There are some really great arguments on both sides of this topic.
Are you nickeling-and-diming your prospects or residents when you charge for things like pets?
Or, are you simply charging a premium for an amazing experience that you offer to pet owners?
Penalizing the Customer
In the all-inclusive model I think it is fair to ask the question; are you penalizing the person who does not care about all the built-in extras?
I can see the advantage of all-inclusive from a marketing perspective. Many cite the example of southwest airlines not charging for bags; this works brilliantly for the airline. But what about that day trip guy/gal that didn’t bring a bag. Does he/she care? What about the guy or gal that chooses not to have peanuts or a drink while in route? Should he/she have to pay the all-inclusive price?
Turn it Upside Down
I think we should all raise our prices by the right amount and then discount based on what the prospect or resident really wants or doesn’t want. For example your apartment rents for $1000 but if you do not own a pet it rents for $950.
You’re just not sold on all-inclusive pricing Multifamily Maniac,
M
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I think this is hard now days because everyone does want what is important to them. You bring up a Great point Mike about discounting a unit if something isn’t important to the resident that is being offered in that pricing. I think this is a Great way to go. If you look at how vendors build out their products for the PM companies and price them, we only have you pay for what you want, at least with us, instead of putting more in than you need. Then you create more value for each individual and also make them feel important that you care about their needs. In today’s world one size doesnt fit all and people aren’t willing to accept that it does.
I agree but I do understand those that would argue the marketing side of an all-inclusive model.
Hey Mike,
Perhaps this post stems from the Facebook exchange a few days ago, but why are you assuming there is a cost involved, or “Built In” for pets or for additional bags. Southwest is already the lowest rate airline and pet expenses are overblown and mostly don’t exist. Sure, everyone can point to that one incident where Fido wrecked the apartment, but overall, Good Residents have Good Pets, there isn’t an extra expense, and charging them for that is Sticking a Pencil in their Eye. Find Better Residents
All that said, some residents may not like pets, but why would there be a discount for that?