Founded in 1987 by Donna Preiss, The Preiss Company is a leader in the ownership and management of multifamily and student housing communities nationwide. With a vast and varied national portfolio, The Preiss Company provides an unparalleled living experience and a best-in-class investment platform. Ranked among the top ten owner-operators of off-campus housing in the nation, The Preiss Company is the largest woman-owned proprietor of private student housing.

In 2022, The Preiss Company began searching for supplier partners to enhance their automated leasing experience. Whitney Kidd, Senior Vice President of Innovation and Technology, aimed “to offer prospective residents 24-hour availability to tour and lease at our communities. We ultimately vetted three providers, and Tour24 reigned supreme.”

Preiss’s goal was to free up the leasing team to be more productive without sacrificing the connected and informative experience of an in-person tour. “We seek innovation and automation, and Tour24 truly excelled, providing a people-centric experience driven by technology. It felt like a guided museum tour, with Tour24 making our prospects feel as though one of our agents was personally leading them through the community,” said Kidd.

Tour 24 has been exactly what The Preiss Company was looking for, giving visitors the freedom to explore properties without losing the guided experience, while letting staff spend more time fulfilling resident needs.

“The feedback we’ve gotten from our community team members is overwhelmingly positive,” says Kidd. “Oftentimes, Property Managers will have incoming tours after closing time. Prior to Tour24 they had to schedule them for another day, potentially a lost lease each time. With Tour 24, visitors can arrive after closing and conduct a self-guided tour.”

“The biggest advantage is flexibility,” she continues. “We have a large student demographic, and they value flexibility in every aspect of their lives. Our prospects can tour the community whenever they want, explore our entire amenity package, and view the model unit. The experience, crafted by our leasing agents and marketing team, effectively conveys what they would say in person.”

Student housing has unique needs. Whether it’s pre-leasing for incoming students or multiple tours for students, family, and friends, Tour24 helped The Preiss Company accommodate all requests without losing potential leases or monopolizing staff cycles.

According to Preiss, “Tour24 has significantly supplemented our leasing teams, particularly in the critical pre-leasing period in the student sector, where we often lease a year in advance. With the support of Tour24, we’ve seen an increase in leasing velocity, making it a powerful performance driver for our teams. It also facilitates re-tours, accommodating parents who want to inspect the space after their children have leased or students bringing friends to see their new home. When our teams are busy with new lease opportunities, they can direct second-time visitors to the self-guided tour experience, saving valuable time.”.