Madalyn Garelick Career Background
What is your biggest career achievement?
- My biggest career achievement thus far has been joining Greystar as a Marketing Associate and getting promoted to Marketing Manager in eight fast and furious months.
I began my career in the multi-family industry about three years ago, however my familiarity with rental housing began long before that as I have relatives in the industry. Hearing them talk about their jobs at family gatherings and the fast-paced environment they worked in intrigued me, so when I saw a Marketing position open at a property management firm in Austin, I took a leap and applied. My foot was in the door and I haven’t looked back since then, instead I have always looked forward. Forward for me was one day joining the marketing team at Greystar.
I always admired Greystar as I viewed them as trailblazers in the multi-family industry. They were always innovating and setting the bar higher each year for performance. I knew I wanted to be a part of this. So again, when I saw a position for a Marketing Associate open in Greystar’s Austin office, I took a leap and applied. Just one year after entering the multi-family industry, I had made it to my dream employer and was onboarded in the midst of a global pandemic.
One thing to know about me though is that I am not only passionate about meeting goals both personally and professionally, but I am also equally as passionate about exceeding them. Just nine months after joining Greystar as a Marketing Associate, I leap frogged and was promoted to Marketing Manager.
I now oversee the marketing strategy for a diverse portfolio of approximately 12,000 units in the Central-West Region. My portfolio ranges from Class B stabilized garden deals to Class A+ lease-up high rises and everything in between. To some this may seem overwhelming, but the intense load and diverse portfolio is why I love my job. Each day I get to craft unique strategies that fit the specific goals for every type of property that I oversee marketing for. Not only am I crafting unique strategies for my properties though, but I am invested in finding ways to promote our LiveGreystarATX brand.
The LiveGreystarATX brand is our shared advertising effort to promote and connect our communities to the local Austin community. This has been done through securing sponsorships with Austin City Limits Music Festival, collaborating with local vendors such as an eco-friendly ride share program called Earth Rides, as well as running ads in local publications. Just recently I lead the charge in securing a SXSW sponsorship in collaboration with two other local businesses, as well as CORT.
and getting promoted to Marketing Manager my biggest career achievement because of the reputation they have in the multi-family industry and the growth I have experienced since onboarding, but it was also my biggest career achievement because of the insanely talented and inspirational people that I work with. They push me to be better everyday both personally and professionally.
What is your ultimate career goal within the rental housing industry?
- I don’t know how I could possibly choose just one goal I have in the industry, as it truly is an industry that can take you in so many different directions. However, if I had to choose one, it would be to continue to grow as a leader. While yes, I would like to become a Director of Marketing and perhaps narrow my focus to just Greystar’s owned assets one day, I want my leadership skills to grow and stretch far beyond that.
When colleagues in the industry look at Madalyn Garelick one day, I want them to think, ‘Wow, she is a fearless leader.’ I want to go above and beyond for both my on-site team members that I support along with my Regional Operators. I want clients to choose Greystar as their management company because of the trust I have built with the client and the quality of work I produce for each community.
When I think about how I am going to accomplish that, I think of not being afraid to pilot new products and strategies knowing that we may have to pivot at any moment (Winter Storm Uri and COVID-19 have taught me that), I think of listening to the needs of everyone I support and keeping that at the forefront when I am making decisions, additionally I think of continuing to serve on Greystar’s Marketing Performance Committee to enhance our reporting platforms, as well as the Austin Apartment Association’s Branding and Marketing Committee. Most importantly I think of going above and beyond to make our whole team successful.
We are not individuals working toward one goal, rather we are a collective team pursuing a shared goal of continuing to elevate Greystar and the rental housing industry.
What's one rental housing trend you have your eye on?
- Ai Chatbots/Virtual Leasing Assistants and Self-Guided Touring solutions are two trends that have been a focus of ours for the last two years. The COVID-19 pandemic marked a hard shift to all things digital as we had to find ways to allow our teams to still be successful with their leasing goals in a ‘locked down’ environment. However, what we have found is that even as the world returns to its new norm, there has been a shift in lifestyle with our renters which has thus affected their expectations. Renters are spending more time at home, more time traveling, and more time pursuing their own personal passions. In return, this has caused them to not only appreciate but expect on-demand technology when they are shopping, ordering food, and now leasing an apartment.
As early adopters of Ai Technology and Self-Guided Touring solutions, we have been able to meet that expectation of our renters. Apartments can now be toured and leased at practically any time of the day. Since implementing this technology at our communities, we have seen increases in time spent on property websites, property website conversion rates, as well as tours taking place after hours. This solution has also assisted us in combatting ‘The Great Resignation.’ While most of our communities are operating short staffed, Ai Technology and Self-Guided Tours have allowed some of the burden to be taken off of the team members so they can continue to complete the other tasks required of them.
These two technologies also allowed us to continue operating successfully when Winter Storm Uri wreaked havoc in our city in 2021. Even though our teams were not physically on-site during this week due to roads being closed, loss of power, etc. several of our communities still experienced high-volume leasing weeks.
While we are still analyzing all the data, I believe we will also witness an increase in customer satisfaction due to faster response rates (thanks to Ai Chatbots and Virtual Leasing Assistants) and flexible touring hours. This is only the beginning for what Ai Technology can enhance at our properties.