Many property managers still treat the lobby, reception or on-site office as their only main front door. These days, there could be a better way. Your first and most frequent contact point is a small screen.
What happens on a small screen sits at the core of your arrival and onboarding experience as much as what happens on the parking pavement or the lobby.
This goes beyond your arrival experience; mobile tenant apps like Bidrento now sit at the centre of daily life for rental properties. The apps carry messages, events, service requests and amenity bookings in one place.
Not every old-school renter app is good enough
To deal with that, many operators now have a renter app in place. Tenants can pay online. They can log a leak. They can read updates.
That part is not new. What most experts still miss is what sits under those simple taps.
If the renter app feels slow, cluttered or cold, renters feel that the whole company is slow, cluttered or cold. If the app feels clear and friendly, renters project that feeling back onto the building and the brand.
This means the renter is your digital lobby. It is where your tone, values and promises show up each day in tiny ways.
If you want to see how this could look for your own buildings, you can book a free demo of Bidrento here.
A renter app gives you access to silent majority of your tenants
You already know your happy renters. They leave kind reviews, renew without fuss, and show up at events. You also know the very unhappy ones. They write long emails, call often or even post online.
The group that decides your revenue in the long run sits in between. Silent. Unsure.
Studies on residential property retention show that about 20 percent of renters are undecided close to renewal. Around half of renters may choose not to renew in the end.
A big share of that “silent middle” never visits your office. They rarely email. They may only log in to pay rent. Without a strong renter app, you never see them. You guessed it.
When the renter app is set up with care, you get live signals from this group. You do not need long surveys. You need a steady trickle of simple signals from normal use of the renter app.
A renter app can turn small services into steady side income
Snack fridges in lobbies. Laundry rooms. Meeting pods. Parcel rooms. Many buildings have these but use them in a weak way.
Research for rented apartments indicates that when you link a small on-site service to feedback inside an app, usage can rise by around 15 percent after you tune the offer.
One approach is to treat your renter app as your research tool, not just your communication tool. You can design and test small, low-risk revenue streams at a regular schedule. Adding to your cashflow in a way that feels natural, not forced.
Most property managers still chase big, headline amenities, but you could be better off using a tool like Bidrento to get quiet gains. If you want to test small services and extras in a structured way, you can book a free demo of Bidrento here.
The two biggest mistakes with renter apps
We usually blame the platform when a renter app is not well received. But often the root problem sits elsewhere.
They design for the “ideal renter”, not the real mix
Most decks talk about tech-savvy young urban renters. But often real buildings are full of:
- Shift workers
- Parents with little free time
- Older people who use phones, but in a different way
If the renter app asks for too many steps, uses tiny fonts, or hides key functions, a big group will avoid it. Spps work best when they follow basic rules: clear layout, simple menus, easy access to rent, repairs and messages on the first screen.
They treat services and messages as an afterthought
Renter apps often end up as empty shells. Same bland news. Same old extra services. Same dry notices. No clear tone.
When you implement your renter app. think through how you send targeted and timely messages inside apps to build connection and belonging.
You do not need big campaigns. You need:
- Honest notes on works and repairs
- Quick follow ups after fixes
- Small thank-you messages when people do the right thing
- Occasional useful tips that make life in the building easier
That kind of content costs little and builds a sense that someone is awake on the other side of the screen.
A renter app is where your promises meet daily life
A renter app acts like a mirror for your own team.
- Slow answers in the app point to weak internal flows.
- Confused messages in the app point to unclear rules or roles.
- Sharp, kind, timely replies in the app show that your process is simple and strong.
If you treat your tenant app as a live mirror of who you are, you can train your team accordingly. You can fix the steps inside your office that cause delays on the screen and in real-life. Over time, this raises the level of your whole operation.We can walk you through how this could work for you in a short call. Book a free demo of Bidrento here.
