BH Management Services

Luke Paskert

What are some of the major challenges and trends that have been impacting the PropTech space lately?

One of our major challenges lies in the day-to-day administration of an increasingly complex PropTech ecosystem. BH manages more than 340 apartment communities, and the application stack can vary significantly from property to property. The number of user identities and logins grows exponentially each time we implement a new tool, making it difficult for our IT team to manage. Furthermore, while integrations do exist, many of the tech players in our industry are not part of an open API environment, which means we work within a fairly insulated bubble.

Another challenge comes down to infrastructure. The reality is that many communities lack ubiquitous connectivity, so technology implementation at a property might entail months of work to upgrade existing infrastructure.

 These roadblocks are not insurmountable, but PropTech companies do need to understand that limitations vary by property

What keeps you up at night when it comes to some of the major predicaments in the PropTech space?

Across all aspects of our technology footprint, security is our number one concern. When evaluating software for our business, we look closely at the security and operating profile of the PropTech provider. We won’t even consider working with companies that do not have a solid foundation and continually take the necessary steps to protect their customer’s data.

Can you tell us about the latest project that you have been working on and what are some of the technological and process elements that you leveraged to make the project successful?

BH manages a large portfolio of multifamily properties, so even the smallest project requires coordination across many functional teams. This year, we’ve worked hard to dial in our processes and implement new tools to increase efficiency and improve our ability to scale. A newly formed group of project managers focuses on our larger technology initiatives, which tend to have a great deal of complexity. We also have implemented a project management platform to increase visibility and give teams the ability to collaborate more easily.

Which are some of the technological trends that excite you for the future of PropTech space?

BH is looking forward to how PropTech can improve the overall experience for our residents and our employees. Residents today expect ease, so we have adopted several tools to make it simpler and more convenient for residents to interact with us. From streamlining the work order process to enabling no-contact deliveries, PropTech has helped our on-site teams deliver better customer service to our residents. But I think we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg. There are still so many opportunities to rethink how we interact with and serve our residents  no matter when, or where they are.