The long term financial success of the largest single site of Build to Rent (BtR) in the UK is dependent on the enduring happiness of the 20,000 residents it will have by 2027. Our job as a developer/owner is to deliver an exceptional living experience and outstanding customer service through our wholly-owned lifestyle-led rental homes brand, Tipi. Using the right technology is vital in order for us to deliver on these promises.
Collecting and utilising data (largely achieved through our CRM system) is a key part of this. Some companies aggregate data and then commercialise it. We look at it a bit differently, using data to understand our residents so we can make the right decisions when continuing to develop the Wembley Park neighbourhood and its homes. We want to understand how to make our lifestyle-led model work for each and every one of our residents.
It’s worth noting that this data will never substitute talking to our residents directly. It’s there to supplement our wider understanding about what’s working and what’s not. You get a richer insight from face to face discussions with our residents – it’s the combination of that and data, not one or the other in isolation that is the key to success.
There are numerous tech options in the market but rather than get excited with the breadth of products, we critically always start with defining our business objective and specifically how it will tangibly support and ideally enhance the customer experience. We also ensure that any new software or system we consider can seamlessly interact with our CRM system. Without this disciplined approach, it’s very easy to spend considerable sums of money and internal resource without necessarily achieving any meaningful outcome. It’s only worth utilising tech if it offers a tangible benefit. Other than the customer experience, good tech can support a business in many ways. It can make you scalable, operational cost light and secure.
Tech makes our residents’ lives safer in many ways but there’s a fine line before that concept turns on itself. Bringing sensor technology into the home and its related security concerns is something we’re crucially aware of. Whilst we’re completely confident that we’re offering the most secure tech possible, we will always ensure we don’t cross lines on GDPR or interfere into how a particular resident leads their life.
In terms of developing larger scale tech infrastructure, we’re working on a site wide Wi-Fi system. Once complete, Wembley Park’s residents will be able to stay connected to their home Wi-Fi network across our 85-acre estate. Controlling a site-wide Wi-Fi system, and the countless opportunities that will bring, will help us fine-tune the living experience and make everything on offer at Wembley Park as accessible as possible to residents.
Interestingly, ‘technology’ in its most basic form isn’t something that our residents have shown to prioritise when choosing a home. It’s what good technology can offer, however, that they value. Things like understanding how their energy usage compares to that of their neighbours (living sustainably often trumps most other issues), security, a seamless lifestyle and good connectivity. It’s the bigger picture of what tech can offer that’s attractive.
Envac was installed by Quintain at Wembley Park approximately 10 years ago and is an incredible, site-wide piece of infrastructure that uses an underground network of tunnels to suck waste and recycling from residents’ homes to a central collection station. The system minimises the movement of bin lorries across Wembley Park, saving the neighbourhood from up to 90% of the vehicles’ potential carbon emissions. By making it easy to do so, Envac has helped Wembley Park’s residents recycle up to five x more food waste than the national average for apartments. By negating the use of traditional ‘bin stores’, Envac has allowed for more ground floor retail experiences like a hairdresser and bike shop. For the past 10 years, Envac has provided value to Wembley Park’s residents on a daily basis without any significant customer touchpoint.
From this kind of site-wide infrastructure to sustainability, development, construction, operation and customer service, we at Quintain are looking at tech as strategically as we can across the whole 85-acre Wembley Park estate. We now have a dedicated team under a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) that is looking at all manner of tech across the business and ensuring our efforts are aligned.
We don’t need to impose unnecessary tech experiences. An understated, strategic use of technology can provide significant value. It’s about working around what people want and finding the right tech to support that. If our residents, for instance, want housekeeping or handyman services at the click of a button, we have found a way we can facilitate that. If there are tech-enabled partnerships that will support to Tipi’s lifestyle-led offering, then let’s explore these opportunities. The key is finding the right balance so we can continue to deliver Wembley Park whilst providing genuine value to its diverse community.
