Demand for rental accommodation remains at unprecedented levels. The latest ARLA Propertymark lettings report showed that demand in April was at the highest ever level for that month, with 82 new prospective tenants registered per branch.

Having so many tenants on hand is both a blessing and a curse for letting agents. Kevin Hall of Martin & Co. in Ashford, Kent, is responsible for 1,000 properties and has 600 under the agency's management. Demand has increased to the point where it's not unusual for him to have 120 prospective tenants per property. He explains:

“It sounds lovely, having 120 people apply for each property, but actually having to deal with that number of people and provide a good service is a real challenge. We've used Made Snappy's in-house 360 tours to make the process more efficient. They've had a really, really positive impact on the business. I provide good service with just one negotiator for 600 managed properties, as well as lots of lets-only business. We will not be going back.”

Hall is using 360 tour technology company Made Snappy, which puts the tour process into agents' hands, enabling them to create virtual tours quickly and easily without the hassle and expense of outsourcing the process. He has found that the in-house tour creation has enabled him to lower his costs, while his staff can use their time more efficiently.

Made Snappy costs just £49 per month per branch, while outsourced solutions generally cost at least £100 per tour, if not double that. Not only does it cost significantly less but Made Snappy's in-house solution delivers a host of features that outsourced providers do not, such as forever tours, view counters, user and branch management, lead capture, sub tours and more.

Making 360 tours accessible and cost-effective was at the heart of CEO Mark McCorrie's decision to set up Made Snappy in the first place – along with saving time and effort for estate agents. McCorrie was working as an agent himself when he conceived the notion of giving other agents the power to create virtual tours themselves, rather than outsourcing. Now, estate and letting agents across the UK are benefitting from using the Made Snappy software to do just that. 

“Outsourcing can provide high-quality 360 tours that agents can show prospective buyers or renters. However, the outsourcing process is costly and can result in longer lead times compared to agents creating the tours themselves. Made Snappy's approach is to provide that same high-quality solution while allowing agents to create the tours in-house with minimal effort. Making a 360 tour adds usually no more than 20 minutes onto their routine visit to a property prior to listing it.”

Mark McCorrie, CEO and Founder, Made Snappy

McCorrie found that using 360 tours saved him from conducting around 40% of the viewings that he otherwise would have done – viewings that added up to a significant waste of time and expense. By offering the same virtual tour creation solution to other agents, rather than leaving them with only outsourced options, Made Snappy is delivering costs savings while giving agents greater control, a faster production process and enhanced customer service.

“The one thing that insourcing or not outsourcing provides is control. If I want to get a 360 tour done, I can grab the keys at be at the property in 10 minutes, ready to create the tour. I can have that tour available to someone within the hour. If I outsource it, the process is slower and I have far less control over the quality.”

Kevin Hall, Director, Martin & Co.

The Made Snappy solution that has proven ideal for Bristol Property Partnership, a lettings agency that manages over 600 units – mostly Houses in Multiple Occupation – in Bristol. Co-founder Ashley Rigg moved from using Matterport to Made Snappy, citing the better value that the latter delivered as the main reason for the change.

“The Matterport model is all about getting service providers to provide the 360 tours for you. Not only that, but they were charging me to host every single tour. With so much stock available, that just wasn't sustainable. Using Made Snappy means I can archive 360 tours easily and I just pay for the live ones. I reduced my costs from around £600 per month to just under £50.”

Ashley Rigg, Co-founder, Bristol Property Partnership

For more information, please call 01752 545 828, email contact@madesnappy.co.uk or visit https://www.madesnappy.co.uk/