FAIRFAX, VA. (June 23, 2008) – Rapid expansion and growing interest in local market touring services have established CORT as the largest touring service provider in the nation, driving corporate renters – literally – to CORT’s apartment community partners.
Business for CORT and apartment community partners is brisk. Relocations and temporary assignments are on the rise. In the United States alone, companies spend more than $13.5 billion a year to relocate more than 700,000 employees according to the Employee Relocation Council. More than half of employees permanently relocating and more than 90 percent of employees temporarily assigned to new locations are renters. Turmoil in the nation’s housing market is also driving demand for renting, with 71 percent of Americans citing a preference to rent instead of buying a home according to a recent survey commissioned by the National Apartment Association.
Through CORT’s touring services and suite of rental relocation services and the nation’s most robust online apartment search Web site, ApartmentSearch.com, CORT is directing renters to apartment communities, including many communities that have listed more than 3.8 million apartments on ApartmentSearch.com. The partnership with CORT supplements local marketing activities to recruit new residents, including relocating corporate employees, who apartment communities likely would not reach any other way.
Conventional marketing, such as listings in local apartment guides, reach people who are already in the market. One of CORT’s many partners, Walton Communities, finds that online listings on ApartmentSearch.com and being a popular destination for CORT’s area orientation tours brings new residents from across the nation to their nine apartment complexes in the Atlanta metro area.
“While apartment listing magazines are frequently used by people who are searching for an apartment in the same city, people moving to a new city often do not read those publications or have any local knowledge of the area,” said Mary Straub, leasing consultant for Walton on the Chattahoochee. “Through ApartmentSearch.com, we are connected with CORT’s national sales force providing relocation services for companies throughout the nation. This has often led to contact with prospective residents that we would not have reached prior to our exposure on the site or partnership with area tours.”
While online apartment search competitors are simply automated Internet bulletin boards, CORT provides access to relocating corporate employees along with a personal touch and commitment to its partners. Walton on the Chattahoochee works with a representative from ApartmentSearch who assists prospective residents searching for apartments to identify their needs and which apartment communities might be the best fit for them. For those renters who may be a good fit for Walton on the Chattahoochee, CORT coordinates with Straub to lead prospective renters on a tour of the community.
“For us, the great value of ApartmentSearch is in their commitment to personal relationships with both the Walton staff and our guests,” said Straub. “The touring services that ApartmentSearch offers bring guests into our community who already understand what we offer and how we can help meet their needs. The ratio of guests who come on a tour to those who end up signing a lease is very strong.”
Demand for CORT’s nationwide touring services in local markets has boomed in the past year as an integral part of its suite of rental relocation services. In 2007, CORT increased the number of tours it provides by more than 300 percent. That activity is expected to skyrocket at even faster pace through 2008. In the past year alone, CORT has responded to booming demand for nationwide local-market tours to bolster its staff of 2,500 employees in more than 50 offices across the nation with additional employees dedicated solely to provide touring services in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Houston, Los Angeles, Tucson, and Jacksonville, Fla.,
“Partnership with apartment community owners is the very foundation of CORT’s business over the past three decades,” said Jeff Rowe, vice president of ApartmentSearch by CORT. “We are confident that no other company can match our breadth of services, bring more highly-qualified customers into your apartment communities, or deliver better on a personal commitment to long-standing partnership. From furniture rental to online apartment listings and today’s touring and rental relocation services, we are dedicated to continuously provide value for our apartment community partners.”
About CORT
For more than 35 years, CORT has been the nation’s leading provider of rental furniture with a global network of affiliates in more than 50 countries. Today, CORT also provides the nation’s most comprehensive range of rental relocation services, including the most robust apartment search services at www.ApartmentSearch.com. CORT’s customers include more than 80 percent of the Fortune 500 companies. For more information, please visit www.cort.com