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Key Takeaways
What is Rently: A real estate technology company pioneering self-guided touring solutions and smart home devices for property managers and renters.
Key benefit of Rently: Cost-effective self-touring technology with smart locks that accelerate leasing velocity and expand showing hours.
Primary consideration of Rently: Limited as a standalone solution and lacks comprehensive property management features like work orders, inventory management and vehicular gate access.
Notable alternatives to Rently: SmartRent offers a more integrated approach; ButterflyMX focuses on access control; Brivo specializes in security solutions.
Introduction
Property management is evolving rapidly, and smart technology has become essential for staying competitive in today's rental market. Whether you're managing a single-family portfolio or overseeing large multifamily communities, finding the right technology partner can make or break your operational efficiency and resident satisfaction.
If you're evaluating Rently as your smart property management solution or considering a switch from your current system, you're likely weighing factors like cost-effectiveness, feature comprehensiveness and scalability. This review examines Rently's offerings, strengths and considerations to help you make an informed decision that aligns with your property management goals and resident expectations.
About Rently: An overview
Rently is a real estate technology company that pioneered self-guided touring technology, fundamentally changing how prospective renters view properties. The platform allows potential residents to independently tour properties using smart locks and secure ID verification, eliminating the need for constant staff supervision while maintaining security and accountability.
The company caters to a diverse range of property types and managers, from individual landlords with single-family homes to large operators managing multifamily communities, build-to-rent developments and student housing. This broad appeal reflects the growing importance of rental housing in today's market—a trend that continues to shape real estate technology innovation as smart technology transforms the rental landscape.
Established in 2011 in Camarillo, California, Rently began its journey focused on self-guided tours of single-family homes. The company has since expanded into the multifamily housing space. More recently, Rently has broadened its offerings to include comprehensive smart home solutions, positioning itself as a more complete property technology provider.
With a Trustpilot rating of 3.8 out of 5, Rently has built a solid reputation in the property technology space.
Rently's core offerings
Rently offers multiple tools that fall into four main categories: Self-guided tours, smart home devices, access control and automated leasing. Together, they make a strong technology package that covers many property management needs.
Self-guided touring
Rently's flagship feature enables prospective renters to independently tour properties using smart lockboxes and secure ID verification systems.
Includes dynamic on-site navigation and wayfinding
Automates the entire touring process from scheduling to access control
Maintains secure ID verification to ensure only qualified prospects access properties
Offers agent-led tour automation for properties preferring staff-supervised showings
Smart home devices
The platform offers an expanding range of Internet of Things (IoT) devices designed to enhance both resident experience and property management efficiency.
Smart locks provide seamless keyless access control for residents and staff
Programmable thermostats enable energy management and cost savings across properties
Security cameras offer comprehensive property monitoring and protection capabilities
Integration capabilities allow devices to work together as a cohesive smart home ecosystem
Access control systems
Rently provides comprehensive access control solutions that extend beyond individual units to include community-wide access management.
Smart community access controls secure common areas and amenities
Video intercoms enhance security while providing convenient visitor management
Centralized access management allows property managers to control permissions from one platform
Security cameras integrate with access systems to provide complete monitoring coverage
Automated leasing platform
The platform integrates leasing processes from initial touring through move-in, creating a seamless experience for both prospects and property managers.
Streamlines the entire leasing workflow from first contact to lease signing
Automates follow-up communications and prospect nurturing processes
Reduces manual administrative tasks for leasing teams
Provides consistent tracking and reporting on leasing pipeline activities
Security features
Recognizing the challenges of rental fraud, Rently provides specialized tools to combat scams and protect property managers.
Lead verification services help identify legitimate prospects early in the process
Fake listing monitoring actively scans rental platforms for unauthorized property listings
Fraud prevention tools protect against rental scams and unauthorized occupancy
Comprehensive security reporting helps property managers track and address potential threats
Recent & notable Rently features
Rently Care Center: A self-serve portal with access to invoice and order history, case management for support and a knowledge base.
RentlyGO: An e-commerce store for 24/7 online ordering, real-time tracking, re-ordering and viewing hardware invoices.
Access Panel with Intercom: A secure entry system for communities, amenities and elevators, featuring a built-in visitor intercom.
Verified Renter: A newer lead verification tool that screens prospects early to reduce risk and deliver higher-quality rental leads.
Fake Listing Monitor: Scans rental platforms for unauthorized or fake listings and removes them to prevent fraud and squatting.
Key benefits for property managers
Rently's solutions are specifically designed to maximize resident rates, operational efficiency and overall profitability across various property types, including multifamily communities, build-to-rent developments, student housing and single-family rentals.
Benefits of Rently's smart home solutions
The smart home ecosystem balances convenience and security for residents while delivering cost savings, asset protection, enhanced control and improved efficiency for property managers.
Manage energy usage: Smart thermostats and monitoring systems help optimize energy consumption across properties, reducing utility costs and supporting sustainability initiatives while maintaining resident comfort.
Prevent damage: Proactive monitoring capabilities help identify potential issues before they become costly problems, from water leaks to unauthorized access.
Monitor activity: Comprehensive activity tracking provides insights into property usage patterns, security events and maintenance needs, enabling data-driven management decisions.
Control access: Sophisticated access control systems ensure only authorized individuals can enter properties and amenities, enhancing security while providing convenient keyless entry for residents.
Benefits of Rently's self-guided tours
Self-guided touring capabilities allow prospective renters to view communities on their own schedule, freeing up your leasing staff to focus on other critical priorities and relationship-building activities.
Accelerate leasing velocity: By removing scheduling constraints and enabling immediate property viewing, self-guided tours can significantly reduce the time from initial interest to lease signing.
Expand showing hours: Communities become available for viewing beyond traditional business hours, accommodating prospects with varying schedules and increasing overall showing volume.
Sign more leases: The convenience and flexibility of self-guided tours often lead to higher conversion rates, as prospects can tour multiple times and bring family or roommates without coordinating with staff schedules.
Understanding the impact of self-guided tours on leasing decisions can help property managers optimize their implementation strategy and maximize results.
Want to learn more about the impact of self-guided tours on leasing decisions?
Strengths & Considerations
Strengths of Rently
Pioneer of self-guided tours: Rently established itself as an industry leader in self-touring technology with well-rated smart lockboxes and comprehensive self-guided features that have been refined through years of market experience and customer feedback.
Cost-effective solutions: For single-family communities, Rently's pricing options provide an accessible entry point into smart property technology without requiring significant upfront investment.
White-label capabilities: The platform offers customizable options that allow property management companies to maintain their brand identity while leveraging Rently's technology infrastructure.
Considerations
Limited gate access: The platform doesn't currently offer long-range readers for vehicular gate access, which can be a significant limitation for communities that rely on automated vehicle entry systems.
Competitor discovery feature: Rently operates its own internet listing site (ILS) that helps renters find nearby rental properties from various providers. While this benefits renters, it may not be ideal for property managers who prefer to avoid directing prospects to competing properties.
Incomplete property management solution: While Rently excels in smart devices and leasing technology, it isn't a comprehensive property management system. The platform doesn't offer solutions for work order management, inventory tracking or property inspections, so you’ll need additional software integrations.
Pricing
Rently's pricing structure varies significantly depending on property type and desired features. While the company prominently displays pricing for single-family properties, information about multifamily and commercial pricing is less transparent and typically requires a direct consultation.
For single-family rentals, the platform offers tiered packages with different minimum requirements: Core and Plus packages require a minimum of 4 units, while Enterprise solutions are designed for properties with 100 units or more. This structure makes Rently accessible to smaller operators while providing scalability for larger portfolios.
Alternatives to Rently
ButterflyMX vs. Rently
Overview: ButterflyMX is a modern access control company serving both residential and industrial real estate industries. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in New York City, the company has built a decent reputation with a Trustpilot rating of 3.5 out of 5.
Similarities & differences:
Both offer self-guided tours and security cameras, but ButterflyMX focuses primarily on access control.
Neither is a complete PMS, but Rently covers more bases.
Rently recently added proprietary intercom features, while ButterflyMX built its business around video intercoms.
Brivo vs. Rently
Overview: Established in 1999 and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Brivo is primarily a security company serving both residential and commercial buildings. The company has not yet established a significant presence on Trustpilot for rating purposes.
Similarities & differences:
Brivo focuses on security and access control, but has fewer solutions than Rently.
Brivo offers more robust visitor management, but no self-guided tour product.
Brivo doesn't focus on single-family properties, making Rently better for those communities.
Latch vs. Rently
Overview: Founded in 2014 and headquartered in New York City, Latch is currently undergoing an extensive rebranding process (begun in 2023) to Door.com. The company primarily focuses on door locks and camera systems for residential properties.
Similarities & differences:
Rently focuses on software solutions while Latch concentrates on hardware.
Latch focuses on access control and smart locks, while Rently offers additional solutions.
Both focus on residential communities.
SmartRent vs. Rently
Overview: SmartRent provides a fully integrated suite of operational tools that extend far beyond basic maintenance and leasing functions. With over 3.1 million connected devices and more than 600 clients, SmartRent supports some of the biggest names in multifamily housing, demonstrating proven scalability and reliability at enterprise levels.
Key advantages:
SmartRent pairs excellent software capabilities with high-quality hardware components, unlike Rently's primarily software focus.
SmartRent offers comprehensive solutions, including self-guided tours, smart apartment hardware, access control, parking management, community WiFi, maintenance and resident engagement tools.
SmartRent covers an extensive range of community management needs in one integrated platform.
SmartRent provides more comprehensive integrations than most competitors in the space.
SmartRent vs. Rently Comparison
Rently | SmartRent | |
|---|---|---|
Suitability | Single-family & multifamily (broad range, from small landlords to large operators) | Multifamily, student housing, single-family rentals (enterprise scale) |
Self-guided tours | Industry pioneer in self-touring tech | Available via smart access systems |
Leasing integration | Tour to lease conversion tools with lead tracking and integration | Integration with major property management systems like Yardi and RealPage |
Energy management | Basic thermostat control; not as robust as SmartRent's energy solutions | Monitoring and optimization tools for energy usage |
Analytics & reporting | Moderate reporting tools for leasing and smart device performance | Advanced, enterprise-level operational and maintenance analytics |
Installation & support | Self-install kits available; also offers training and support | Professional installation, training and 24/7 support |
Initial costs | Rently’s lockbox solution is a cost-effective option | While more expensive up front, SmartRent is comparable in cost over a 1-2 year span |
Custom-branded IoT and self-guided tour experience | Rently offers white-labeled app versions that clients can customize with their brand | SmartRent's self-guided tour system allows header color changes and site logos, with more extensive white labeling options in development |
Maximize your property's efficiency with SmartRent
Rently offers cost-effective entry into smart property technology with strong self-guided tour capabilities and some smart home and access control options. But if you’re looking for a more robust solution for an enterprise-level portfolio, SmartRent provides a more comprehensive, integrated platform with extensive hardware and software integration.
Ready to take your property management to the next level? SmartRent's comprehensive leasing solutions combine cutting-edge technology with proven results to help you streamline operations, enhance resident satisfaction and maximize your property's potential. From self-guided tours to integrated smart home systems, discover how SmartRent can transform your leasing process and operational efficiency.