Technology That Residents Actually Love
How Bainbridge Is Setting a New Standard for Apartment Living
In today's rental market, technology is everywhere, but not all of it is warmly welcomed by residents. Smart locks that glitch, apps that require five steps to submit a maintenance request, or thermostats that need a manual to operate — these are the kinds of tech "upgrades" that leave residents more frustrated than impressed.
The difference between technology that delights and technology that frustrates often comes down to one simple question: Does this actually make my life easier?
At Bainbridge, that question sits at the center of every decision.
As a vertically integrated multifamily company with over 29 years in business, 20,000+ currently managed units, and a mission centered on crafting exceptional living environments where innovation and community thrive, Bainbridge has made a deliberate commitment to investing in technology that serves residents first.
The result?
Happier residents, longer leases, fewer vacancies, and stronger asset performance.
Here's a closer look at the top three categories making the biggest impact, and why they matter for owners and investors.
3 - Smart Tech: A Home That Works With You
Smart lights, thermostats, plugs, and appliances are no longer novelties — they're quickly becoming expectations.
According to a 2025 report from Rently, 65% of renters find apartments with smart home technology more appealing compared to those without it, and an equal share are willing to pay extra for these amenities, with 52% comfortable paying over $20 more per month just to have smart technology in their units.
The demand is particularly strong among higher-income renters. Among renters with household incomes exceeding $100,000, 51% now consider smart home technology essential, and more than half are willing to pay an additional 1–10% for properties with advanced technology.
When implemented thoughtfully, smart home features give residents a genuine sense of control and comfort that traditional apartments simply can't match. Consider the everyday impact: a resident can adjust their thermostat from their phone during their commute home, ensure they didn't leave a light on after heading to work, or set appliances on schedules that fit their lifestyle. These aren't dramatic conveniences — they're small, consistent wins that accumulate into a living experience that feels genuinely premium.
The data backs this up. Properties that implement smart home technology see an average 5% increase in rental value and an 8% increase in overall resident satisfaction, according to a study by Entrata.
Bainbridge understands that the keyword here is thoughtfully. Smart tech that's difficult to set up, requires multiple apps, or breaks down frequently will do more harm than good. The communities getting this right choose integrated, user-friendly systems and ensure residents are properly onboarded at move-in — because a five-minute walkthrough can be the difference between a feature residents rave about and one they ignore entirely.
2 - Connectivity: The Utility Residents Can't Live Without
Internet access has firmly crossed the threshold from amenity to essential utility, right alongside water and electricity. Today's residents aren't just streaming shows in the evening. They're working from home, attending virtual medical appointments, taking online classes, video calling family across the country, and running side businesses from their living rooms.
The numbers make the stakes abundantly clear. In the 2024 NMHC/Grace Hill Renter Preferences Survey — which gathered responses from over 172,000 renters — 90% of respondents said they would not rent without high-speed internet. Of those respondents, 87% view having internet available immediately upon move-in as "very important" or "absolutely essential.”
This matters especially as remote and hybrid work remains a fixture of modern professional life. Properties that treat connectivity as a baseline — not a bonus — are increasingly standing out. And the financial case for investing in high-quality, bulk internet agreements is compelling: properties with bulk internet see their Net Promoter Score jump from -28 to -2, and NPS turns positive once bulk internet is combined with smart amenities. Residents on bulk internet plans also save an average of $14 per month compared to standard retail pricing — a concrete, recurring benefit that residents notice.
By partnering with best-in-class internet providers across its communities, Bainbridge ensures that residents don't spend their first week in a new home troubleshooting a router. The internet is ready when they are, and that seamless first impression sets the tone for the entire resident relationship.
1 - Convenience: Removing Friction From the Everyday
If there's one category with the most direct and measurable impact on resident satisfaction, it's convenience — specifically, the small daily interactions that can either be seamless or surprisingly frustrating.
Package Lockers
Package management has quietly become one of the most significant pain points in multifamily housing. According to the 2024 NMHC Renter Study, 67% of residents expect 24/7 self-serve package pickup to be available at their property, and 70% of those residents prefer package lockers over other retrieval methods.
The anxiety around packages is real and growing. Among residents who have used both lockers and off-site delivery services and found the off-site experience lacking. Reliability and lost package concerns have become the primary source of dissatisfaction, affecting 50% of respondents. A remarkable 95% of residents agree that knowing their package is secure until they're home to retrieve it is important to them.
For property teams, the operational benefits are equally significant. Real-world case studies illustrate the impact clearly: at one 300-unit community that installed smart lockers, staff package handling time dropped from 12 hours per week to under 1 hour, resident satisfaction scores climbed from 78 to 91, and there were zero package theft incidents in the first 12 months. At another 180-unit community, deploying smart lockers as part of a competitive amenity upgrade saw renewal rates increase from 62% to 74% in the year following installation.
Bainbridge communities are equipped with package locker systems that give residents secure, 24/7 access to their deliveries on their own schedule. No waiting around, no coordinating with the leasing office, no worrying whether a package left at the door will still be there when they get home.
Online Rent Payments
Online rent payment portals may seem like a given, but the quality of these systems varies considerably across the industry. A clean, intuitive portal that allows residents to pay rent, set up autopay, view payment history, and manage lease details in just a few minutes is a completely different experience from one that's clunky, slow, or requires a phone call to troubleshoot.
Research from Zego's 2025 Resident Experience Management Report — which surveyed over 1,000 renters and 600 multifamily companies — found that renters overwhelmingly prefer automation and digitization for apartment tasks like rent payment, and that as rent increases, so does the preference for automated services. Bainbridge's resident portal is designed with that expectation in mind: mobile-friendly, reliable, and built so that paying rent is the least stressful part of living somewhere.
Taken together, these convenience-focused tools reduce friction at the moments residents interact with their home most frequently. The average cost of resident turnover sits at approximately $4,000 per unit, which means every renewal driven by a better resident experience has a direct and measurable impact on property performance.
The Bigger Picture: Technology as a Relationship Builder
It's easy to think about technology investments in terms of specs and price points. But the most successful property management companies think about them as tools for building and sustaining trust with the people who live in their communities.
When residents feel like their time is respected, their needs are anticipated, and their home is genuinely working for them, they stay longer. They're more forgiving when something goes wrong. They're more likely to recommend the community to a friend. And they're less likely to be swayed by a competing property offering a short-term concession.
The average resident retention rate for multifamily companies currently sits at 63%. That’s the highest recorded since tracking began in 2021. Bainbridge is committed to driving that number even higher across its portfolio, not by chasing trends, but by asking the right questions: What do our residents actually need? Where does friction exist in their daily lives? How can we use technology to remove it?
That resident-first mindset is what separates the properties people are proud to call home from the ones they can't wait to leave, and it's what ultimately delivers the sustained performance that investors are looking for.
Ready to See the Bainbridge Difference?
Whether you're an investor looking for a management partner who takes the resident experience seriously, or you're exploring what's possible for your own portfolio, Bainbridge brings nearly three decades of expertise, $8.5B+ in transaction activity, and a proven commitment to innovation to every community we manage.
Visit our website to learn more about our services, explore our communities, or get in touch with our team.
