In conversation with Ashley San Pedro, Quintain's Sales Director bringing US 'Multifamily' experience to the UK

In conversation with Ashley San Pedro, Quintain's Sales Director bringing US 'Multifamily' experience to the UK

25 Feb 2020

Ashley San Pedro recently joined the Quintain team from Greystar, a global leader in rental housing, based in the US. As Sales Director for our lifestyle-focused build to rent arm, Quintain Living, Ashley is using her experience from the maturity of the US ‘Multifamily’ market to shape our leasing strategy, process, culture and output, ensuring the company delivers against challenging leasing targets as we deliver the UK’s largest single site of Build to Rent at Wembley Park.

Tell us about your previous experience

I started at Greystar as a Resident Manager, working in the company’s first ever ‘active adult’ scheme for over 55s. Most recently, I was responsible for Regional Sales and Marketing for Greystar’s Overture business in Dallas and New Mexico before moving to the UK. My role in the US was quite similar to my current role with Quintain in terms of offering. There’s a real focus on community and customer service. We found over 55s are increasingly interested in community compared to other demographics in the Multifamily industry.

It was exciting to join Quintain Living because of the stage the business is at – doing incredibly well but open to making tweaks to maximise potential. It really drew me in and I saw the fantastic opportunity here.

How have you found the UK market in comparison to the US?

In comparison to the majority of the US’s Multifamily market, Quintain Living’s offering is very ‘individual’ focussed, it’s very much about the customer. The leasing team focuses on ‘needs matching’ each individual customer on their lifestyle rather than the focus being directed more towards the apartment layout, fit and finishing. We’re still figuring it out in the UK but seeing how well Quintain Living has done without the knowledge and experience that the US has is really impressive. I’m excited work with the team to build on what the company’s already achieved and help shape the ongoing strategy.

What lessons can you bring from the US to the UK?

Multifamily is massive, on every corner there’s an apartment building. Here however, we still need to learn how best to work with the sheer scale of the portfolio – how to price apartments, when to lease, whether or not to pre-lease. In the US, it’s all about these strategies.

In terms of the customer service side, it’s mind-blowing how far ahead the UK is. I have never met a group of people MORE resident focussed than the team here. It’s ironic when you think of the stereotypical reputation that the US has for customer service.

What comparisons can we draw between relative infancy of BTR in the UK and the maturity of the US market?

Over here, people are so put off the concept of a landlord – they’ve just got such a bad name. In the US that’s not a thing, perhaps because Multifamily is so established. Here, we find tenants digging into the tenancy agreement and looking for the catch but amazed to not find one. People don’t yet get it here, it’s a lack of education in the marketplace. People need to understand the benefit of renting with a professional management company.

We’re growing quickly and learning fast over here and keeping up with supporting technology and partnerships is a learning curve that they haven’t experienced in a while in the US. For instance, furniture rental. Imagine a tenant were to want a particular apartment layout with a particular furniture package, but we had none available. In the US, we’d have a company that could deliver that furniture within 20 minutes.

Another example is the referencing processes in the UK. In the US, they can turn a document round in five minutes and the resident can move in ten minutes later. We don’t get that here because the referencing companies are set up to deal with private landlords, it’s a much slower process. That’s definitely been the biggest surprise for me but it’s something we’re working on changing as we move towards more automated documentation. The process is speedy, significantly speedier than renting with a private landlord, but there’s still so much room for potential.

What’s the ambition for corporate lets at Quintain Living?

There’s a huge potential there that we haven’t yet tapped into. Location wise and with the quality of product, it makes perfect sense of us to grow this ambition. We’re in the process of developing a dedicated corporate business team to offer a true B2B/corporate proposition. There’s a huge opportunity and we’re going to be a flexible as possible to make it work. It’s very exciting.

Why does Quintain Living’s offering particularly suit corporate needs and how do the team support these clients?

The benefit to the employer is the exceptional customer service, a seamless process from start to finish, the all-inclusive offering and a concierge on hand for your employees so they are fully supported during the move in process and beyond.

The ease is a massive part of it – employers will have one point of contact in the business development team. The person renting can also have contact with that same person until they move in and they’ll also have the assistance of the resident team once they’re settled in their new home.

Where do you see the progression of amenity spaces going as the UK market develops?

We’re just going to continue to improve them and continue to learn what residents actually want rather than what do we assume they want. It’s a case of learning and refining.

The amenity space, and how it is used, is key to fostering a community of renters. We underestimated how much people really want to be part of a community and how successful the resident events would be. We are building a community within Wembley Park and we’re also building it within Quintain Living – we’re cultivating that. It’s not just the resident events, it’s the concierge knowing your name. We as a company build that culture and that’s something our competitors don’t necessarily have.

You previously worked in the 55+ market. At Wembley Park we have residents from 18 to 73. What are the different challenges and opportunities with focusing on a wider demographic?

I don’t think there’s a challenge, you’d think that there would be but there’s not. If Quintain Living was like all the other BtR products in London then perhaps it would be a challenge. What we’re offering is relevant for everyone and we have such a variety of buildings to reflect that. Our offering is about customer service and that’s a concept that’s always going to be relevant for everyone. It’s more than just the apartment, it’s about our customer and finding the building that’s meeting their needs – that’s really similar to the 55+ concept.

What’s the danger of pursuing one type / age of resident?

I think with where we are right now, it would be a detriment to us to do so and we’re proud to have such a diverse community. It can of course work in some developments but in general, it’s hard to build a lasting, organic community if you’re not welcoming every demographic. That’s not to say we can’t expand certain offerings like tweaking a building to suit a student proposition or a 55+ proposition.

How can Quintain Living differentiate to competitors?

People are doing what we do. It’s flattering but frustrating at the same time. If we’re all going to offer the same proposition, we can only make absolutely sure that every resident, from the first point of contact to moving out, has an amazing experience with us. It’s one of the more important things that we can control.

We need to stay agile, innovative, think intelligently, keep learning and keep refining our offering. It’s a blend of what we know we’re already doing really well and what we’re prepared to trial. We can’t just take whatever works in the US and ‘UK-ify’ it - that’s not always going to work. We can’t be risk adverse it’s the only way we’ll stay ahead of the curve.

I see the huge value in our ability to curate the Wembley Park neighbourhood and think innovatively to deliver a home and lifestyle beyond the apartment. That’s something our competitors don’t have – a diversity of product on one campus. We truly have a building for everyone to call home.

I’m very proud to be working with Quintain and I can’t wait to see how the company grows. It’s a really exciting time for the business.

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