Artificial Intelligence Is Revolutionizing Property And Facilities Management

Kia Nejatian
5 min readJul 3, 2019

In major cities around the world, a growing number of individuals are choosing to rent. Whether it be residential housing or commercial office space, the global economy is currently experiencing never-before-seen growth in the demand for rental space.

Such a trend marks an exciting opportunity for real estate investors and property developers, as there are now billions of dollars in opportunities flooding the market. However, for those managing the growing number of residential properties and commercial facilities, this boom presents unique challenges.

How can a rapidly growing rental sector continue to receive high-quality management services? This is the core question that has been challenging property and facilities management professionals in recent years. After all, managing large apartments and office spaces have been known to be notoriously inefficient in the past.

To make matters worse, these industries have been known to fall behind the latest technology. Thankfully, there is a new wave of innovation that is seeking to make the jobs of property and facilities managers far easier.

Cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence are now being leveraged by innovative companies to enable more efficient management practices. This trend is exciting and is set to impact the growing number of rental facilities around the world.

Why Use Artificial Intelligence For Real Estate Management?

Artificial intelligence is one of today’s frequently used technology buzzwords. At its core, artificial intelligence represents an opportunity to make sense of the vast amounts of data being collected today. In turn, analysis of this data performed by artificial intelligence techniques such as machine learning, deep learning, and neural networks can help businesses make sense of overwhelming amounts of information.

For those in property management (i.e., residential real estate), the application of artificial intelligence can yield better service for tenants. In the realm of facilities management (i.e., commercial real estate), such technology can guide with proactive maintenance, which can help to save managers time and money.

It may be hard to recognize it today, but some form of artificial intelligence is likely already in use within most modern buildings. For example, smart home technology, self-vacuuming devices like iRobot’s Roomba, and automated thermostats all rely on some underlying form of artificial intelligence.

In short, artificial intelligence has the potential to provide countless benefits for real estate managers, which can help to lessen inefficiencies and increase profitability.

What Are Some Benefits Of Artificial Intelligence?

There are numerous benefits provided by the application of artificial intelligence in the context of property and facilities management. From greater control over a building’s utilities to increased customer satisfaction, artificial intelligence represents a true game-changer for real estate management firms.

Some of the most significant benefits provided by the use of artificial intelligence include:

- Creating New Revenue Opportunities: With artificial intelligence, it is now possible to implement previously unattainable practices such as net-zero energy usage throughout a building. Artificial intelligence can allow for impressive savings, which can then be leveraged to create new and diverse revenue generating opportunities.

- More Effective Preventative Maintenance: It is a well-known fact that it is often cheaper to practice preventative maintenance than it is to fix a property after catastrophe strikes. Through the power of artificial intelligence, managers can gain a better understanding of where to focus their maintenance efforts.

- Intelligent Reporting And Optimization: Proactive maintenance is a critical practice, but issues are still bound to occur from time to time. When things do go wrong, artificial intelligence-enabled systems can notify managers of problems instantaneously. From automated report filing to the seamless creation of work orders, such features can assist teams in fixing issues soon after they occur.

- Improved Tenant Experience: Whether your firm is focused on residential or commercial real estate, customer satisfaction is vital. The application of artificial intelligence across existing facilities helps to guarantee that clients enjoy the best possible experience.

- Wall-To-Wall Intelligence: When integrated with Internet of Things-enabled devices like smart home technology, artificial intelligence is taken to the next level. With access to numerous sensors collecting reams of information, artificial intelligence can enable better conditions for tenants and increased cost savings for managers. That’s the true definition of a win-win in the world of real estate management.

Clearly, artificial intelligence is allowing for numerous positive developments for real estate managers across all industries. Yet, it is essential to note that not all property and facilities management solutions are created equal.

AskPorter: Artificial Intelligence For Proactive Property Management

As industry professionals know firsthand, property management has historically been a time consuming, frustrating, and sometimes even tedious line of work. Tom Shrive, the CEO of AskPorter, recognized these realities and felt compelled to craft a high-tech solution. Thus, the cutting-edge and artificial intelligence-powered features behind AskPorter were created. As a result, the world of property management will never be the same again.

While there are several artificial intelligence property management services out there today, AskPorter separates itself from the pack for many reasons. Providing an all-in-one property management platform, this unique service covers every imaginable tool required to satisfy tenants and landlords alike.

The real power of AskPorter lies in its proprietary digital assistant, which has been trained to answer any and all questions pertaining to property management. This digital assistant, named Porter, can help with anything and everything related to day-to-day property management. Need to schedule a contractor for routine maintenance? Consider it done. Do you need to know how many HVAC issues have been reported in your portfolio? Just ask Porter. For example, Aduvio, a large UK based property manager, was able to reduce agent time on an average maintenance workflow from 35 minutes to just 3 minutes, representing a 10x saving.

In short, AskPorter takes the power of artificial intelligence and makes it accessible to occupants, landlords, and property managers. Traditionally, property managers have had to spend the majority of their time putting out proverbial fires, from chasing rent to scheduling emergency maintenance services. They make such practices a thing of the past, allowing property managers to delight customers while cutting management costs.

That’s why we invested in AskPorter.

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Kia Nejatian

Real Estate VC @ Second Century Ventures . Former VC @ Plug and Play Ventures, Partnerships @ Kash (acq.), Analyst @ Real Facilities (acq.), Founder StayTO.