Consumers often rely on online reviews before purchasing products or trying new restaurants.Online reviews are perhaps even more important to multifamily owners and managers. That’s because the online reputation of an apartment community impacts not only whether prospective tenants visit and tour it but also leasing rates, rents, tenant retention and valuation of the property.

That’s why owners and managers need to pay close attention to Online Reputation Assessment (ORA) scores, an industry standard that measures a property’s online reputation. Created by Houston-based J Turner Research—an online reputation management firm that monitors the online ratings and reviews of over 126,000 properties nationwide—ORA scores establish a score for each apartment community that’s an aggregate of that property’s ratings across various review sites. The scores are based on a scale of 0 to 100 and are updated every month.

This may seem obvious, but industry executives report that they often have to remind their team to simply ask a resident or prospect to post a review after a positive interaction.

“Whether it’s a new lease-up community or one that we’re rebranding, we’ve found that the first online reviews set the tone for that community,” said Stephen Prochnow, executive vice president of property management. By simply asking for a review, residents feel encouraged to take the time to go online and offer their positive feedback. Full article can be found here.