Core Spaces ditched package rooms with Fetch! See how this offsite solution saved space and time while boosting student resident satisfaction.
Core Spaces, a vertically integrated developer, owner and operator of student housing and build-to-rent communities, operates more than 60 multifamily communities coast to coast. As a progressive company, Core Spaces continually seeks to enhance and streamline the resident experience but repeatedly encounters the same obstacle at its communities: package management.
Core Spaces had deployed everything from package lockers to package rooms and package management software, but struggled to identify an option that addressed all package-associated problems. For its ōLiv Seattle development — a 579-bed community that opened in 2022 — Core Spaces wanted to completely forego onsite package handling, transfer those responsibilities offsite, and rid its teams of a burgeoning burden.
“We were looking for something different, outside of your typical package room or package locker solution,” said Randall Logan, Core Spaces regional manager over most of its West Coast communities. “Since ōLiv Seattle was brand new, we wanted to try to eliminate the package room from the design of the building and be 100% hands-off with packages.”
Between the time commitment required of onsite teams to manage residents’ packages and the resident satisfaction risks and liability concerns created by packages being left in the open, it was time to look outside the package “box.”
“At other communities, packages get logged by our desk staff, using property management software. Residents get notified, and they pick up packages from that room or package locker,” Logan said. “We also have some third-party solutions that handle that notification process for us. But even the third-party software systems still take time from our desk or concierge staff. It takes a lot of time to scan and log packages, put them away, then also retrieve them for residents when they come down to get them. It takes away from their other functions, like leasing and customer service.”
Logan said Core Spaces also wanted to provide residents with the ability to choose when packages are actually brought to their homes, so packages aren’t left exposed.
“That’s an issue with some of our other solutions,” he said, noting that current package volume often overflows existing storage space. “Packages can arrive at any time, and if a resident is at class when a package is delivered it could be sitting out for four or five hours, and it could end up missing.”
Logan estimates that Core Spaces’ student housing communities receive approximately 30%-50% higher package volume than traditional communities, exacerbating the issue. When seeking a new package solution, he said Core Spaces focused on finding something scalable with e-commerce.
“People are doing more online shopping, so it’s increasing every year anyway,” Logan said. “I’ve been working in student housing for 20 years, and I’m continually amazed at the increase in packages each year. There are more packages that come to student properties, just because it isn’t their permanent home and they order a lot of the items they need for school-related activities. A couple times of year — the beginning of semesters and quarters, around holidays and during Amazon Prime days — we tend to see a lot more packages. It’s just crazy. We needed a solution that frees up the time our teams spend on packages, and that’s able to keep up with the growing volume.”
Logan said Fetch, which receives packages offsite and works directly with residents through an app to schedule direct-to-door delivery, checked off a lot of boxes for Core Spaces.
“We really liked that Fetch allows us to free up that time that we spend on packages and doesn’t require us to receive and store packages at the property,” Logan said. “It also helps from a timing standpoint. It gives residents more control over when packages actually get delivered.”
Core Spaces rolled out Fetch at three student housing communities, including ōLiv Seattle, prior to the fall semester in 2022.
Without the need for an onsite package facility, Core Spaces was able to strategically design ōLiv Seattle and other Fetch-supported communities to leverage the additional space made available.
“Fetch opens up more space on the main floor, because we don’t need to accommodate a package room or package lockers,” Logan said. “Taking those large package rooms out of the design gives us space that we can use for other meaningful amenities for our residents. In one development, it gave us more room in the lobby and space for residents to socialize. In another community, we were actually able to create a large study room.”
Fetch also proved adept at managing the resident transitions unique to student housing.
“In student housing, we have a lot of people who call and inquire about how they can have their packages held and then delivered once they move in,” Logan said. “A lot of communities don’t have a solution for that, but Fetch holds packages for up to 60 days, so students can order everything they need prior to their arrival, and then they schedule delivery for their move-in day or the day after. A lot of our residents do order their furniture online, and especially with us having such a high international population, that’s very common.”
Fetch also erased some of the typical resident frustrations that accompany onsite package solutions, helping to improve relations between residents and onsite teams.
“In the past, if we got 150 packages in one shipment everyone was going to get their delivery notice at the same time and they’re going to expect access to it right away,” Logan said. “That causes some problems. A lot of times, we would just have to tell them, ‘We haven’t had time to go through all the packages and sort them, so you’ll have to come back.’ That can be frustrating for both our residents and our team members, who are working as quickly as possible. With Fetch, we don’t run into these issues because residents schedule delivery with Fetch and they know what time they’ll get their package. Our team isn’t involved.”
Logan said once residents receive a quick tutorial, and the understanding that they can still get packages delivered the same day, including same-day services like Hello Fresh, for example, they widely embrace the Fetch concept. With nearly universal adoption, Fetch quickly became an essential and appreciated amenity for ōLiv Seattle residents.
Based on its initial success, Core Spaces plans to implement Fetch whenever possible moving forward.
“Fetch fits in great with our overall technology initiatives, and we will definitely be looking to deploy it in future developments in Fetch markets,” Logan said. “At Core Spaces, we strive to be on the leading edge of technology and our offerings to residents. Fetch is just another offering that brings value to our residents’ overall experience.”
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