ATLANTA, GA - The Rainmaker Group, the leading provider of revenue management and profit optimization solutions to the multifamily housing and gaming/hospitality industries, announces continued successes for The Habitat Company after implementing Rainmaker LRO™ software across their market rate portfolio in May 2011. Habitat is a leader in property management and development experience and has been delivering asset management services in Chicago and other markets for 40 years.
This is the first revenue management system the company has retained and it was important to find one that could strategically align with Habitat’s goals and pricing objectives. Focused on improving operations to drive revenue, Habitat sought a revenue management provider with proven results, one that could deliver automated, optimized services as well as one with a similar company culture and philosophy.
“We compared all the revenue management software on the market. We chose Rainmaker LRO because of its reputation and proven track record,” said Sheila Byrne, senior vice president of property management for Chicago-based Habitat. “The business philosophy of The Rainmaker Group and Habitat were a great match. We were closely following market conditions and demand; however, LRO’s sophisticated technology and optimization algorithms allowed us to realize growth in a more condensed timeframe. Rainmaker provided one-on-one training for our team which was critical for them to be able to understand and get comfortable with pricing recommendations in order to create ownership and buy-in.”
“It’s exciting to see the impact revenue management can have for a company truly dedicated to driving pricing,” said Andrew Rains, executive vice president of Rainmaker LRO. “Habitat is a prime example of how in-depth involvement from executive leadership to on-site personnel is part of the equation for a successful shift to an automated revenue management platform and ultimately successful revenue generation.”
Prior to engaging LRO revenue management, Habitat ran all pricing activities internally through time-consuming manual processes, and often the company’s main rental increases coincided with the known seasonality of a community or a market. The company was also dealing with concessions and had been working towards redirecting that trend. “LRO provides a broader picture allowing us to not only pull the trigger faster on rental increases and pricing strategies but helps minimize days vacant by matching the right unit and lease term with the right customer which, in turn, allows us to focus on generating revenue and customer service. The software delivers the flexibility of offering multiple lease terms on both the prospect and resident renewal side so there are options without us having to compromise by giving a concession,” Byrne explained.
Habitat is experiencing success throughout its portfolio; however, the most notable impact they realized was at the company’s Michigan properties. This market, hit by the recession earlier compared to other markets where Habitat manages properties, had been coming out of the recession faster than anticipated. “Our team was taking steps to eliminate concessions and drive rents before we deployed the LRO system; however, that entire process was accelerated by automating pricing using the LRO software platform. After implementation, we saw impressive increases of $100-150,” she said. “The system was more aggressive and allowed us to achieve a lift in NOI faster than what we would have been able to do. The Habitat market rate portfolio has seen a 4.5 percent increase in NOI since we rolled out the program.”
Rainmaker LRO™ revenue management is the leading multifamily lease rate optimization solution used to maximize revenue from apartment leases. The system calculates optimized pricing based on multiple factors that influence rate setting, including traffic and lease duration, move-in dates, competitive affects and other metrics. The system also produces enterprise-wide demand forecasts by measuring and analyzing historical and current market metrics and performing calculations necessary for occupancy predictions that are dynamically updated as market conditions change.
The Habitat Company currently manages over $2 billion in assets for its own account and for third parties. Its portfolio is comprised of more than 20,000 residential units of market rate, affordable, student and public housing units in five states.
The Rainmaker Group is the market leader in profit optimization solutions for the Multifamily Housing and Gaming & Hospitality industries. Rainmaker software, coupled with professional business consulting services, enables multifamily housing operators to maximize revenue from apartment leases and helps operators of casino hotels and other hospitality enterprises secure the most valuable customers to increase their profitability. Rainmaker is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and leverages cutting-edge research in order to bring customers the most sophisticated solutions to their revenue management challenges. Adopted by industry leaders and niche players alike, Rainmaker solutions provide clients a strategic advantage in achieving the highest profitability from their assets. Multifamily housing clients include leaders such as Archstone, AvalonBay Communities, Equity Residential, Gables Residential, Post Properties, Mid-America Apartment Communities and more. Gaming/Hospitality clients include leading casino/hotel organizations such as Atlantis The Palm Dubai, Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International, Omni Hotels & Resorts, Wynn Las Vegas and many others. Headquartered in northern Atlanta, GA, Rainmaker is an innovator and thought leader in the highly specialized revenue optimization field. In 2011, Inc. magazine ranked Rainmaker among America’s top 5,000 fastest-growing, privately held companies.