In college towns, there is generally no shortage of student housing. There are plenty of people with apartments, duplexes, and even small houses that try and attract tenants.
College students are usually fairly savvy when it comes to finding quality housing. They know what to look for in terms of price, location, number of tenants, and amenities to name a few.
As someone who wants to have college students rent from them, you need to know how to appeal to them beyond the above-mentioned criteria. You need to get creative with your business approach. If you are a student looking for housing, you need to look for a landlord that will appreciate you and shoe it. As a renter its okay to be selfish here!
Tenant Appreciation
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If your apartment provides everything they say they will in the contract, then they are not required to do anything else. Those landlords or managers who do things to show you they appreciate you as a tenant are doing it right. They are showing their tenants that they matter.
Tenant appreciation can take many forms. When I lived in student housing, the owners rented out a bowling alley and let everyone go bowl and play games all night. Things like this are rare but if you put one on your tenants will feel a lot more loyal to you.
Free/Discounted Rent
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Rent is no ones favorite thing unless you are the one getting paid. It is a necessary aspect to life, however. Finding an apartment that does not charge an unreasonable amount for rent is a skill, and one that you will develop over the course of your life.
My apartment in college offered a great deal on rent between semesters. If you needed to stay during the break, they would charge you a small amount each day. For the summer break, they charge more.
Some student housing apartments even offer deals like Christmas break for free if you have a contract that spans into the next semester. This is nice, even if you aren’t saying the whole break. It allows you to save money and not worry about perfectly aligning your travel plans during the peak travel season.
Business Discounts
One of the coolest things I have seen an apartment complex do is have businesses on site. Having restaurants so close is awesome and convenient.
Northpoint apartments in Rexburg, Idaho has a deal contracted with some of the businesses that are built on site that allow tenants discounts by showing their ID card. Northpointrexburg.com lists a ton of other awesome perks they offer, making it clear that they are in it for a good student living experience.
Conclusion
There are going to be a lot of options for students when it comes to where they live. In order to stay competitive, apartments and landlords have to be creative and assertive in the tactical use of perks to win over students. This could apply to any landlord, whether they are renting to students or otherwise. The key is making sure that you can offer awesome perks in a cost-effective manner. If you can, you will find a ton of success and have good, loyal tenants.