Finding an Ideal Room/Roommate in Banglore- A Case study

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Design a mobile product experience that appeals to millennials that makes it safe to find the ideal Roommate in Bangalore. Design the experience from the perspective of a person who is looking for a Roommate as well as the one who is looking for the apartment. Once the ideal Roommate is found, what else can this product do to make the Roommate experience better?

A few trends of note: It is estimated that 47% of India’s population lives in urban communities, most of them work in cities and tend to spend most of their twenties living with Roommates. Finding and keeping a good Roommate, however, gets harder as more people swarm into cities.

PROLOGUE

1. Globally Banglore ranks amongst the top 10 traffic-congested cities as per LiveMint.
2. While focusing on listing the available Rooms and Roommates, this app should also provide a list of PGs and Hostels. This will expand the scope of TG and aid a newbie to explore all possibilities quickly.

RESEARCH

1. TG is in its twenties and comes from all over the country or even the globe.
2. TG is aware of the latest tech products and services available.
3. On one hand, our TG is someone in the early twenties who has begun his/her career which means there is a cap on expenditure they can do. And also, the savings are less.
4. On the other, our TG also includes someone who earns quite handsomely and spends mostly on experiences.
5. Combined, most of the TG is unmarried, which means they spend mostly on themselves.
6. Few websites for references
   - https://www.flatmate.in
   - https://www.nobroker.in/roommates-in-bangalore_bangalore
   - https://cbuddy.in
   - https://simplyguest.com
   - https://www.indianroommates.in/Bangalore
7. Few Apps for reference
   - FlatAndMates
   - Find RoomMates, Rooms For Rent, FlatShare, NoBroker
   - Nestaway
   - Whoomies
   - Colive

PAIN POINTS

1. In general, properties near a specified geo-location are not listed properly.
2. Property imagery is blurred/incomplete or appears fake.
3. The filters are very limited.
4. Rules-book is missing
5. List of nearby public and private amenities are unavailable
6. These apps either provide a list of
   A) Available Rooms and Roommates or
   B) List of PGs, Hostels and Rooms forcing the user to jump to multiple apps to achieve their target.
7. Verification of Roommates is missing.
8. Fewer means are available to directly contact the Landlord, Roommates.
9. Room features are missing
10. Listing is unorganized.
11. Vacancy for PG’s and Hostels is not mentioned.
12. Direct booking is unavailable in some apps.
13. Landlords and Rentee’s don’t trust each other.
14. The documentation process is manual.
15. Information about rent being inclusive or exclusive of Society Maintenance, Electricity bills, etc is not provided.

SCENARIOS

1. Scenario A - Ram is a fresh graduate and wants to move to Banglore for his next job, but has never lived away from his family. He needs to find a Room to share or a PG or a Hostel, anything that suits his budget.
2. Scenario B - Raj has a job experience of 3+ years and now wants to move to Banglore for his next job. A cozy, and comfortable Room is his requirement and he wouldn’t mind spending a little more and sharing the Room with someone.
3. Scenario C - Roy is a Senior Executive in a renowned firm and loves privacy. He wishes to find a Private Room in a 1+ BHK or an entire flat. He can spend a good amount for his accommodation.
4. Scenario D - Ron has a cash crunch and is looking for a cheap shared Room/PG/Hostel that provides food and is near his job location so he can also save on his commute expense.
5. Scenario E - Ray has an empty 3BHK and wants to rent it out.
6. Scenario F - Nil and Jay wore sharing a room(owned by someone else). But now Nil has moved out and now Jay is looking for a Roommate.
7. Scenario G - Avi had rented a room, but now the landlord wants Avi to vacant the room and so Avi is looking for new accommodations.
8. Scenario H - Adi owns a 2 BHK and has rented it to 2 rentees. But one rentee has decided to move out and now Adi is looking for a new rentee for the empty Room.
9. Scenario I - Sae and Tim are husband and wife and are looking for a 1BHK.
10. Scenario J - Pri and Tom are looking for a Couple-friendly Room.
11. Scenario K - Dan is new to Banglore and has no friends/relatives. Hence he needs information about the tiffin services which are cost-effective and healthy.
12. Scenario L- Leo would like to have a list of clinics and a few other amenities near his room on his fingertips without actually googling it.
13. Scenario M - Sam the landlord would like to have on-demand footage of the area around his room.
14. Scenario N - Based on the previous negative experiences, Gil prefers speaking to the Landlord or the Roommate in-person beforehand.
15. Scenario O - Sid hesitates to use WhatsApp and would like to have an official chat room with his landlord to receive any messages and updates.

USER ROLES

1. Landlord
   He/she owns a flat in Banglore.
   He/She wants to rent the flat to potential Rentees, basis his/her preferences.
   He/She would like to connect with his potential Rentees over the call or in-person beforehand.
2. PG/ Hostel Manager/Owner
   He/She owns or manages a PG/Hostel.
   He/She would like to find potential Rentee who would stay at the PG/Hostel.
3. Room-seeker
   He/She needs a sharing or private room to stay.
   OR
   He/She is yet to move to Banglore and wants to check all possible budget options.
   OR
   He/She is in Banglore and would like to find another room or PG/Hostel.
4. Roommate-seeker
   He/She already occupies a room.
   He/She needs a Roommate for his/her Room.
   He/She has preferences for the types of Roommates he/she would like to have.

Note: A Rentee can be someone who wants a room or someone who is already living in a room and needs a roommate.

SOLUTION

Basis the Scenarios, our App should have features that will cater to the Customer needs in all the 4 stages to create a great experience.

1. While Searching a Room/Roommate
2. While moving-in
3. During the stay
4. While moving out

1. While Searching a Room or Roommate

• The search process is eased when multiple search settings are presented to the customer. Accordingly, the following options should be made available.
  a. Men only/ Women only Rooms
  b. Gated or Standalone societies
  c. Eating habits (Veg/Nonveg/Jain)
  d. Personal Habits (Alcoholic/Smoker)
  e. Personality Traits (Nightowl, Party-animal, Studious, etc)
  f. Verified/ Unverified Property
  g. No. of Balconies
  h. Search by geolocations or near Landmarks
  i. Room-type(1 BHK/ 2BHK etc)
  j. Sharing Type
  k. Bachelor’s only or Couple friendly
  l. Budget
  m. Amenities like swimming pool, Elevators, etc
  n. Posted by Owner, Builder, etc
  o. Rent being inclusive/exclusive of Maintenance/Electricity Bills etc.
  p. Students and/or Working professionals
  q. No. of Vacant Rooms in PG/Hostels
  r. Fully Furnished or Semi-furnished or Unfurnished
• A 360 Degree View of Property and/or Recorded Video tour along with regular photos.
• Rule Book mentioning Dos and Donts in the property.
• Apart from these filters, a user who wants to see all possible options from PGs, Hostels, private or sharing rooms can just update his personal details, moving-date and preferred area location from the app. This update notification will be sent to Landlords, Owners/Managers of PGs/Hostels and someone who is looking for a Roommate for their room. And they can contact the person basis the contact method selected by the former.
• Contacting the Landlord or Roommate seeker or Roomseeker directly via app.
• Creating a wishlist of Properties and Roommates
• Creating a wishlist of Room/Roomate
• Linking FB, Instagram, Google, Linkedin accounts of Rentees for verifying them.

2. After the user has found a Room/Room-Mate, the following features will keep user on the app for the process of moving in the room.

• Sharing the documents online
• E-agreement
• In-app booking of property and payment
• Message chat, Video calling feature between the landlords, Rentees and Roommates
• Move-in Requirement list- Users can create a list of items he/she might need when moving in the room. Others on the platform can sell the items if they have anything from the list

3. The following features will keep the users on platform during the stay.

• Rent Reminder- This will remind the Rentees about payment of rent on a specific date
• E-payment of Rent- Rentees can pay their rent from the app itself
• E-receipt- After the rent is paid, e-receipts will be generated and stored
• These receipts can be shared in multiple formats. It will take away the hassle of maintaining the rent receipts and make them available whenever required.
• In-app chat- Landlord and Rentees can choose to send updates or legal messages to each other from the in-app messenger system.
• In-app Expense management- Rentees can manage their common expenses made and track it (something like split-wise)
• List and contact details of Servicemen like plumbers, electricians, etc.

4. The Following feature will allow users to use app when they decide to move out.

• Move-out sale — Users can choose to put up a sale of the items that they dont want to take with them while they are moving out from the room.

5. Apart from the above mentioned features, following information will also make the app more helpful.

• List and contact details of Tiffin Services nearby
• List of nearby ATMs, Public transports and other public amenities
• List and contact details of Cooks
• List and contact details of domestic help
• A landlord can set up a camera on Entrance and few other spots around the Room with which he/she can access on-demand live footage of the property.