Ten Questions With Barret Newberry, Founder & CEO of Leasera

End-to-end is all the rage in the world of U.S. PropTech companies these days. Companies are increasingly adding services and marketing themselves to all sides of the real estate value chain in an effort to cover all bases.

One such company that came to our attention recently for adding services for property managers, renters and property service providers is Leasera, a company that claims to be "the only fully unified rental ecosystem in the world".

We spoke to founder and CEO, Barret Newberry to tell us more and get to the bottom of that claim...

Could you tell us what Leasera does?

Leasera is a rental software network, unifying access to the tools and other users necessary to thrive in today’s rental market. We’ve aligned our business model to serve the needs of property managers, service groups and consumers simultaneously.

Barret Newberry, founder & CEO of Leasera

At the center of it all is a property management platform that allows property managers and owners to focus on managing the property while empowering the consumer experience for multifamily, single-family and short-term hospitality alike. We further support this effort by combining our on-demand service provider marketplace and a loyalty program, helping everyone serve and support each other with appreciation.

Leasera is marketed at Renters, Property Managers and Service Providers. Does the company generate revenue from all three groups and, if so, how?

If we’d started 10 years ago, we might have been like everyone else; charging a per-unit SaaS fee. Our team has industry know-how and unique experiences, allowing us to think differently.

We’re unique in that we’re a fin-tech marketplace that removes upfront barriers and helps encourage transactions by our users. That is where we make our revenue and that alignment supports our user-base for growth and scale. We’ve enabled a virtuous flywheel between our property managers, services providers and consumer-renters.

What is Leasera’s biggest challenge?

Our biggest challenge is and will always be making sure that we have a well-curated set of services and features that supports demands well beyond paying rent or completing maintenance issues. The more we can support the unique needs of our property managers, owners, service providers and consumers, the more revenue opportunities we have to further build out that incredible flywheel.

What makes Leasera different from others?

Leasera is entirely different. We’ve built a network of services across Leasera Leasing (our management platform), Leasera Loyalty (our on-demand services and loyalty program) and Leasera Listings (our search tool for hotel to home and services that support stays from days to decades).

This empowers property managers with a deep toolbelt of services to engage consumers, appreciate community and create loyalty.

We limit barriers for service professionals because we’re better with them in our network. Consumers also no longer rely on 10 different apps to book a dog walker, order food, schedule a cleaner, book hotels and will be rewarded with a unified loyalty program for all of it. Lastly, Leasera doesn’t seek out a per door fee from management companies because management companies are fee-based. 

How has Covid-19 changed the landscape for Leasera?

The awareness the pandemic brought to touchless entry, online payments, on-demand services, multichannel communication, consumer support and a necessity to compete for a consumer’s business increased 10-fold. Now, every property manager is seeking greater depth of services, ways to engage consumers more digitally and trying to find solutions to dynamics that legacy systems were not built for. 

What is one thing our readers might not know about but would probably find interesting about rental management in the United States?

Renters are slowly finding their way to the center of every major decision across the rental market from how properties are built to the systems that help us operate within and engage this dynamic cross-section of our population.

Also, The majority of property managers we know would do nearly anything for their renters.

Which other PropTech companies and portals do you look out for in the news?

Honestly, we follow along with a great number of incumbents because we appreciate being close studies of our industry. RealPage for their consumer narrative. Appfolio for their philosophical views on platform and target market. Entrata for their customer success and marketing capabilities.

Mainly, we focus on understanding how to be better partners to those we’ve integrated with across data, communications, payments and hospitality.

What is Leasera currently working on?

1. Our own community sponsored affordable housing program.
2. On helping onboard both local services as well as major franchise relationships across the country that tap into our network of property management and direct to consumer clients. It’s a powerful opportunity that we’re really excited about.

What is the most common request from clients?

How do we best utilize the marketplace tool during the leasing process? Answer: we typically suggest looking at our analysis of the applicant. You can then choose the incentives you might want to offer to that resident. This is a major, personalized transition away from traditional, more costly concessions.

How do you see the market evolving and what will you be doing to be ahead of the curve?

The market is becoming more complex so property management should almost be recoined, rental management as responsibilities have blossomed well beyond the property itself. Operations and lease durations will look far more open, accessible, and more tailored to lifestyles and needs of the consumer.

By building the Leasera network, we’ve aligned the right incentives, lowered key barriers between users and have created a virtuous ecosystem flexible enough to deliver on new demands.