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lesson PlanStudent housing isn’t just about providing shelter. Unlike their market-rate counterparts, this sector’s owners and operators cater to a resident population that requires extra doses of TLC. By Jennifer Popovec

collaborate

oriented operation. In fact, we don’t hire [team members] from the apartment industry—we hire out of the lodging sector.”

oPerationally intense One of the biggest differences between conventional apartments and student housing is the level of operational intensity demanded by the academic calendar and the resident base. As a result, student-housing properties generally require a larger, specialized staff.

“In student housing, customer interactions are heightened,” says Matt Fulton, vice president of operations of Memphis, Tenn.–based EdR, a REIT that owns or manages 36,600 beds. “Conventional apart-ments usually have one contact per unit, but because we lease by the bed, we often have three or four. We could be dealing with 700 people for a 300-unit property.”

today’s student-housing ProPerties are far removed from the ones immortalized in the classic movie Animal House—no drunken frat boys passed out on the lawn, no toilet paper hanging from the trees, and no bed sheets streaming from the windows. But that doesn’t mean student living quarters are just like conventional apartment communities. In fact, apartment professionals are often surprised by the differences—dif-ferences that make owning and operating student housing, some would say, much more challenging, and more rewarding.

“I always tell people that a student-housing property is really an extended-stay hotel that’s run like a cruise ship,” says Ted Rollins, co-chairman and CEO of Charlotte, N.C.–based Campus Crest Com-munities, a REIT that owns and manages approximately 6,324 apart-ment student housing units and 17,064 beds. “We have a big focus on student lifestyle and experience, and we run a very hospitality-

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Fulton says students (and parents) expect a contact to be on site and available 24/7. Student-housing op-erators usually hire students who live on campus and can address after-hours issues.

The presence of on-site employees who do double duty as students also reduces behavioral issues, says Dan Oltersdorf, vice president of resident life for Cam-pus Advantage. The Austin, Texas–based property management firm employs 350 student-staff members.

“We try to emphasize the importance of their role—they’re involved in leasing, marketing, event planning, and emergency management,” Oltersdorf notes. “Since they’re peers to our residents, they create a more cohe-sive community. Their presence is a significant deter-rent to [students] getting out of control.”

In addition to the challenges created by housing hundreds of young adults, operators have to contend with a single move-in period, usually mid-August. Thus, leasing efforts are focused on getting properties filled prior to summer break. “If you miss that lease-up window, you’re sunk,” Oltersdorf warns.

Once students get settled, operators turn their attention to making sure their new residents are engaged—with the university, fellow students, and the community.

“When your residents have some buy-in to the community, they’re much less likely to be disruptive,” says Matt Fulton, vice president of operations for EdR.

Students who have a positive housing experience are also more likely to graduate and have higher GPAs, says Dan Oltersdorf, vice president of resident life for Campus Advantage. “We try to help them enhance their college experience, and that’s where resident-life programming comes in. It’s geared toward getting

students involved.”Oltersdorf acknowledges

that many conventional apartment communities regularly host events, but most of them are centered on resident retention. “Of course, we want to retain our residents, but our programming goes beyond retention to giving them skills they need to be successful.”

Campus Advantage offers several areas of programming, including social events, life-skills training, academic support, and civic and community engagement. “We host résumé workshops, study groups, and financial-success seminars,” Oltersdorf says. “We also collaborate with the universities for a variety of programs.”

Similarly, Campus Crest Communities has a comprehensive resident-life program, dubbed SCORES, which incorporates social, cultural, outreach, recreational, educational, and sustainability elements.

“You know what they say about idle minds and hands,” says Tedd Rollins, CEO of Campus Crest. “We do a lot of fun stuff that keeps their minds and hands busy.”

SCORES includes everything from bonfires, movie nights, and concerts to blood drives and holiday turkey giveaways. Residents may be as involved as they want. “We give them freedom with boundaries,” says Campus Crest co-chairman Mike Hartnett.

Busy Hands

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Unlike conventional communities, where move-ins occur throughout the year, student-housing properties have to align with the new school term. EdR, for exam-ple, has its marketing plans ready to go almost imme-diately after move-in is completed so that it can start filling up units for the following school year.

That single move-in date affects not only leasing, but also the make-ready process and resident check-in. The effort involved in getting units ready for move-in is gargantuan. In Gainesville, Fla., where Campus Advan-tage manages communities near the University of Flor-ida, the firm turns 1,488 beds in fewer than two weeks. In contrast, EdR’s Fulton points out, conventional mul-tifamily operators usually can handle make-ready and turns in-house because move-ins are spread out.

answering to mom and dadToday’s parents are more involved in their children’s lives than ever before. That creates an entirely unique set of opportunities and challenges for student-housing owners and operators.

“The expectations of parents are very high,” says Mike Hartnett, co-chairman and chief investment offi-cer of Campus Crest. “When it comes down to it, we’re in the business of taking care of people’s kids.”

Smart student-housing owners and operators go out of their way to interact with parents. More im-portantly, they never forget that parents are entrust-ing their children to their care, says David Adelman, president and CEO of Philadelphia-based Campus Apartments, developers, owners, and managers of stu-dent housing, with more than 32,000 beds in 24 states. “That’s why our business is even more focused on safe-ty and security,” Adelman says.

“I think the old attitude was that you had to deal with parents,” adds Oltersdorf. “The new attitude is to channel the energy instead of blocking it … to find new ways to communicate with parents and capture their attention, because they’re now shadow residents in our properties.” MFE

Jennifer Popovec is a freelance writer based in Fort Worth, Texas.

“When it comes down to it, we’re in the business

of taking care of people’s kids.”

— Mike Hartnett, co-chairman and chief

investment officer, Campus Crest