BH celebrated more than just our 30th anniversary this year. Now the eighth largest property management company in the country, the past 12 months have seen great honors, new management strategy, and advancing technology.
All this as our employees – more than 2,600 strong – have reflected on our history, applauding the company’s growth and good fortune since it was founded in 1993.
Here are some of the highlights:
A Year Filled with Celebrations
BH celebrated our 30th Anniversary throughout the year with various in-person and virtual events. The first of many celebrations took place at BH’s EVOLVE Leadership Conference in May with a big birthday party. We also hosted 90s-themed parties at our corporate offices in Des Moines and Dallas and gave all BH’ers a ½ day of “BH Birthday PTO” to celebrate on their own.
In addition, we honored some of our most-tenured employees in an article titled, “Longtime Employees Reflect as BH Celebrates 30 Years in Business” and reflected on what makes us wildly awesome in “30 Impressive Things About BH’s 30 Years in Business.”
The first 30 years have been pretty great, and we can’t wait for 30 more.
Harry Bookey Named to MFE Hall of Fame
We were thrilled that our founder, Harry Bookey, was named to the Multifamily Executive’s Hall of Fame this year. In addition to being recognized at the MFE Conference in Dallas in the fall, he was featured on the cover of the publication’s September/October issue.
According to the article, Harry “has built a company culture that values and supports everyone, from C-suite executives to property maintenance staff. He guides BH with two simple principles: Do business the right way and invest in the team because it is the company.” Congratulations to Harry and the entire team on this incredible achievement!
Centralization Took Center Stage
BH continued to streamline operations throughout the year by using a centralized operations strategy that helped take some onsite tasks off individual communities and instead, have them managed by a RAM (Resident Account Manager). Currently, 14 communities are utilizing Funnel as their CRM and have experienced simpler functionality and documenting practices. This has resulted in cleaner reporting and an increase in bandwidth for service-related task instead of administrative tasks.
Renewal Specialist Team Continued to Expand
One component of centralized management is the renewal process. BH grew our team of Renewal Specialists to 36. Working throughout our national portfolio, they support nearly 252 of our communities. In 2023, we hired two external candidates and three internal team members to join this team. Our new hires have brought a plethora of knowledge and insight. Gaining team members from outside BH allows us to stay fresh and has offered a new perspective into our best practices, policies, and procedures. Our internal hires afford our team the ability to expand faster and with current invested BH’ers who chose to take on new paths in their careers.
Our Screening Specialists also made a positive impact on operations this year.
BH Contact Center Absorbed First Contact Leasing Inquiries
BH has 14 communities currently leveraging the BH Contact Center, powered by Funnel, to better absorb “first contact” leasing inquiries from prospective residents. By significantly lifting the interaction rate on first contacts, traffic generation strategy has been able to target quality over quantity. Additionally, more emphasis has been placed on down funnel leasing conversion metrics such as the ‘appointment-to-tour’ percentage. BH plans to bring on many more communities in 2024.
BH Launched BH Fusion+
The December launch of BH Fusion+ has helped BH leap into the world of AI when it comes to filtering our data and creating business and performance reports. Using natural language processing and dynamic dashboards, BH Fusion+ offers a new navigation and search component that BH’ers are already raving about.
“Our goal is to transition from just reacting to the data from the descriptive analytics dashboards we offer today to forecasting what is likely to happen and then acting on that,” BH Chief Data Officer Brandy Daniel said.
Users can search BH Fusion+ via more filters than ever to get what data and reports they need like Location (state, market or county), Takeover Date, Ownership Group, Renovation History and Status, and more. Any BH client or team member can slice and dice the info any way they want to meet their reporting needs.
Fortune Recognized BH as #6 “Best Workplaces in Real Estate”
BH’s second time on this prestigious list, we came in at #6, up from #7 in 2022. Earning a spot means that BH is one of the best real estate companies to work for in the country. BH was the top-rated third-party management company in the rankings.
BH Named 2023 “Property Management Company of the Year” by PropTech Breakthrough
BH was proudly named the “Property Management Company of the Year” in the annual PropTech Breakthrough Awards.
We were recognized for developing proprietary tools for marketing, revenue management, online leasing, screening, retention, resident contact, onsite administration, payments, and CRM. Having our own data analytics, performance strategy, and marketing teams in-house allows us to scale faster and smarter, outperforming industry benchmarks.
CEO Speaks at CRETech Conference
In September, our CEO Joanna Zabriskie was a panelist for CRETech in New York City as the guest of moderator John Helm, Partner at RET Ventures. The session, “How the Growing ‘Rent Tech’ Tech Stack Can Streamline Operations Across a National Portfolio,” featured a wide-ranging discussion on all things rent tech, including the growing imperative for operational improvements in the current economic climate; how improvements to the renter journey can benefit both residents and property managers alike; the growing popularity of self-leasing; and which technology tools are driving the greatest impact.
BH Announced Slate of Executive Promotions
One constant at BH is that we are always growing, evolving, and influencing the industry. Because of this, we have become one of the most respected companies in the industry. We’ve earned recognition for our forward-thinking approach to our business, and for our “smarts with heart” ethos.
From our onsite community teams to corporate employees, the humility, grit, and energy that BH’ers carry every step of the way is part of who we are. We have the privilege to work with people who challenge, teach, and inspire us every single day.
We were excited to announce the promotions of these wildly awesome leaders this year:
- Mike Baker, Senior Managing Director, Acquisitions
- Brandy Daniel, Chief Data Officer
- Matt Darcy, Senior Vice President, Construction
- Jennifer Davis, Managing Director, Asset Management
- Charlotte Flores, Chief People Officer
- Melody King, Chief Operating Officer, Property Operations
- Kelly Kutach, Chief Marketing Officer
- Luke Paskert, Chief Technology Officer
- Travis Sheets, Chief Legal Officer
- Dusty Thomas, Managing Director, Investor Relations
- Mike Watkins, Senior Vice President, Construction
- Christi Weinstein, Chief Operating Officer, Strategic Support Solutions
With BH’s drive to improve The Mint Experience for our residents, we will continue to leverage our advanced innovation across the board in 2024 and demonstrate again why we are leading the way as the top property management company in the U.S.