SmartRent provides a platform that simplifies operations for property owners and creates a better living experience for residents. With over 15,000 committed units, SmartRent is the industry leader in terms of units installed and states served.
SmartRent’s solutions streamline workflows for site teams, minimize energy in vacant units, and prevent damage with smart leak sensors. These devices integrate with popular PMS and CRM systems to allow clients to switch to smart without changing their existing infrastructure.
Streamlined Property Management
With a focus on increasing operational efficiency, enhancing customer experience and generating new ancillary revenue, property managers rely on SmartRent solutions for multifamily apartment communities. Streamlining management of smart home devices and other connected tech offers an integrated, scalable approach to improve community-wide connectivity, energy savings and resident satisfaction.
SmartRent’s product ecosystem includes smart hubs, locks, thermostats and leak detectors that connect to a central platform through the cloud, allowing residents to easily update their device settings through a single app. It also includes a variety of smart lights and switches, programmable energy appliances, and community WiFi for seamless integration with other products.
Previously, the only way for apartment communities to offer smart devices was to deploy a DIY kit of individual home automation devices, which could be difficult and costly to manage for property managers. With SmartRent’s development of Community WiFi, multifamily communities can reliably provide a robust and dependable internet network to power smart home and proptech systems.
Increased NOI
SmartRent provides multifamily communities with a suite of automation solutions including Smart Apartments, Access Control, Parking Management, Self-Guided Tours, Community WiFi and Asset Protection. Their cloud-based enterprise software gives property managers clear data views and analyses to maximize NOI, while providing residents with seamless connectivity in their homes and common spaces.
The company’s recurring revenue model is anchored by their strong customer loyalty and cornered resources. SmartRent has 0% customer churn and they have thousands of committed units. They also have a large and growing base of leased assets with a strong pipeline of future commitments.
However, as Night Market Research points out, a big risk to their business is that security breaches or other issues cause customers to abandon the platform. If that happens, it could crush their sales funnel and limit their future growth potential. Fortunately, this is unlikely since they are investing heavily in their deployment team to ensure smooth installations.
Increased Resident Satisfaction
The ability to quickly respond to maintenance requests through the SmartRent app empowers residents and reduces frustration. When a clogged toilet or tripped breaker is reported, the resident can add photos and video, making the job easier for techs and reducing the amount of time needed to complete each task. All communication is saved in a work order to facilitate handoff and dispute resolution.
Integrated with community management, SmartRent’s suite of connected community solutions elevate the smart home experience for residents while centralizing operations. This includes intelligent package rooms, energy-saving thermostats, gate and amenity access control, parking management, asset protection and more.
Quinn Residences Area Manager Vanette Lugo says communities equipped with SmartRent premium devices have seen increased resident satisfaction and engagement. “SmartRent’s single interface makes it easy to provide great customer service,” she says. “It also saves us time, allowing us to focus on our core business of managing communities.”
Increased Revenue
SmartRent offers multifamily communities a platform to better monitor and protect assets, create operational efficiencies, and drive ancillary revenue. Its suite of automation solutions provides property owners and managers data views and analytics to maximize NOI.
The company’s hardware provides tenants security, but there are risks with the technology. Residents’ PINs are sent in plain text via SMS and email, which leaves the door open to hackers and can lead to identity theft. In addition, residents may not appreciate the fact that their doors can be opened remotely by neighbors or strangers.
The bull case for SmartRent assumes growth in its higher margin SaaS recurring revenues, but this is off a tiny base and still less than 5% of overall revenues approaching two years post de-SPAC. Meanwhile, underlying Hardware ARPU is flat and declining without accounting for the revenue recognition change. The bull case also ignores the deteriorating environment that will hamper SmartRent’s efforts to increase NOI and profitability in a difficult market.