Margaret R. Seaton 
Almost every facet of our lives – from how we eat to how we move around and even how we entertain ourselves – have been radically altered by technology. Improving one aspect, however, has remained elusive: renting and furnishing an apartment.
Companies like Zillow, Trulia, Apartments.com and Zumper have improved inefficiencies by increasing transparency and making it easier to find the right home through listings. However, the actual process of renting and outfitting an apartment—from scheduling a viewing to signing the lease and getting the unit fully furnished—remained cumbersome at best.
Fortunately, trends in the way we live today continue to disrupt our attitudes towards ownership – just as Lyft and Zipcar made fewer people want to own cars, and streaming services like Netflix discouraged people from owning cars. DVDs and made binge-watching a national pastime. A growing number of companies are now tackling the difficulties of finding an apartment from different angles.
An infusion of technology
Although the way people rent apartments hasn’t changed much in the past 20 years, technology is simplifying and disrupting the process beyond recognition. Businesses are now focused on delivering an experience tenants expect and deserve—one that’s seamless, fast, superior, and increasingly mobile.
New brokerage firms (such as Compass and Redfin) are modernizing the real estate experience using technology, the same way short-term rental marketplaces like Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO and Flipkey have continually improved their own industry sector. Cohousing and roommate apps (such as WeLive, Common, Starcity, Convene, and Roomi) are creating a new living experience that caters to millennials. And finally, state-of-the-art apartment companies like Vacasa, TurnkeyVR, Sonder, Lyric, and Blueground offer furnished, ready-to-move-in apartments and houses for short and long-term stays.
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Historically, renting an apartment has involved exhaustive hours of researching listings, interacting with a number of brokers and various property management companies, completing paperwork, meeting the landlord, paying the credit application/check, signing the contract in person, connecting utilities and purchasing furniture and equipment. Also, when moving in, maintenance issues related to air conditioning or plumbing can often require more troubleshooting and additional wasted time.
Having lived abroad in Africa, Asia and Europe for professional assignments, I know how difficult it is to find the right accommodation. Each market had different gaps, but it was never easy or comfortable. At Blueground, we use technology to transform the way tenants view apartments. For example, allowing tenants to check availability in real time, sign a lease for the duration of their choice, pay rent and file maintenance requests, all online. In addition, tenants will be able to move from one apartment to another, from one neighborhood to another and even from one city to another without constraints or penalties. Blueground apartments are fully and thoughtfully furnished, with all utilities pre-connected, so tenants can simply turn up and start living. Once the online booking has been made, our customers have access to ongoing assistance and information via the Blueground app. They can arrange housekeeping and request maintenance, among other services.
Thanks to a growing number of innovative companies, the apartment rental experience is becoming simplified and seamless, just like every other aspect of this modern life. As demand for fully furnished, technology-powered rental properties grows, innovations in the space are prompting landlords to rent out their apartments with companies like Blueground to help upgrade and outfit their units. The gain for the owners is double. On the one hand, it helps landlords and property managers attract a new breed of tenants: business executives looking for flexible solutions. On the other hand, renting properties from providers like Blueground helps landlords fill apartments before they hit the market, thus ensuring a stable cash flow. I’m so happy that we at Blueground are leading the way in transforming the way people book and experience medium and long term accommodation around the world.
Saad S. Cheema is Blueground’s US Regional Manager. The views expressed here are those of the author and not those of ALM’s Real Estate Media Group.
