Hello, budget season! If this is one of the most stressful times of the year for you and the stakeholders at your company, it’s probably a sign that now is the perfect time to level up your plan for the upcoming year and introduce a true value-add at your properties.
Bulk internet offers a powerful and unique ancillary revenue opportunity for property owners to increase the value of their properties, while improving the resident experience. In fact, more and more property owners are turning to bulk internet programs, providing renters with faster internet speeds at a reduced cost, while simultaneously increasing the net operating income (NOI) of each rented unit.
The benefits speak for themselves: A bulk internet program is six times more profitable than retail-based marketing agreements and will unlock a new ancillary revenue stream that will make your profit and loss statement shine! Budget season is a particularly great time to assess your portfolio’s bulk internet eligibility and forecast this revenue opportunity and increased NOI performance, averaging $25 per occupied unit per month.
A bulk internet model is also beneficial for residents, offering up to 50 percent off retail internet prices, sometimes more. “By choosing to roll out a bulk program for high speed internet, we get a bulk price. We are able to deliver that product at a reduced price to the residents,” says Kim Crouch, Director of Asset Management at Great Lakes Capital. “The residents enjoy it at a lower price than they’d find on their own.”
As you prepare for budget season, have you added internet to your 2025 ancillary revenue plan? Here’s why you should consider doing so – and how Onboard can help.
Why Consider a Bulk Internet Program for 2025
High-speed internet may have once been seen as a luxury, but now it’s a requirement. According to the 2024 NMHC and Grace Hill Renter Preferences Survey, nearly 90 percent of renters listed high speed internet as important, with a large portion saying that they wouldn’t rent a unit without it. High-speed internet is one of the top three features renters look for, alongside air conditioning and an in-unit washer and dryer.
While not every amenity adds immediate value to a property, a bulk internet program is one of the few true “value-add” amenities, with deployment costs often coming in far lower than initial costs for popular amenities like a new pool or upscale gym. According to Crouch, “On a typical 300-unit property, depending on the market and what internet costs in each market, my experience has been that rolling out bulk internet can improve the value of a unit property anywhere from 1.5 million to 2.5 million in value.”
Not only is having high-speed internet essential to most renters, but poor internet service can be a deal-breaker for many of them. Deploying a bulk internet service model at your property can create a strong, community-wide network infrastructure that can improve overall internet speeds and reliability. Additionally, planning for such tech implementations is a great way to build ancillary revenue streams and increase renter satisfaction in one move.
How Onboard Can Help
Securing a bulk internet agreement – and then launching and managing a bulk internet program – can be a complex, time-consuming process that drains internal resources. There are dozens of factors to consider before implementing bulk internet at a rental community. You’ll need to consider the age of the building and the available built-in infrastructure, and you’ll have to consider the appropriate ISP that can service the needs of your residents. Plus, you’ll want to understand the services that would appeal to your property’s demographic. The average person uses the internet for nearly seven hours each day, even more if they work from home. People connect laptops, phones, tablets, TVs, and more to their network. An older demographic may not require the same speed or coverage as a younger one.
These and other factors make it difficult for property owners to navigate the often complicated process of bulk internet. This is where Onboard can help. Onboard can review your portfolio and assess your eligibility for bulk internet deals on a property-by-property basis. Onboard will do all the heavy lifting when it comes to researching and evaluating options, requirements, and costs. We’ve worked with dozens of real estate firms, securing the best agreements for them and their residents.
Here’s what some of our clients have to say about working with Onboard:
“When we partner with Onboard, Onboard is a crucial piece of the planning process from the start. Onboard has key people who are knowledgeable in the space with how to plan to have a good experience at the building for all of the tech needs that we have. Onboard will help plan so that residents have the good experience and again so the staff isn’t having to manage any problems that go along with internet or smart amenities” — Kim Crouch, director of asset management at Great Lakes Capital
“Onboard’s expertise in negotiating telecom contracts, and their close integrations with the nation’s leading service providers, not only streamlined the negotiation process but also relieved the firm’s team from the complexities of telecommunications contract management.” — COO of a prominent real estate firm that works with Onboard
As you’re working on your budgets for 2025, don’t forget to include the opportunity for ancillary revenue from bulk internet programs and the increase in valuation that comes with them. If you’d like help establishing a program that works for you, your community, and your residents, we’re here to help.
Reach out to us today to take advantage of a comprehensive tech assessment and detailed portfolio analysis that identifies bulk internet opportunities for your properties.