How A Forward-Thinking RPM Put Lease Renewals On Autopilot

A property under an NMHC Top 50 Management company was sending renewal emails, but the process behind them was still manual, fragmented, and staff-dependent. Tracking happened in spreadsheets. Confirmations weren't instant. Follow-ups fell through the cracks when the team was stretched. The result: renewals that should have been seamless felt reactive.

Challenge

Renewal communications were active, but the process behind them remained manual, fragmented, and entirely dependent on staff capacity to execute consistently.

Solution

One seamless flow replaced a fragmented process — automating outreach, confirmations, and team notifications while removing spreadsheets and follow-ups completely.

Result

Resident engagement increased significantly. 7 renewals confirmed. Leasing teams redirected time previously spent on manual tracking toward higher-value activities.

Tags

Hayley Case Studies Marketing Automation

The Most Profitable Lease Is the One You Keep

There's a number that doesn't show up on most leasing dashboards, but it quietly shapes the financial health of every multifamily portfolio: the cost of a single avoidable vacancy.

When a resident doesn't renew, the property absorbs turnover costs, unit prep, re-marketing spend, and anywhere from two to six weeks of lost rent before a new lease begins. By contrast, a resident who renews generates immediate, uninterrupted revenue with zero acquisition cost.

Renewals aren't just a retention metric. They're a direct line to NOI.

Yet across the industry, renewals are still managed through spreadsheets, inconsistent email timelines, and follow-up calls that depend entirely on staff bandwidth. The process works when things are quiet, but breaks down exactly when occupancy pressure is highest.

A senior RPM at an NMHC Top 50 Management Company saw the gap and decided to close it.

The Hidden Friction in Renewal Workflows

Although renewal emails were already being sent, the workflow behind them wasn’t connected.

The team still had to:

• Track responses manually
• Check multiple systems for status
• Send follow-ups individually
• Monitor renewals through spreadsheets

There was no instant confirmation or real-time alerting.

Everything depended on staff bandwidth.

Renewals felt reactive instead of systematic.

As the onsite team shared:

“There was a lot of manual work to try to put those things together.”

From Click to Confirmation: Designing a One-Step Renewal Workflow

The team didn’t want more campaigns or reminders.

They wanted a simpler way to renew.

Something that would:

• Make it effortless for residents to say “yes”
• Automatically notify staff
• Eliminate manual tracking
• Remove spreadsheets and follow-ups

In short, a renewal process that worked on its own.

Together with Hyly.AI, the property implemented an automated Resident Renewal workflow built around a single, seamless flow:

No spreadsheets. No manual updates. No missed actions.

Renewals moved from reactive follow-ups to a predictable, automated system.

Operational Impact

• Fewer follow-ups and manual tracking
• Real-time alerts and clear renewal status
• No missed renewals
• Less admin work, more time for leasing and tours

Less busywork. More renewals.

Engagement Up. Effort Down. Renewals Secured.

📈 68.9% open rate

🚀 20% click rate (3x benchmark)

✅ 7 confirmed lease renewals

⚡ Faster commitments with fewer follow-ups

🕒 Less manual effort for leasing teams

What changed wasn’t volume.

It was clarity + automation.

When renewals became simple, residents acted faster.

“Since we started using the new Resident Renewal template in the Retention Campaign, things have been running so much smoother. It’s taken the stress out of tracking renewals, and the automated notifications keep us in the loop whenever a resident renews. It’s been a real win for our team!”

                                     - Property Onsite Team

“The new Resident Renewal template within the Retention Campaign has been a game-changer for our team! It’s made it so much easier to stay on top of upcoming renewals, and the automated notifications ensure that we never miss when a resident chooses to renew. The instant communication from Hyly keeps our leasing team in the loop in real time, saving us time and keeping the renewal process seamless for both our team and residents. This level of automation and transparency has truly simplified our workflow, we love it!”

          - Sr. RPM, NMHC Top 50 Management Company

Why this matters for your portfolio

Renewal optimization isn’t a small operational tweak. It directly impacts:

• Retention
• Vacancy days
• NOI
• Leasing team productivity
• Resident experience

Even reducing vacancy by one to two days per lease can drive meaningful revenue preservation at scale.

How to Launch This Across Your Portfolio

This workflow is live inside Hayley Marketing Automation today.

To run the same Renewal workflow across your properties, the first step is getting your portfolio onto Hayley.

Schedule a discovery call, and we'll show you exactly how it works and what it could mean for your retention numbers.

Better communication → Faster renewals → Protected revenue

Automation isn't just a leasing tool. It's a retention strategy.

Schedule a conversation at hyly.ai/schedule