At AltoVita, we are continually looking for new ways to update our enterprise software to make sourcing and securing corporate housing as smooth as possible for our clients and their employees. That’s why we are especially excited to share the latest update to our Housing Request tool, built to increase operational efficiency between relocation management companies (RMCs) and temporary housing agents.
Caroline Boyle, VP of Product Customer Success, championed this product update in order to better serve our RMC partners. Here, she shares the details.
“Where do you want to be, exactly?” Improved Location input allows for greater flexibility.
Caroline: Previously, a location was set by choosing a city from a preloaded list of options. This was limiting, since the client would have to know exactly which major city was nearest the location they needed, then begin a search from that point. Now, clients can type in exactly the location they’re looking for, be it the address of the local office, a specific neighborhood within a city, the children’s school, or a surrounding town. Powered by Google API, this inputted information becomes the center of the search radius, allowing more precise sourcing of accommodations in large cities and allows a more thorough search for remote locations.
So an RMC creates a Housing Request using the new Location feature. What happens next?
Caroline: AltoVita can integrate swiftly with the RMC’s system so the details of the Housing Request are pulled right into AltoVita’s platform automatically. The client has a dashboard where all Housing Requests are organised and easily accessible. The RMC can sort and filter by their corporate client, housing location, and date, and see the status of each request. They can also check the history of the request, who has worked on it, and whether it has reopened for multiple searches or changes.
Once the Housing Request is submitted, AltoVita’s Account Managers create a Shortlist.
Caroline: We are very excited about the Shortlist feature, which is going to save our clients so much time and effort! AltoVita’s team of Account Managers located all over the world – from London to Shanghai to Belize to Tampa, FL – review the client request and do their magic, selecting a Shortlist of properties based on availability and the desired criteria. The Shortlist is saved on the AltoVita platform, and an access link is emailed to the client for their review.
All from within the platform, an RMC can review the Shortlist, approve or deny any of the options, and email the selected properties to the employee. This pulls the process out of email, with all history on this specific Housing Request saved together under the Request ID and Title. Now, clients can easily check the status of a request or look back to any earlier shortlisted properties at any time and it gets rid of long, complicated email chains about housing options. All the RMC partner has to do is follow the link.
What about the employee experience, any improvements on the UX side?
Caroline: Yes, this is arguably the best bit! The employee receives an email with a link to view the Shortlist online. There, all the Shortlisted properties are shown together and displayed on a map, with details and amenities displayed succinctly and beautifully. The employee can toggle between options easily and see the commute time between each option and their preferred location as one of the key features. It’s very visual and makes it easy to compare and contrast the options.
With these new features and product enhancements, AltoVita is really combining the thoughtful human-centric approach, seamless UX, and robust backend technology. You can have the AltoVita team conduct the property search and handpick a Shortlist of options for you, or you are empowered to search within the property catalog of more than 1 million+ listings and source the right accommodation yourself using the same tools.
