The Complete Guide for Automated Showings

In this guide, I answer the most important questions people commonly have, the pros and cons, and the different software and platforms available so that you can offer self-showings to your potential tenants. Ready to automate your business?

The Complete Guide for Automated Showings

Contacless showings help cut down on the time and costs associated with conventional property showings. You can provide prospective tenants with private access to a rental unit without you needing to be there.

The main idea of self-guided showings is not new, but technology now allows us to move from a traditional lockbox at the property to a secure electronic lockbox with automated ID verification of the prospective tenants.

 

According to LetHub, continuous showings have increased from half to more than 60% of all showings. They also claim that a recent industry report indicates 31% more visits to self-showing properties. Although I did not see the source for these claims, FYI.

 

What are self-showings?

The benefits of contactless showings for renters and for landlords boil down to convenience and time savings. 25% of participants in a study reported taking time off work to search for an apartment. Another study reports that four in ten people have passed on an apartment because they couldn't find time to see it, and 27 percent prefer to take a self-guided tour with no leasing agent.

You may be a landlord with a couple of units nearby, or perhaps you are far away. Going through the trouble of offering self-guided showings is worth it more for some people than others. You will need to make sure you or someone else you trust can go to the property if the lock breaks, there are technical problems, or the wrong person goes in.

Pros

  1. Self-guided showings save time.
  2. Flexibility in showing times and your schedule
  3. Less time to find a renter

Cons

  1. You can't do self-showings on occupied properties. Tenants will not like random people showing up at random times.
  2. You aren't there to answer questions in person.
  3. Technology: not all renters are tech-savvy.
  4. Security: There is still a chance, although quite small, of damage or someone losing the keys.

Are they safe?

Security might be a concern for many, and that makes perfect sense. Let's get this out of the way. Nothing is going to keep the property and access safer than a person performing the walkthrough alongside the potential tenant.

In my personal experience, I have never had keys lost, someone unwanted accessing one of our units, theft, or property damage. There was only one occasion where a person did not properly close the lockbox after finishing the viewing, but luckily the next person who had scheduled just an hour later caught on and made sure to shut the lockbox before letting us know. We made sure that our instructions provided via email after scheduling were clearer from that point forward. Now you may see why I recommend having someone who can drive by the unit if you can't be there.

When is it good to allow self-showings?

I recommend you look at your particular situation and judge yourself. In my opinion, it's almost always good to offer automated showings, and that's why the property management companies I have worked with are still doing it years later.

What service or software should you use to enable automated showings, and what's the cost?

I suggest that you start by choosing a good system first and then choose a lockbox that is compatible with that system since all lockboxes, in principle, work the same way.

Let's take a look at the best software and lockboxes to automate your showings:

Smart Lockboxes

  • Codebox seems like the way to go to me and is the most affordable. The lockboxes are around $55, plus a very minimal monthly charge—less than a dollar.
  • Keybox 3: At the time of writing this blog, Keybox 3 costs $179. It works mostly with vacation rental management software but also with ShowingTime. You can find the full list here.
  • SentriLock: $175 + $5/month with Tenant Turner and a 6-year warranty at the time I am writing this blog.

Software

Below is a list of the most popular software for self-guided showings. I have listed some of the most relevant features each platform offers, but they all have so many features that I decided to only include those features that each service provider promotes more than others since you can get an idea of what their customers are using them for.

Some of the features are only included depending on the plan you sign up for.

I recommend you take your time to compare yourself and choose what's best for you based on flexibility, price, or features. I don't think there is a "best of" all software. Some people will just find one that works better for them than the others.

ShowMojo

Features:
  • Listings gallery widget for your website
  • Syndication to the popular rental listing sites
  • Automated showing confirmation
  • Integration with your calendar
  • Credit card verification on lockbox showings
  • Automatic replies and follow-ups to leads
  • Post-showing feedback survey
  • Prospect black listing
  • Rental applications
  • API integration

Plans start at $29/month with three concurrent listings included, and you can add additional listings for $9 each.

You can look at their different plan options here. There are different options for those who manage less than 40 doors, people managing over 40, independent leasing agencies, and people with really low volume.

Tenant Turner

Features:
  • Centralized CRM
  • Powerful reporting
  • Automatic follow-ups, scheduling, confirmations, and cancellations
  • Automatic feedback collection after the viewing
  • Automatic and repeated follow-up throughout the leasing process
  • Pre-qualification
  • Import listings from your property management software
  • Automatically send the application link after a viewing
  • Wait list
  • Owner reports
  • Leasing line call center add-on

$50 minimum subscription, $1 per unit residential under management. Click here to learn more about their pricing.

Rently:

Features:
  • Syndication to popular listing sites
  • Auto-responder to schedule
  • Option to schedule agent-guided tours
  • AI fraud detector
  • Chat, email, and AI support
  • Community access and parking instructions
  • Ability to manage tour hours
  • Custom website widget
  • Integration with property management software
  • Integration with CMS

I was not able to find their price, and it looks like you have to inquire for them to give you an offer. You can use this link to request a demo of their product.

Showdigs

Features:
  • Prospect Pre-Screening
  • Reschedule and Cancellation Management
  • Live Phone and Text Support for Prospects
  • 24/7 Automated Leasing Line. They can respond to your phone calls from prospective tenants and get them scheduled for showings.
  • Listing Import: You can automatically update your listings from sites like Appfolio, Buildium, Propertyware, Yardi, and more.
  • Weekly Owner Report: You get a weekly breakdown of the leasing funnel for each of your properties.
  • Showdigs sends automatic, regular reminders to a prospect after they have scheduled a viewing to minimize no-shows.
  • They are automatically texted a link to your application form.
  • You will receive a report after a tour is over so you can follow up with your high-priority leads.
  • You can add a listings widget to your site that automatically displays your active listings.

It costs $20 per listing, but there are a minimum of five listings per month. So, if you have less than five active listings per month, you would be paying a premium. You can visit their pricing page here.

Although I have not personally used Showdigs, it looks pretty robust, especially if you are managing a large portfolio of properties. They have a network of agents and photographers in some markets to help with renting your properties. If you want something easy, you have consistent listings every month, and you want easy set-up and support, this one is worth taking a look at. You are free to take a tour of their platform if you visit their website.

LetHub

Features:
  • Integration with Stripe for two-step verification: ID card. A prospective renter must verify their identity within 24 hours, and they are reminded automatically via email.
  • AI facial recognition to verify their identity by taking a selfie. This image is run across the largest database in the US to verify the image against any signs of possible fraud.
  • If fraud is detected, the platform will blacklist the prospect and cancel the showing. They will ask for a resubmission if there is a problem with visibility or legibility.
  • Email integration
  • Property management software integrations
  • Custom email and SMS follow-up
  • Two-way calendar sync
  • A public website with a chatbot
  • Owner reports
  • Send an application link
  • Prequalify prospects
  • Zapier integration
  • CRM integration
  • Government ID and selfie verification

LetHub plans start at $1/unit per month. Onboarding charges start at $299, and annual plans start at a 15% discount.

Conclusion

As I mentioned before, the features of each platform are more than what I mentioned, but I chose what to write depending on what seems more relevant for each service. I still encourage you to get out there and compare these services for yourself, since each use case is different.

They all seem to offer the same important features, like automatic responses, surveys after the showing is completed, sending a link to the application website, managing scheduling hours, and website widgets.

So, in my opinion, look for what makes them different. For example, if you don't list properties every month, go for the cheapest alternative; the extra nice features some platforms offer may not make a huge difference to you.

On the other hand, if you are a company that has active listings every month, then consider what your team members will find easier to use and communicate with each other, or something that allows agents to manage leads more effectively might be a better option for you.

Online tours are becoming as important as in-person inspections. Traditional in-person walkthroughs are being replaced by options such as online photos and virtual tours. – Entrata