Forum recap | Today in operations. Centralization in action: Lessons from student housing, asset managers, third-party managers and the industry’s top researcher

How Greystar, Pacific Urban Investors, and Redstone are redefining centralization as the new default operating model for all ownership structures and portfolio types

In a time when rising expenses and tightening margins are defining the multifamily housing landscape, one message rang loud and clear from the panelists at Forum: Centralization is no longer the “future”—it’s the default. 

The leaders reshaping multifamily operations are no longer asking if they should centralize; they’ve either started or they’re strategizing how to do it, at scale, with the right tools, partners, and mindset.

Moderated by Alex Howe, SVP of Marketing + Growth at Funnel, the “Today in operations” panel brought together a power crew of operators and researchers who’ve been in the trenches of this transformation:

• Melody Reid, Managing Director, Property Systems Engagement at Greystar, oversees more than 1 million units.
• Joni Lowe, SVP of Marketing at Pacific Urban, an owner who designs centralized strategy across multiple third-party managers.
• Jason Terry, Director of Resident Services at Redstone, balancing student housing and hybrid ownership models with a centralized twist.
• Dom Beveridge, Principal at 20for20, known for his research on centralization and operating models.

Their collective takeaway? Centralization works—but the path there looks different depending on portfolio type, ownership structure, and your willingness to evolve both roles and rules.

Greystar: Scaling centralization across one million+ units

Greystar is the largest property management company in the United States, consistently ranked #1 on the NMHC Top 50 managers and owners lists with top rankings across the NMHC lists for developers and builders. Their massive scale presents unique opportunities and influence across the multifamily industry. 

Change at scale: People-first, enterprise-impact

At a company like Greystar—where more than a million units span 250+ markets and over 700 clients—operational change isn’t a single rollout. It’s a rolling wave of transformation, experienced differently by every individual on the ground.

That’s why, as Melody Reid, Managing Director, Property Systems Engagement, made clear, successful centralization isn’t just a systems upgrade. It’s a people-centered shift—and it only works when every person is brought along for the ride. FWIW: This sentiment was echoed in the change management presentation from the Windsor team later at Forum. 

“We have to have a process and a plan for every person,” Reid said. “Whether they’re excited by the change or two months in and getting frustrated, we’ve learned to support them wherever they are in that journey.”

“We have to have a process and a plan for every person. Whether they’re excited by the change or two months in and getting frustrated, we’ve learned to support them wherever they are in that journey.”

— Melody Reid, Managing Director, Property Systems Engagement, Greystar

Instead of assuming a linear implementation path, Greystar’s strategy accounts for variation in adoption across geographies, teams, and even individuals. The organization recognizes that technology alone doesn’t drive transformation—clarity, empathy, and iterative learning do.

Reid pointed out that with an initiative this large, the rollout is never really done. “Because of our scale, we know we’ll always be somewhere on the change curve. So we’ve built our approach to meet teams where they are—whether they’re brand new to centralized workflows or refining them for year three.”

This people-first model is instrumental as Greystar rapidly scaled adoption of Funnel, now live at more than 180,000 units. 

By treating implementation as an ongoing conversation—not a one-time announcement—Greystar is setting the tone for what sustainable, scalable change looks like in modern multifamily.

Investing in the right tools, not just shifting tasks

Greystar’s centralization journey didn’t start with AI or automation—it started, like many companies, with a need to rebalance labor. The early approach was straightforward: move administrative tasks offsite so that onsite teams could focus on leasing and resident relationships. But over time, it became clear that simply relocating tasks wasn’t enough.

“Initially we just looked to lift and shift the work,” said Melody Reid, Managing Director of U.S. Property Systems. “Over time we understood how paramount it was to really invest in the right tools and technology to support those team members.”

“Initially we just looked to lift and shift the work. Over time we understood how paramount it was to really invest in the right tools and technology to support those team members.”

— Melody Reid, Managing Director, Property Systems Engagement, Greystar

This marked a fundamental shift in mindset. Rather than centralization being about where work happens, it became about how it gets done—and how well. That meant introducing tools purpose-built for scale, not retrofitting legacy property-centric systems for centralized use.

Reid’s team began with a close examination of how centralized staff spent their time. “We sat with our centralized teams. We did time and motion studies to understand where they were spending the most time—and what could be automated or improved,” she shared.

What emerged was a clear opportunity: delinquency management was a massive time sink. “So much of their day was consumed with notices—sending them, tracking them, cross-referencing systems,” Reid said.

Enter resident AI, by automating delinquency notices, Greystar saw immediate gains:

• Up to 10 hours saved per person, per week
• Payments arrive an average of six days earlier
• Reduced emotional labor for centralized staff

“It wasn’t just about getting paid faster,” Reid explained. “It was about giving time back to our teams—so they could focus on higher-value, more strategic work.”

“It wasn’t just about getting paid faster. It was about giving time back to our teams—so they could focus on higher-value, more strategic work.”

— Melody Reid, Managing Director, Property Systems Engagement, Greystar

In centralization, technology isn’t just a tool—it’s a talent enabler.

Customization without sacrificing consistency

For Greystar, one of the biggest challenges in centralization is maintaining consistency at scale—without becoming rigid. That’s where the pod structure comes in: Greystar’s answer to scaling with nuance.

“Our pods are really region-centric and sometimes client-centric,” explained Reid. “Even if someone isn’t sitting in a specific market, they’re trained and specialized in it.”

“Our pods are really region-centric and sometimes client-centric. Even if someone isn’t sitting in a specific market, they’re trained and specialized in it.”

— Melody Reid, Managing Director, Property Systems Engagement, Greystar

Each pod operates as a dedicated support unit, handling centralized administrative and leasing tasks for a defined group of properties. Depending on the market, asset class, or ownership group, a pod might be assigned based on geography, regulatory requirements, or even specific client expectations. The team members in that pod are not generalists—they’re domain experts in the nuances of their assigned regions or clients.

That’s critical in an environment where compliance, local regulations, and ownership expectations can vary dramatically.

“In today’s regulatory environment, and with clients who have dynamic needs, we have to be able to flex—but without losing the consistency that centralization provides,” Reid said. “Our model ensures both.”

“In today’s regulatory environment, and with clients who have dynamic needs, we have to be able to flex—but without losing the consistency that centralization provides. Our model ensures both.”

— Melody Reid, Managing Director, Property Systems Engagement, Greystar

The pod structure also supports better training, communication, and performance measurement. Rather than spreading centralized staff thin across vastly different regions, Greystar empowers them to go deep—owning the process, learning the intricacies, and building trust with local onsite teams.

In short: pods are how Greystar scales centralization without sacrificing quality, control, or customization.

Pacific Urban Investors: Curating centralization across third-party partners

Pacific Urban Investors (PUI) is a multifamily owner, investor, and operator spanning 15 states and 20 major markets, with a portfolio of more than 23,000 apartment homes. Their centralization strategy involves key partnerships with third-party operators. 

Orchestrating consistency across third-party execution

Pacific Urban Investors occupies a unique seat at the multifamily table. As a vertically integrated real estate investment firm, the PUI team shapes their centralization strategy in-house—but executes through a curated group of third-party operators. 

That structure demands tight alignment, clear guardrails, and relentless follow-through.

Joni Lowe, SVP of Marketing, plays a key role in this balance. Though her title is marketing, her scope includes centralization strategy, technology adoption, and experience design—all filtered through the lens of performance.

“We curate everything in-house, but then let our operators execute within those parameters,” Lowe explained. “It’s not one-size-fits-all—but it’s one strategy that has to fit across diverse execution.”

That requires more than documentation. It requires shared understanding—and shared accountability.

“We curate everything in-house, but then let our operators execute within those parameters. It’s not one-size-fits-all—but it’s one strategy that has to fit across diverse execution.”
— Joni Lowe, SVP of Marketing, Pacific Urban Investors

Ownership-level oversight, not just playbook creation

Unlike many owner groups that take a set-it-and-forget-it approach, Pacific Urban Investors are actively involved in how centralized strategies are implemented and refined across operators. That means staying close to performance data, monitoring outcomes, and coaching operators on how to course-correct when needed.

“We’re not just handing off the playbook,” Lowe said. “We’re in it with them—reviewing dashboards, talking through results, identifying what’s working or what needs to shift.”

This kind of hands-on asset management, paired with strategic centralization, gives PUI a more direct line of sight into how initiatives are translating into operational wins—or where the gaps are showing up.

To manage alignment across multiple operating partners, Lowe’s team relies heavily on KPIs and shared data.

“We track everything—delinquency, rent collection, leasing velocity, consumer sentiment, even employee satisfaction,” Lowe explained. “That’s how we evaluate the success of a potted or centralized model.”

And with multiple third-party managers in their ecosystem, PUI has a natural benchmarking system built in.

“It’s kind of nice because they get stacked against each other—in a good way,” said Lowe. “If one’s doing really well and another isn’t, we can sit down together, compare notes, and raise the bar across the board.”

“It’s kind of nice because they get stacked against each other—in a good way. If one’s doing really well and another isn’t, we can sit down together, compare notes, and raise the bar across the board.”

 — Joni Lowe, SVP of Marketing, Pacific Urban Investors

That level of visibility turns data into a culture-builder. Operators aren’t just managed to perform—they’re motivated to learn from one another.  

AI automation delivers measurable results

Their centralization strategies aren’t just theoretical—they’re producing tangible financial outcomes. One standout example is delinquency automation powered by AI.

Between December 2024 and February 2025, Pacific Urban Investors saw a 119 basis point reduction in year-over-year delinquency rates after implementing automated delinquency notices. The overall delinquency rate dropped from 3.8% to 2.6%, and the percentage of non-paying residents declined by 23%, from 4.0% to 3.1%.

“It’s the kind of lift you can’t get just by shifting people around,” said Lowe. “That’s all automated for them now.” 

Month-over-month comparisons revealed consistent gains:

• December: 3.91% to 2.57%
• January: 3.44% to 2.46%
• February: 4.08% to 2.82%

Those improvements weren’t just in dollars—they were in renter outcomes too. “Reducing late payments helps our bottom line,” said Lowe, “but it also signals that renters are getting the information they need and are able to act on it.”

“Reducing late payments helps our bottom line,” said Lowe, “but it also signals that renters are getting the information they need and are able to act on it.”

 — Joni Lowe, SVP of Marketing, Pacific Urban Investors

This level of performance tracking is core to how PUI manages its third-party operators. “If a strategy isn’t moving the needle, we find out fast,” said Lowe. “And if it is—we scale it.”

“If a strategy isn’t moving the needle, we find out fast. And if it is—we scale it.”

 — Joni Lowe, SVP of Marketing, Pacific Urban Investors

Marketing as an operational force

Lowe offered a subtle but important insight into how Pacific Urban’s marketing team is embedded in operational strategy—something that isn’t the norm at many ownership groups.

“As marketers, we used to hand over leads and hope for the best,” she said. “Now, we’re actively shaping how leasing is delivered—from tour experience to communication follow-up. Marketing has become an operational function.”

“As marketers, we used to hand over leads and hope for the best. Now, we’re actively shaping how leasing is delivered—from tour experience to communication follow-up. Marketing has become an operational function.”

 — Joni Lowe, SVP of Marketing, Pacific Urban Investors

That shift reflects a larger industry trend—where centralization efforts are shared between marketing and operations teams—and positions Pacific Urban Investors as a firm where strategy, execution, and experience are tightly intertwined.

Centralization as an employee experience strategy

Lowe also underscored a key point that often gets lost in centralization conversations: team well-being. 

They isn’t just watching operational metrics—they’re tracking burnout, satisfaction, and friction on the front lines.

“Are our teams less overwhelmed? Are they feeling more supported?” she asked. “Because that ultimately drives performance too.”

“Are our teams less overwhelmed? Are they feeling more supported? Because that ultimately drives performance too.”

 — Joni Lowe, SVP of Marketing, Pacific Urban Investors

By applying centralization to relieve pressure—not just reduce costs—Pacific Urban Investors is designing an operating model that works for residents and employees.

Self-guided tours: A win for renters and resource allocation

One standout win for Pacific Urban Investors is the adoption of self-guided tours (SGTs). Initially launched as a pandemic necessity, SGTs have since proven their long-term value—not only for operational efficiency, but for improving the renter journey.

“We’ve partnered with every lock and tour tech vendor you can imagine,” Lowe said. “I’ve learned more about hardware than I ever wanted to as a marketer.”

Rather than rolling out a one-size-fits-all SGT program, they ran live tests: offering both agent-led and self-guided tours in certain markets, limiting agent tours to peak hours in others, and measuring renter satisfaction throughout.

“The data doesn’t lie,” said Lowe. “Consumers are having a better experience with self-guided tours than agent-led ones. They like the flexibility and autonomy.”

“The data doesn’t lie. Consumers are having a better experience with self-guided tours than agent-led ones. They like the flexibility and autonomy.”

 — Joni Lowe, SVP of Marketing, Pacific Urban Investors

SGTs have also lightened the load for onsite teams—removing one of the most time-intensive tasks from their plates and freeing them up to focus on higher-value interactions.

What’s next for PUI: innovating for standalone assets

With strong results already in hand, Lowe and her team are now turning their attention to an often-overlooked opportunity: standalone assets—communities that aren’t connected geographically or operationally to a larger pod.

“These are the buildings that often get left out of centralization conversations,” Lowe said. “But they still deserve access to the same efficiencies and renter experiences.”

To close that gap, Lowe’s team is exploring how to virtually connect these assets into the centralized ecosystem using Funnel’s CRM, AI-driven delinquency automation, and SGTs.

“We’re asking: what can we centralize digitally when physical potting isn’t practical?” she explained. “That’s the next evolution for us.”

Redstone: Centralization with a student housing twist

Redstone is a Utah-headquartered student housing and multifamily investor and operator, who rolled Funnel’s CRM and AI solution out across their 35,000 unit portfolio. 

Jason Terry, Director of Resident Services at Redstone, was brought in to build a centralized leasing operation—one that could scale fast and flex for the unique demands of student housing.

Redstone’s centralization model wasn’t just about doing more with less—it was about survival in one of the industry’s most demanding verticals. In student housing, timing is everything.

“We’re about 50% student housing,” Terry said. “You have to hit it in the summer.”

In other words, the margin for error is zero. If a team falls behind during peak season, there’s no second chance to recover later in the year. That seasonal pressure shaped the design and urgency of Redstone Connect, their branded centralized leasing and support model.

Redstone built the model to keep their teams agile, responsive, and ready to scale up when demand spikes—especially during turn and high-volume leasing months. 

Centralization wasn’t a nice-to-have. It was the only way to protect the business from the volatility that comes with student housing’s rigid leasing cycle.

An AI cautionary tale (and redemption story)

Redstone’s centralization journey wasn’t smooth sailing from day one. Terry’s first rollout involved another (read: non-Funnel) AI vendor. “I had a full head of hair when we launched,” he joked. “There were so many issues—misinterpreted questions, hallucinated data… It got to the point where property managers said, ‘We’ll still pay for it. Just turn it off.’”

The switch to Funnel marked a turning point. 

“We’re still capturing just as many leads—but the experience is completely different,” Terry said. “The AI is smart, stable, and doesn’t require daily damage control.”

And it’s doing the work when leasing agents can’t. Redstone found that 30% of student leads came in after 1:00 a.m.—a time when human follow-up wasn’t feasible. With Funnel’s AI assistant, those leads are now nurtured immediately, increasing speed-to-tour and minimizing falloff.

“I haven’t gotten a single freaked-out message about the AI since we switched [to Funnel’s AI],” Terry said. “That’s a win. That’s peace of mind.”

Real performance lift: AI + centralization = results

Redstone’s centralized team isn’t just supporting—it’s outperforming. With Funnel’s centralized CRM, AI assistant, and smart scheduling tools in place, Redstone reported breakthrough operational metrics across the board:

• 33% higher lease conversion (signed leases) at communities with central teams compared to those without
• 12% higher lead-to-tour conversion with central team support
• 26% faster lead velocity, meaning prospects move from inquiry to signature nearly a third quicker
• 53% improvement in lead-to-tour efficiency compared to manual scheduling
• 6.5% lift in lease conversion from AI-scheduled tours versus manually scheduled ones

Let that sink in: not only are leads converting faster, but they’re converting more often—with less onsite lift.

From triage to triumph: centralization as team support

But numbers only tell part of the story. The biggest impact of Redstone Connect is how it supports—and protects—teams in the field.

Before centralizing Redstone’s corporate team was limited in how they could support properties under pressure. Burnout was common. Turnover was destabilizing. And when a leasing agent walked out mid-season, there wasn’t much anyone could do except offer encouragement and hope.

Now, Terry and his team have a tactical backup plan.

“If a site calls and says they’re drowning, we don’t just say ‘hang in there,’” said Terry. “We flip a switch and deploy our centralized leasing team immediately. We’ve got ‘leasing paratroopers’ standing by.”

“If a site calls and says they’re drowning, we don’t just say ‘hang in there.’ We flip a switch and deploy our centralized leasing team immediately. We’ve got ‘leasing paratroopers’ standing by.”

—Jason Terry, Director of Resident Services. Redstone

This model is especially valuable during student housing’s notoriously compressed leasing windows. In the past, a staffing gap could mean lost revenue for an entire year. With Redstone Connect, those gaps can be filled virtually—instantly and seamlessly.

Redstone’s centralization strategy isn’t just about process—it’s about people. By offloading admin work and enabling virtual coverage, Redstone Connect gives onsite teams something that’s often in short supply: breathing room.

“When someone is close to burnout, it matters that we can say, ‘We’ve got you,’” Terry said. “Not just with a gift card—but with actual backup that lets them take a break, take a day, and not feel like the whole community is going to suffer.”

This flexibility strengthens team morale and reduces churn—both of which ultimately boost resident satisfaction and portfolio stability.

From firefighting to future planning

With a centralized foundation in place, Redstone’s now looking ahead. The centralized team has already proven itself as a revenue generator (bringing in $20,000/month as a profit center), and Terry is eyeing new opportunities—starting with after-hours emergency call handling.

“We’re exploring how we can own that resident experience end-to-end,” he said. “If our team handles it, we can ensure faster resolution, more empathy, and even turn those moments into reputation wins.”

One idea? Incentivizing maintenance staff with bonuses for positive Google reviews after emergency calls—it’s a retention tool and brand-builder in one

“We don’t want our after-hours calls outsourced to someone who doesn’t care,” said Terry. “We want residents to feel the Redstone difference—even at 3 a.m.”

“We don’t want our after-hours calls outsourced to someone who doesn’t care,” said Terry. “We want residents to feel the Redstone difference—even at 3 a.m.”

—Jason Terry, Director of Resident Services. Redstone

20for20: What the data really says about centralization’s progress

Dom Beveridge, founder of multifamily research firm 20for20, didn’t come to the panel to speculate—he brought receipts. 

Beveridge spent the past several years conducting in-depth, anonymous interviews with senior executives across fee managers, owner-operators, and REITs. His goal? Map out the real pace of progress and understand where centralization is working—and where it’s stalled.

Admin vs. leasing: not all roles are centralizing equally

One of the clearest findings in Beveridge’s latest research is that property admin is being centralized far faster than leasing. While leasing often dominates the centralization conversation, it’s the quieter, back-office work associated with assistant property manager (APM) roles that’s actually being moved offsite.

“If you ask the question, which roles have you actually taken offsite, you see this increasing divergence between leasing and admin,” Beveridge explained.

Most respondents reported they had not taken leasing roles offsite. By contrast, more than half had already centralized property admin tasks at some or all of their communities. Why the difference? Beveridge noted that leasing is highly visible, resident-facing, and complex to fully extract—while admin work is more repetitive, easier to standardize, and frequently executed in the background.

The evolution of the front office: roles are shifting, not disappearing

Even as admin work migrates to centralized teams, Beveridge emphasized that most companies aren’t simply eliminating onsite roles—they’re redefining them. 

His data showed companies taking creative approaches: splitting the community manager role across properties, turning APMs into floating support staff, or developing entirely new roles like area business managers.

“There are now quite a lot of companies out there who’ve moved all of the APM work offsite,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean they’re taking the role offsite—it’s more like they’re thinking about what they want the people at the site to do.”

This evolution matters, especially for career progression. Beveridge noted that for many operators, removing the APM role poses a challenge to their internal pipeline: “If we take all of the assistant property managers away and now we’ve got a site where a community manager leaves, where do we find a new community manager?”

For third-party managers, structural limitations still slow progress

Beveridge’s analysis also shows that third-party managers face a very different set of challenges from REITs and owner-operators when it comes to centralization. His research revealed a powerful structural tension: while many third-party firms are eager to centralize, their hands are often tied by client-specific staffing models and chargeback agreements.

To measure true progress, Beveridge set a high bar, companies must have

1.  Created shared services that replace property-based tasks
2.  Implemented an alternative to the traditional chargeback model

Only a small group of companies—clustered in the top-right quadrant of his chart—have done both and made centralization a core part of their operating model.

“If you’re a third-party manager, to be centralized you have to have created some kind of shared services that is doing work for multiple clients that used to be done at property,” he said. “And you have to have changed the way you charge for it.”

“If you’re a third-party manager, to be centralized you have to have created some kind of shared services that is doing work for multiple clients that used to be done at property. And you have to have changed the way you charge for it.”

—Dom Beveridge, Founder + Principal, 20for20

Notably, even among the largest NMHC-ranked third-party managers, the level of adoption varies dramatically. Some firms are already running centralized teams across multiple clients; others haven’t touched the model at all. 

A changing industry demands a changing model

One of the broader shifts behind the centralization movement is the changing structure of the multifamily industry itself.

Beveridge showed a sharp contrast in unit trends: since 2013, the average size of the NMHC Top 50 managers has increased by 78%, while the average Top 50 owner has shrunk by 14%.

That means a growing share of U.S. apartments are now being run by large third-party managers serving smaller owners—a structural shift that requires new operating approaches.

“Compared to a decade ago, the average property in the United States is far likelier to be third-party managed—and third-party managed by a large third-party manager—than it used to be,” he said.

“Compared to a decade ago, the average property in the United States is far likelier to be third-party managed—and third-party managed by a large third-party manager—than it used to be.”

—Dom Beveridge, Founder + Principal, 20for20

In other words: the future of centralization has to work across portfolios, platforms, and clients.

The path forward: AI, contact centers, and the real opportunity

Beveridge closed his session with a look toward what’s next. In his view, AI has the potential to dramatically accelerate centralization—especially in functions like maintenance intake, resident conversations, and renewals. But implementation still matters.

“Anywhere in your operating model where AI or AI-driven automation is better than having humans do the same job—the machine should do it,” he said.

He pointed to maintenance as a particularly ripe opportunity. The combination of mobile apps, AI intake, and smart triage could reduce unnecessary tickets and improve speed-to-resolution. 

Similarly, he noted that third-party managers—many of whom are just beginning to stand up contact centers—are exploring AI as a way to staff more flexibly and serve renters better across the lifecycle.

And yet, Beveridge stressed that the transition won’t be seamless. Companies will need to engineer thoughtful handoffs between AI, humans, and centralized teams to truly unlock these benefits.

The bottom line: Different ownership models, different centralization strategies same destination

Whether managing one million units or navigating student seasonality, the operators on this panel agreed: centralization is the new operating model. It’s about simplifying processes, reducing friction, and empowering people.

Looking to go deeper on centralization? Explore more resources to support your journey.