In this episode Anne and Chris sit down with Kara Rafferty, National Director of Sales at Apartment Geo-Fencing, for a long-anticipated conversation on what collaboration in multifamily really looks like.

Kara brings a wide-ranging perspective shaped by years on the vendor side of the industry, deep involvement with apartment associations, and a passion for building relationships that go beyond transactions. The conversation explores the shared responsibility between vendors and operators, the importance of transparency and respect, and why defaulting to blame or rigid marketing templates often misses the bigger picture.

The group also dives into Kara’s approach to brand awareness, including the role of streaming TV, geo-fencing, and video in reaching renters earlier in their decision-making process. Throughout the discussion, she challenges marketers to move from “checkers to chess” by prioritizing creativity, storytelling, and differentiation in an increasingly crowded landscape.

The episode wraps with a look at the Multifamily Marketing Hive, a community Kara helped co-found to encourage open learning and idea sharing without a sales agenda, reinforcing the central theme of collaboration as a driver of better outcomes for the industry.

Flamingo - Resident Retention App
400K+ units use Flamingo’s Resident Retention Platform to stop Retention Leak & hit 63%+ retention.

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In this episode, Chris and Anne speak with Tamela Coval and Tami Siewruk, two of the creators of Multifamily NEXT, a series of hands-on workshops designed to integrate artificial intelligence into the apartment industry. The guests explain that their "hackathon-style" events are moving beyond abstract concepts to help property owners and executives achieve AI fluency and operational efficiency. They emphasize that while AI will not replace humans, it requires a human-in-the-loop approach to maintain brand voice, manage data security, and avoid the pitfalls of "garbage in, garbage out" information. The discussion highlights the necessity for leadership and onsite teams to evolve alongside technology to prevent job displacement. By partnering with vetted implementation providers, the initiative aims to replace fragmented "Frankenstein" tech stacks with streamlined, AI-powered strategies for marketing, leasing, and renewals. The future of AI for real estate professionals is to embrace AI literacy as a standard requirement for the modern workplace.

Flamingo - Resident Retention App
400K+ units use Flamingo’s Resident Retention Platform to stop Retention Leak & hit 63%+ retention.

Find more of The Apartment Department exclusively on our Substack. Subscribe for articles and new episodes straight to your inbox.

In this episode, Chris and Anne speak with Ben Pleat, the co-founder and CEO of Cobu. A technology platform designed to help multifamily marketers and owners drive resident satisfaction and community engagement, which in turn boosts occupancy and retention rates. Pleat shares that the genesis of Cobu was inspired by his mother's feeling of isolation despite living in a luxury Manhattan apartment building, revealing the widespread issue of loneliness. The conversation thoroughly explores how Cobu leverages user-generated content (UGC) and community building—including events and neighbor-to-neighbor interactions—to foster an authentic "vibe" for properties, which is then used to increase website conversion rates and improve SEO and AI search results. The guests and Pleet also examine broader marketing trends, such as the shift toward authenticity in branding and the impact of AI on consumer search behavior, emphasizing the importance of a positive, consistent resident experience.

Flamingo - Resident Retention App
400K+ units use Flamingo’s Resident Retention Platform to stop Retention Leak & hit 63%+ retention.

Find more of The Apartment Department exclusively on our Substack. Subscribe for articles and new episodes straight to your inbox.

In this episode, we sit down with Brent Camp of Asset Living and Arthur Kosmider of LeFrak to explore how Artificial Intelligence is reshaping property management and rental housing. Their perspective is clear: AI isn’t here to replace people, it’s here to remove the repetitive, low-value tasks that drain time and energy from on-site teams.

Brent and Arthur break down how automation is transforming everyday operations, from routine follow-ups and late-rent reminders to 24/7 resident support. The impact is real: higher lead-to-tour conversion rates, stronger review scores, and teams who finally have the bandwidth to focus on the human side of the business - building trust, strengthening community, and improving retention.

They also share what it takes to implement AI effectively: full organizational buy-in, ongoing education, and strong technical support behind the scenes to keep systems optimized and evolving.

The conversation reinforces a simple truth. When done right, AI elevates people. It frees teams to do the work only humans can do: creating great experiences and great places to live.

Flamingo - Resident Retention App
400K+ units use Flamingo’s Resident Retention Platform to stop Retention Leak & hit 63%+ retention.

Find more of The Apartment Department exclusively on our Substack. Subscribe for articles and new episodes straight to your inbox.

In this episode, Daniel Paulino, VP of Real Estate at Reputation.com discusses the growing importance of digital reputation, dubbed "digital curb appeal", for the multifamily housing industry, particularly how it affects property visibility in search engines and AI-driven recommendations. Daniel explains that a simple average star rating is no longer sufficient; Google’s algorithm uses nine different factors, including the volume, frequency, and uniqueness of responses to both positive and negative reviews. He advocates for using an integrated platform, like the Reputation Score offered by his company, to centralize data and provide actionable recommendations that bridge the gap between marketing and operations.

Flamingo - Resident Retention App
400K+ units use Flamingo’s Resident Retention Platform to stop Retention Leak & hit 63%+ retention.

Find more of The Apartment Department exclusively on our Substack. Subscribe for articles and new episodes straight to your inbox.

In this episode of The Apartment Department, co-host Chris Johnson sits down with Minna Song, CEO of EliseAI, to discuss how artificial intelligence is transforming multifamily operations. For nearly a decade, EliseAI has helped properties automate leasing, maintenance, and resident communications—cutting lead-to-lease times from 30 days to just 14 and boosting renewal retention by 9%.

Minna shares how EliseAI’s success is rooted in deep partnerships with their 700+ customers. Her team learns directly from on-site staff—observing workflows, conducting time studies, and building bespoke solutions that fit each property’s goals. It’s AI built with the industry, not just for it.

The conversation also explores Elise AI’s new partnership with Zillow, where their AI Assist feature brings 24/7 renter responses directly into listings, and looks ahead to the next frontier: how robotics could soon revolutionize on-site operations.

Flamingo - Resident Retention App
400K+ units use Flamingo’s Resident Retention Platform to stop Retention Leak & hit 63%+ retention.

In this episode, Justin Jones, Shelly Steitz, and Anne Baum recap their experience at the Blueprint Conference including the vibe, their favorite takeaways for key technologies and AI, the opportunity for vendors and operators to co-build and co-collaborate, and some advice for first-timers in 2026.

Flamingo - Resident Retention App
400K+ units use Flamingo’s Resident Retention Platform to stop Retention Leak & hit 63%+ retention.

Find more of The Apartment Department exclusively on our Substack. Subscribe for articles and new episodes straight to your inbox.

In this episode, Chris and Anne talk with Marge Enrique about her extensive journey in transforming her company's approach to marketing data, emphasizing the importance of moving beyond simple last-touch attribution to a more comprehensive multi-touch model using tools like HyLy and Remarkably. Enrique details her strategies for data cleaning, source tracking, and building in-house attribution models, contrasting the performance of different marketing channels like Zillow, Apartment Ratings, and paid social against traditional paid search. Finally, the conversation briefly shifts to a humanitarian project by her parent company, City View, to fast-track home rebuilding after the Los Angeles wildfires. You won't want this episode to end.

Flamingo - Resident Retention App
400K+ units use Flamingo’s Resident Retention Platform to stop Retention Leak & hit 63%+ retention.

Find more of The Apartment Department exclusively on our Substack. Subscribe for articles and new episodes straight to your inbox.