Feature; Why and How Technology is Needed to Leverage the Temporary Housing Industry’s New Business Model

Feature: Alex Shahabe, President of OWL “Why and How Technology is Needed to Leverage the Temporary Housing Industry’s New Business Model”

As technology expands, the productivity gap continues to widen for booking companies that have not yet implemented a digital solution. As necessity is the mother of invention, the pandemic has pushed us further toward solutions to the challenges related to the traditional housing process. Temporary corporate housing is an industry undergoing a rapid shift toward an online multi-connectivity solution. Ditching the inefficient, time-consuming, and expensive traditional process, new technology platforms lower costs, increase speed and transparency, and leverage local knowledge uniformly. Without incorporating these advances, sourcing companies using the outdated method potentially lose millions. The research and data speak to a fluid reality where data must keep up in real-time. The why’s of needing a new business model to adapt and remain scalable and profitable include (1) pace of growth, (2) demand expectations, (3) mobility, and (4) need for digital connection. The how’s and benefits of incorporating technology are naturally driven by advances in AI and digitally delivered customer-centric services. Why plan and act now? According to SpendEdge, temporary housing has revived and is thriving, with a predicted compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.44 percent from 2021 to 2025. Today’s booking digital transformation provides solid benefits. With unanticipated growth pre-pandemic, temporary housing players require new levels of efficiency where mobile access is critical. As we break down the problems that have risen to the top of traditional booking, the solutions are fresh and liberating.

Temporary Housing is Back and Growing

The pandemic transformed the world of health as well as the workers of our time. As commerce reopens and blossoms, completely different working circumstances have emerged. Workers are steadily returning to the workforce—and often need a temporary place to live while transitioning to new or term positions. When the market dropped during the height of COVID-19, some suppliers were forced or chose to end their agreements with apartment communities. Heather James, CRP, GMS, estimates that the temporary housing inventory reduction was as high as 30 percent in North America. Now, as demand exceeds inventory, temporary housing holders need faster ways to connect new developments and transition locations to the workers hired. The work-from-home movement during the pandemic also increased the demand for furnished housing, leading to unanticipated growth for new entrants into the temporary housing market. For example, the corporate housing company Landing was aiming to operate in 30 cities but grew to 75 cities in response to the pandemic.

Why the Traditional Booking Process Costs Money and Time

As technology expands, the productivity gap continues to widen for booking companies that have not yet implemented a digital solution. As necessity is the mother of invention, the pandemic has pushed us further toward solutions to the following “why” challenges related to the traditional housing process—with their solutions and benefits covered in the next “how” section. • Higher fees for middleman suppliers increase costs for buyers. The extra layer is significant, estimated to be about $1200 per average reservation. • You don't always have access to the local experts. Many temporary housing companies rely on call centers for booking, but if the property location is outside the call center market, the representative probably isn’t extremely familiar with the booking area. They may have to contact another provider to provide local information, and it may not be trusted verified. • The traditional booking process is inefficient and time-consuming. The backand-forth communication adds four to five business days to the booking timeline, sometimes more with time zone and international differences. • Administrators recreate the wheel every time they book a property for a client. There is no easy way to save a profile or apply it to all inquiries, requiring the administrator to re-enter the specifications per the buyer's request. • Dashboard reporting is lacking or nonexistent. Any extrapolations or calculations are analog and dependent upon the buyer's time and energy. • Details of local market pricing fluctuations get lost or ignored. For example, the price of a one-bedroom property in San Diego increases in the summertime but decreases in the winter, which someone outside San

Diego might not know. Without built-in

adaption during consistent seasons, such changes cause confusion. • Buyers have limited access to available properties. Many excellent local and global suppliers with fabulous temporary housing options do not have a dedicated sales force or substantial marketing budgets to promote their properties.

How Incorporating Technology for the Temporary Housing Procurement Process Benefits All

With new demand and growth on the horizon, and the overall push for digitalization, it's clear that creating an online multi-connectivity experience that is efficient and safe is essential for the future success of a player in the mobility industry.

This portion of our analysis drills down to the how’s behind the why’s.

We have identified seven benefits for the temporary housing industry to increase efficiency and profitability by leveraging available software technology: • Eliminates fees in the booking process.

When you use software to book with a supplier directly, you remove the middleman—reducing costs. Eliminating that layer of fees adds back into your profit, benefiting your bottom line. Further, some platforms provide a flat-rate fee, as opposed to a daily fee or percentage of stay, which controls costs. • Gives you direct access to the suppliers at the property location.

Platform support and chat features allow you to interact with someone who has local insight into the area. Local experts can share details from traffic to school districts, all in real-time, without leaving the platform. One may have access to more than 500 suppliers in over 1,500 global cities using today’s marketplace technology. • Saves time during the booking process.

Technology allows you to submit a request and receive multiple options from local suppliers within a few hours. Inventory updates continuously for real-time results at the time of inquiry. Also, direct access to inventory suppliers eliminates the extra calls and related response times created with questions from the end-user. • Eases the administrative burden in bookings and RFPs.

Technology streamlines communication and stores buyer preferences in their profile. Software can push the buyers' priorities to their quotes, eliminating the need to resubmit preferences each time. When working on a Request for Proposal (RFP), property data is readily available. • Provides market insights reflecting current trends in the local market.

Software functionality can present current cost estimates based on the move-in date and size of the apartment. This enables companies to have access to pricing at the time of occupancy. • Opens access to inventory from a broader array of suppliers.

Aggregate sites provide not only a worldwide base of inventory but also access to smaller, more specialized suppliers. These suppliers often don’t have the budget or infrastructure for nationwide marketing but have quality inventory that can quickly meet the buyers’ needs.

In conclusion, temporary housing’s new business model calls for a digital platform solution.

Implementing an all-encompassing digital experience alleviates many problems within the temporary housing sector. High-tech solutions also remove extra layers—reducing costs and timelines. Digital solutions are often able to provide reporting automation for temporary housing costs and create buyer preferences in the portal profile, simplifying bidding for RFPs. With access to local expertise, end-user information such as pricing fluctuations is delivered close to real-time. Best of all, suppliers with excellent inventory can even the playing field with suppliers who have many more resources for marketing their inventory. As the “why” of the demand for temporary housing grows exponentially, multi-connected digital interactions are the answer, the how, to improving the experience, providing services safely, and increasing market share in an industry with growing demand. Therefore, ensuring business models incorporate the why’s and how’s listed here is foundational for sustained managed growth within the temporary housing industry.

Author Alex Shahabe, President of OWL ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alex Shahabe is president of OWL and is recognized as a temporary housing industry thought leader. OWL is a collaborative marketplace that helps streamline the housing procurement process and increase efficiencies from one central location. With expanded inventory options to choose from, OWL provides the ability to source the best available solution for each housing need. Participating companies can post requests at no cost and book directly with the best local supplier that meets their needs. This ability enables suppliers to manage dynamic pricing with greater speed and efficiency while avoiding the current daily fees charged by other platforms. The OWL Interactive Cost Savings Calculator demonstrates how OWL is the most cost-effective option compared to other industry resources. For more information and to get started on OWL, visit https://owlmarketplace.com.