experience is by providing an online portal that allows students to manage various accounts, make payments online, create work orders, renew leases, and much more from the comfort of their phones or computers.

Some software offers online portals but, only with limited functionalities. What you should be looking out for is a system that offers an online portal that is customizable so you can make sure it fits right with the needs of the students in your accommodation.

Channel Management - Marketing

Marketing plays an important role in ensuring high student occupancy rates. Using a channel manager is one of the most effective ways to make potential tenants aware of your services.

A proactive Student Housing software could also throw in extra marketing features such as creating marketing campaigns through social media, delivering reports and analytics to help you come up with the best marketing strategies, and more.

A booking engine is also a great marketing module available that allows the students to view, book, pay, and make requests online without any stress at all.

Room Selection Management

In Student Housing, rooms often have two or four residents per room. Rather than splitting up one room into four separate units, Student Housing software will treat each resident individually. Some Student Housing software will even have roommate matching features, allowing staff or students to search for eligible roommates by lifestyle to minimize conflict down the line.

Integration With Campus Systems

Oftentimes, Student Housing is tied to meal plans, utilities, or class schedules. A Student Housing program should ideally integrate with the university's other software programs to facilitate the transfer of necessary information.

Student Housing Access Control

This is a key feature that helps you to limit trespassing and data security breaches within your property. With Access Control, you can easily set rule-based control via the system to allow passage and access to only qualified students/staff.

With a lot of cybercrimes and breaches, it's important to have total control of who is allowed to access and use your company's information and resources.

Best Student Housing Property Management Software

There is an ocean full of Property Management software in the market but, only a handful of Student Housing Property Management Software. To avoid falling into the wrong hands, here is a list of the best Student Housing software that has features tailored for student accommodation.

Booking Ninjas
Kinetic
TheHouseMonk
Entrata
Buildium

Always make sure to opt for a Student Housing software that offers a trial or a similar package to confirm that it is indeed the best solution for your business.

References

"Best Student Housing Software - 2022 Reviews & Pricing." Software Advice, https://www.softwareadvice.com/property/student-housing-software-comparison/. Accessed 22 January 2022.
Anthony, James. "47 Essential Student Housing Statistics You Must Learn 2021/2022 Data & Demographics - Financesonline.com." FinancesOnline.com, https://financesonline.com/student-housing-statistics/. Accessed 22 January 2022.