Resort lifestyles continue to inform the broader resident experience of successful senior living communities where design, amenities, and outdoor living are actually helping people stay younger, longer.
Launched in 2016, Fetch is a multifamily package management service finding success as just that type of value-added prop tech. With dedicated distribution centers in each of the markets they serve, Fetch manages the last mile of delivery, warehousing items as small as an envelope or as big as a sofa until a resident specifies a delivery window, when a Fetch rep then brings the package right to their door. The company is serving more than 200,000 units in 17 different metros.
“Our 55-plus residents behave just like our 30-year-old and 40-year-old residents, which is to say they order a lot of packages,” says Fetch founder and CEO Michael Patton, who adds that the pandemic has increased package delivery volume overall by 30% to 50%, and has boosted the share of oversized packaging from 2% to 3% to 5% to 7% as renters sheltering in place purchased furniture and housewares from places like Wayfair and IKEA.
“Seen through the lens of the 55-plus renter, Fetch brings that furniture right to the apartment door, so they don’t have to figure out how to get it up from the leasing office,” says Patton. “But we also don’t have storage fees, so we can hold packages for our renters indefinitely without them having to worry that it will be returned to sender if they happen to be out of town visiting family or on a vacation. Typically we have the same drivers delivering to specific properties, and those delivery people tend to become a friendly face and a part of the community, especially at properties geared toward senior living.”
Property managers do need to be sensitive to overloading 55-plus renters with too much technology all at once. The key to a layered luxury resident experience when it comes to programs and apps is to boost lifestyle options and flexibility without demanding additional screen time.
