When Apples ARE Oranges.

Renters are now looking for more amenities in their apartments. Don't let this alarm you. The key to maintaining a high occupancy level is through implementing the right marketing strategies!

Apartment residents are now looking for more amenities in their apartments. Don't let this alarm you. The key to maintaining a high occupancy level is through implementing the right marketing strategies!

Used to be that an A+ luxury apartment community had a swimming pool, fitness center and some kind of interior apartment amenity, such as a wet bar or ceramic-tiled entryway.

Today, that's a B-class apartment. As renters-by-necessity have given way to renters-by-choice, particularly in larger cities, a luxury apartment needs to come with the amenities previously found only at top-notch hotels--concierge services, indoor parking, whirlpool tubs, drop-dead gorgeous interiors and a host of other features once unique to resorts. After all, these renters are spending more than they would on a mortgage for their apartment homes. They demand the very best.

As a result, many A+ apartment communities have become, well, fairly indistinguishable from each other. They're all beautiful, inside and out. They all have high-speed Internet access, dry cleaning, pet sitting and interior design that might befit a museum more than a traditional apartment. Roommate bedrooms have given way to home offices, and a master suite is just that--a huge, luxurious master suite. Garages are not only standard, but attached with direct-access to the apartment homes themselves. And security on these properties goes way beyond the old stereotype of Barney in his donut-sprinkled blue uniform.

That is all grand, but begs the question: how does the owner of one of these properties best market his investment? When everything he offers is available on six different properties around town, how does he use his marketing dollars to attract residents?

The answer isn't simple. No single Val-Pak coupon or newspaper ad is going to draw residents away from Property X to Property Y when the amenities and rents are so similar. But there are several strategies owners can use to differentiate themselves in the ultra high-end luxury rental market.

Stand Out

The first thing a property owner can do, experts say, is to find some way his property is different than the competition, either in design, location or feature. Then, capitalize on that difference.

"Normally in marketing, you want to create brand awareness," says Diane Leone, founder and president of Marketing Edge Inc., St. Augustine, Fla. "You want to be the first or the best at something. With those A+ luxury communities, it's hard to stand out. So your effort has to start from the beginning."

That means kicking off marketing just as soon as construction has finished--or starting the second you break ground. If there's something unique about the property's location, Leone says, capitalize on it. Be the first near the water, or the first in that segment of town or the first hilltop apartment community in town.

From that unique angle, attract press attention. "You have to give a reporter enough information to create an article, and it has to have an angle," Leone says. "You might have the 50th A+ property in an area, but you should be the first to do something. Be the first to build in that particular area, or the first A++ community, the first with built-in garages."

Then, she says, send plenty of photos with the press release, and be sure to follow up.

Secondly, choose a theme and stick with it. "This goes all the way through the community name, which needs to reflect the upscale nature of the community," Leone says. "It also involves being consistent throughout. An A+ community should have its own Web site, its own address and all of this should tie in with the collateral and marketing pieces."

This involves setting a theme, she says, whether it's nautical, nature-oriented, calm or anything else. Everything about the property--from the first prospect mailer to the carpet in each unit--should tie in with that theme and create an aura throughout the property.

Tie-In With Community

One of the best things an A+ owner can do is start early to form ties with the community. Carol Levey, who co-founded I.T. Partners with Neil Fjellestad after decades in the multifamily housing industry, says that working out alliances with local businesses can have a real impact when it comes to attracting new residents.

"Companies are moving people around more than ever before," Levey says. "If there's a large company like that in your area, why advertise in the newspaper? Offer incentives to that company's employees instead." She suggests modeling such a program after long-standing incentives that many companies offer to military bases, which easily meet Fair Housing law requirements. When a new employee is hired or transferred from another area, the company's human resources department lets them know about the great deal they'll get at Apartment Community X. Deciding to go look at that property, therefore, becomes a natural.

"Having someone out in the community marketing to those companies is really beneficial," Leone agrees. In fact, she takes the strategy one step further to work out incentives for customers of local banks and similar institutions. "You offer prospects special fee structures and packages if they bank at a local branch, and arrange to have that bank's ATM on your property," she explains. "All kinds of such programs benefit both you and your partners."

"What you're doing," says Fjellestad, "is going out to these companies and communities that can reach out and pull in the traffic you want. You're capturing them before they come to your front door."

Beyond working with transferred workers, he says, this strategy is often helpful when it comes to attracting those who have been recently promoted within their home office and find themselves suddenly able to afford something a little nicer than their B-class apartment. "By establishing relationship with these corporations, you can get an in with employees who are ready to go from a B to an A, or from an A to an A+," he says. "They don't want to be tied down with 15- or 30-year mortgages, and they want to be mobile. At the same time, they want this lifestyle."

Using Realtors

One other trend among A+ properties is to establish relationships with area realtors, who traditionally have only devoted their time to selling properties, but are now finding that filling such rentals is lucrative.

"A lot of these renters are looking for transitional homes," Levey says. "They're transferring with their companies and they haven't yet bought a home, or their home isn't built yet. There's a lot of movement like this going on in the country. Before, the people companies were moving were 70 percent homeowners, and 30 to 35 percent renters. It's flipping."

Fjellestad adds that, thanks to a tight economy, many companies are now transferring middle managers and picking up the tab--a perk that used to be reserved for top executives. "This makes for a younger worker being relocated," he says. "It's more conducive to renting. Maybe he's waiting for a home to sell or doesn't yet have the equity to buy."

That's where the realtor steps in. By ensuring that local realtors are not only aware of a luxury community, but intimate with its every amenity and detail, owners can pull renters in without spending a fortune on advertising and other traditional marketing tactics. It's a strategy that has long worked in New York and is quickly gaining momentum across the rest of the country.

"Realtors have traditionally had a history of not working well with multifamily," Levey explains. "We're seeing more realtors coming into the market as more people who are moving want to rent before they buy, if they buy at all. They're staring to have relationships with apartment referral services, owners and property management companies. We're starting to see a trend."

Don't Forget Seniors

Finally, experts say, one of the top ways to attract renters to a luxury apartment community is to approach the local senior market. Many seniors are ready to get away from their large homes and into a more flexible lifestyle. By explaining the benefits of renting, experts say, it can be simple to attract good renters to A+ rental homes.

"You want to market a lifestyle here, and it has to be one of action and mobility," Levey explains. "A lot of seniors coming into the market want a very active lifestyle. They want to travel without worrying about their homes, and they want to have abilities they never had in their homes."

That means explaining services to them, including plant watering, mail collection and anything else that leaves them feeling free to jaunt off to Paris at the drop of a hat. It also means explaining the benefits of renting to a generation for whom homeownership has always been the American dream.

"Make sure they're aware of tax laws and investment alternatives," Fjellestad says. "They can move those home dollars into other investments. They can try a different lifestyle."

Kim Fernandez is a freelance writer for trade and consumer publications who lives in Bethesda, Md. A former Managing Editor of Units, she has written about the multifamily housing industry since 1994.