by Evan Reyne, Virginia Love
By now, most apartment communities know the basic framework for managing online reviews.
Monitor all the relevant platforms. Respond to reviews in a timely fashion—within 24 hours, if possible. Use the feedback to improve the resident experience. For instance, if several reviews complain about the tour path, maybe it’s time to change things up.
While many properties have their reputation management processes firmly in place, new mandates from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have added a wrinkle. These new rules, which went into effect in October, feature an overarching theme of authenticity and transparency.
The key component of the FTC’s new approach is that properties can receive hefty fines for stocking their review pages with fabricated or incentivized feedback.
According to the FTC guidelines, “online reviews must be genuine, from real customers with actual experiences.” Additionally, “businesses are prohibited from creating, purchasing, or disseminating fake reviews, including those generated by artificial intelligence (AI), or incentivizing reviews with a specific sentiment (positive or negative).”
Read Evan Reyne’s and Virginia Love’s article in the Multifamily Executive.