Additionally, this system is thriving in buildings located in a range of generally more youthful neighborhoods. Van Praagh explains, “our hottest building is Hell's Kitchen, and then slightly behind that is on the Upper East Side by York Avenue. We are in 16 buildings there between 78^th and 80^th.” He further says that Clickpay operates in buildings at Bowling Green downtown, and then in a few properties in the Bronx and Brooklyn.

But in reality, is this system actually used? Do managers really think taking rent payments online is really good idea? Well, if multifamily mavens Rockrose have anything to say about it, this is an essential tenant service that not only appeals to the under 30 set. “We started the rent payments last year,” Kathleen Scott, manager of sales and leasing at Rockrose explains, “and we find about 70% of our tenants would use it.” Rockrose management uses Building Link, an online notification program that keeps tenants in the loop regarding maintenance, deliveries and allows for online bill pay.

Building Link “helps you run much more efficiently,” she says. “You can communicate with such speed, [and so] the level of service improves.” She feels that it keeps the conversation between tenant and building manager can be done with more ease through online channels because it allows for 24/7 connection. And with today’s renter – a new generation – speaking their language and offering them that which they have come to expect is essential.

“In our new buildings, we have wifi in tenant lounges and roof decks. It’s important, particularly for the demo/target market that that is in place. I call it the “I” generation – iPhone, iPad.” She concludes, “I think you have to embrace this because it’s not going away.”

Van Praagh concurs: “It’s an expected amenity today - the ability to pay online and not through online banking.”

In this competitive marketplace, keeping on top of technological advances and new programs will be a significant part of future strategy to entice and maintain tenants – and to further generate that all-important revenue. Technology has turned the marketplace into another “adapt or die” world, and it will be interesting to learn how those in the industry continue to respond to the call.