Developing the Technology Behind Ukio
From the outside, Ukio may seem like a simple short-term rental business. But behind the scenes, there is a complex tool being built that cements Ukio as a true proptech company.
The Property Management System, as it is called internally, is an all-in-one platform that helps the company manage all the property assets, how we market them on the Ukio website, and the guests who rent them out. It is an area where any information needed to learn about an apartment, on pricing, or on a client booking can be accessed easily and quickly.
Today, the platform is developed specifically for Ukio’s internal use. It is divided into three sub-tools, designed for different parts of the property and booking journey:
- Apartment Management System
- Booking Management System
- Revenue Management System
Read on below to get insights on each of these sub-platforms and how they benefit not only our internal teams but also the customer experience and journey.
Apartment Management System (AMS)
What is it?
The single source of truth for all information related to the apartments. In this tool, data such as property contract terms, building conditions, apartment features, and more can be found.
Why the need for it?
Throughout the lifecycle of an apartment, from onboarding to renting it out to guests, it goes through many teams’ hands. Each team adds a layer of information that eventually leads to what is seen by the customer on the website. As Ukio scales and the number of apartments grows from 500 to 5,000, the need for a tool to properly manage all the assets is vital.
How does it serve internal and external stakeholders?
The primary internal stakeholders of the AMS are the Real Estate Acquisition, Onboarding, and Design teams. Their job is to fill in key information about each apartment until it is “guest ready.”
The sales team uses AMS information to sell an apartment for rent. Key features like number of bedrooms, square footage, terrace space, and building floor, and available amenities like type of heating mechanism, pool access, and concierge service all form part of the data customers need to know. All this information needs to be available and easily accessible for an efficient sales process.
The operations team also makes use of this information, especially regarding maintenance topics. The AMS holds information on appliance models, user manuals, and utility providers. When something goes wrong, relying on accurate information on the AMS allows the operations team to solve problems at a much quicker pace.
For customers, the AMS is the primary tool that allows them to see all the apartment information on the website. Filters like apartment name and number of bedrooms are controlled by data from the AMS. As the website continues to develop, more filters will be added
Future developments
- Stock inventory integration: capability to understand investment in furniture, depreciation, and instant replacement.
- Property owner management: foster relationships through automated reports on the conditions of apartments and usage statistics.
- Maintenance automation: detect damages and problems for quick and efficient repair.
Booking Management System (BMS)
What is it?
The central hub for processing all customer bookings. This tool is where we maintain records on guest information, booking details, and payment schedules. Similar to the AMS, the BMS serves as a single source of truth that various departments can depend on to manage bookings. With the BMS, the entire lifecycle of a booking is recorded, from reservation conditions all the way through payment handling.
Why the need for it?
The purpose of developing the BMS was to simplify access to information regarding a booking at any stage of its customer lifecycle. Additionally, it is a means for the teams to better know and understand the customers. By doing so, booking requests like extensions, cancellations, or apartment changes can be executed quickly.
How does it serve internal and external stakeholders?
Across internal teams, the biggest benefit of the BMS has been to respond to inquiries and issues at a faster pace. Depending on the type of guest, whether they are B2C or B2B, the booking process can be adapted to cater to their needs.
The B2B sales team is one that has benefited from the development of the BMS. Between managing who is the actual guest, who is the payer, and who should be invoiced, the BMS has helped the team separate these three data points and deliver a smoother experience to each of the end customer.
Future developments
- Guest portal & app: ability to give control to the guest to manage their bookings autonomously.
- Catering to B2B necessities: easing access to our partners to book for their clients and making payments and invoicing flexible.
Revenue Management System (RMS)
What is it?
The RMS is the platform built specifically for the Revenue team to manage pricing. Through the platform, pricing decisions and changes can be made at scale and automated for efficiency.
Why the need for it?
With the number of apartments increasing every month, managing dynamic pricing decisions for each property proved to be difficult and time-consuming. The number of pricing requests from sales was also increasing, and the previous manual calculation process was not sustainable.
How does it serve internal and external stakeholders?
For the Revenue Pricing team, the RMS is the primary platform for their day-to-day tasks. Apart from managing property prices, they are able to analyze revenue and margins on the platform, giving them insights on how to adapt prices. With the RMS, they can also collect data from external and internal sources and integrate that into their pricing decisions.
For the sales team, price quotation requests to the Revenue team are responded to much quicker and with more flexible options, translating to a quicker response time to clients.
Future developments
- 3rd party integrations: ability to manage prices of our apartments on other platforms and channels.
- Payment methods: increasing the number of ways clients can pay for their booking, whether that is through Paypal or direct debit.
- Artificial intelligence: adopting AI learning models to automate price changes based on occupancy, seasonality, and consumer behaviour.
With the continued growth of Ukio, the Property Management System that exists today is only the beginning of what can be a versatile tool for property managers.
We may be just an apartment rental business today. But with the development of this tool, the future holds a lot more for Ukio.
