The Accommodation Costs Survey 2021 was released by Unipol and NUS, and we have written the following summary to highlight the key points with relevance to the PBSA sector, and perhaps provide us with some direction as to what the future holds.

As the report accurately points out, the student experience has transformed over the last 50 years against the backdrop of social, economical and political upheaval. And the last two years were perhaps the most poignant yet. With disruptions to living arrangements, international students returning home, and reports of, even further, mental health deterioration, the pressure is on accommodation providers to implement the necessary support services, and deliver a more cohesive package that reflects the broadening requirements of students. The experience of the pandemic has accelerated the trend of providers having a bigger role to play in student wellbeing.

The Property Marketing Strategists (TPMS), a property consultancy which puts research at the heart of design and services, has partnered with leading on-campus student accommodation provider UPP and research house, Dataloft, to find out what Gen Z actually want when it comes to their home.

As we find ourselves in this uncertain, post-pandemic world, you’d be forgiven for assuming all efforts should be geared towards your website. However, new research is supporting an omnichannel approach.

During the pandemic, many brands were forced into survival mode. An ‘innovate or die’ ultimatum.

More often than not, that meant building a standout online presence. A seamless e-commerce platform that not only helped companies appear innovative and relevant but maintained their sales and communications throughout the lockdown period.

Marketing in the property world has always been an entire discipline in its own right. And with worldwide changes in customer expectations, technology advances, and communications, new audiences and ways of thinking are emerging.

These will dictate any property marketing strategy. So a willingness to lean into a strong, yet agile strategy will be the deciding factor on how you succeed in delivering your brand and ultimately, selling your product.

Taking a step back and looking at tenant behaviour and what they’re looking for most in their property is key to shaping BTR and PBSA. By doing so and looking at your demographic’s wants and needs – whether those are coworking spaces, gyms, or even supermarkets – will inform you best on how to shape your product.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been felt across all generations. But for Gen Z, it was at a time in their lives when they were meant to explore, be adventurous, find themselves and start to live independently. At home or whilst studying. We all know that where you live has a significant impact on wellbeing and mental health. In the middle of the pandemic, when students are isolated in their student accommodation or their home separated from their peers and studies, the place they stayed played a key role in their experience of 2020.

So, how have this generation faired during the pandemic, and how did student accommodation experiences impacts this?

Have you thought about hiring a marketing consultant but not sure if it’s right for you? Or are you looking for a solution to your marketing needs but not sure where to turn?

We’ve listed our top 9 benefits of hiring a marketing consultant for your business.

Without a comprehensive strategy, you’re leaving things to chance. Content marketing can be incredibly effective but without a strategy underpinning its creation and delivery, it might not hit the right prospects at the right time. Establishing your audience’s challenges and objectives and positioning your content to align with them is one way to supercharge your activity.

This is the relationship between functional and strategic marketing, and this is why it will be so vital to your success.

The student accommodation sector collectively faces a new string of challenges as we head into the 2020s.

As 2021 came to a close, we attended the Property Week Student Accommodation 2021 Conference Showcase and Awards, and it sparked some interesting avenues of thought for the year ahead.

At The Property Marketing Strategists, as part of our mission to elevate the role of marketing in property, we believe that marketeers have a strategic position across the business. Fundamentally, that most crucially involves working alongside operations and sales - they are intrinsically linked and there's no start or end to how these functions work together.

I think it’s fair to say that today’s society can be quite a sceptical audience.

We all know property is an important sector. The ebbs and flows of pricing, housing stock, and development impact the people who live in them and the community around them.