Saturday Morning
Helium Balloon
Parties
Owners and Managers began to pay close
attention to curb appeal of the communities in
the 1980s and on into the 1990s. It is still one
of the single most important aspects in our
communities. One way managers would
garner attention was by using large latex
balloons at their entries and by the leasing
offices. These balloons came in any variety of
colors you could imagine. The staff added
inflating balloons each morning as they
walked their communities to be sure curb
appeal was on point. A great visual some of
us will never forget was that of the lucky staff
member either walking or on
a golf cart with a gigantic
bouquet of these
balloons in the
mornings and
evenings on their
way to put them out.
Communities have
since abandoned this
idea or switched to
permanent balloons, but
some of us will never forget
that smell (or that you have to
be quite cautious blowing up
balloons if you were wearing
dark colors or black so you
would not get latex powder
all over your outfit first
thing in the morning!).
$300 cost per lease
The $300 cost-per-lease benchmark is sort of like
dental insurance – it hasn’t changed in over 20
years. While a sub-$300 CPL is a great target for
overall performance, modern data will tell you that
it’s an arbitrary metric to apply to individual
channel performance. Better to evaluate each
channel on cost and consistency in conversions
– and then decide how much you’re willing (and
able) to pay.
tanning beds
George Hamilton set a pretty
high standard for the ultimate
tan in the 1980s. And savvy
apartment communities took
note and installed a tanning bed
in the storage closet near the fitness
center (you know, before it became the massage
room) as a amenity that was cool in a "Miami Vice"
sort of way. We give major props to the residents who
braved the bed in pursuit of a bronze bod (because
you know that guy in 314B did not do thorough wipe-
down), and thank goodness that this amenity is
officially lights out.
Wine rooms are no longer relevant...
because bourbon.
www.aamdhq.org
AUGUST 2017 • TRENDS | 23