You Sign Them Up, They Move Them In

Assisted Living Executive, November/December 2005

When Shirlee Williams of Peoria, Illinois, made the major life decision to move from her home of 11 years to a new continuing care retirement community eight miles away, she got a lot of help. A full-service moving assistance company found her a Realtor she liked, offered downsizing assistance, checked on her regularly, packed her belongings, and moved her in.

“I try to make my own decisions and not rely on my famii too much: says Williams. Using a relocation company “just took [away] a lot of worry for me.”

In Williams’ case, the relocation organizers were hired not by Williams or by her adult children, but by the retirement community she was moving into. In a step that goes well beyond making a simple referral, Lutheran Hillside Village (LHV) partnered with a professional relocation firm so that Williams-and scorn of other new residents-truly received ‘executive’ treatment.

While retirement communities benefit vicariously from community services that help new residents make a happier transition from their former home, retirement communities such as LHV that have formally aligned with a senior relocation provider are reporting direct advantages to the company’s bottom line, from making sales to improving entry fee revenues.

“Instead of trying to find a move-in coordinator, which is mostly a short-term need, this worked so much better,” says Rita Vicary (ritav@LSMpeoria.org), marketing director for LHV. From opening day on Oct. 7,2002, to the end of that same year, 97 units were occupied, according to Vicary. “I was told the industry standard was nine a week, and we moved nine a day” she says.

GRASSROOTS AND GROWING

The senior relocation assistance industry, up to now a cottage industry serving local markets, is starting to show signs of coming into its own. While most senior relocation companies are still small, localized operations,
often initiated by a care-giving adult child or a former senior housing professional with a passion to make such moves less traumatic, the industry is expanding. At least one relocator specializing in corporate and military clients, Chicago-based Moving-Station, now offers relocation services for seniors through its Moving Made Easy line.

“In our area, when we started providing the service, we were just about the only ones. Today, there are over 100,” says Genevieve Auguste, president of the Washington, D.C., area’s Art of Moving. As the industry grows, some businesses are offering more sophisticated services such as Realtor referrals, cross-country relocations-and partnerships with retirement communities.

“One of the things we hear all the time is ‘I didn’t know a company like yours existed; and yet we’re not movers and listed in the yellow pages under that. It’s very much a local, grassroots movement: says
Mary Jo Zeller, owner of Gem Solutions Inc. in Chicago and co-founder of the three year-old National Association of Senior Move Managers. “It’s kind of one of those light-bulb moment. There’s a definite need
for it.”

Retirement communities view relocation assistance as a value-added benefit that gives them a competitive edge as well as an efficient way to move in a number of new residents more quickly.

SMOOTHER SALES, AND SAILING

Partnering with a senior move manager can eliminate a key sales obstacle, according to several communities who have used such services. “Especially when you are just building, you have a couple years. You have to work hard to keep those sales” says Vicary. The counselors at MovingStation who worked in diict contact
with residents-to-be such as Williams, Vicary says,”saved a number of sales for us-people who were overwhelmed and were beginning to get cold feet.”

As for communities no longer in fill-up mode, the ongoing use of a relocation service can offer a marketing edge over competitors. very much is a sales feature,” says Ucary. “If we can say we make your move easy, it really helps it along.”

Handing over new residents to personal relocation consultants months before the move-in also Frees up a community’s sales staff.” They can spend more time working with new prospective residents,” says Rick Hunsicker (rhunsicker@greystonecommunities.com), corporate vice president of marketing for Greystone Communities of Irving,Texas, which also uses MovlngStation.” Think about it-why do national corporations use relocation companies when they move people? It’s because that’s not what they do well.”

While the relocation company can focus on helping residents overcome point-of-origin hurdlers such as the sale of a house or the distribution of possessions, the community’s move-in coordinator can facilitate what happens at the destination. “It is still good to have someone if the move-in coordinator role, even if it’s not full time, to make sure everything’s ready when the resident moves in,” says Hunsicker.

The use of a relocation service for a new community also can make of a mass move-in more efficient. The recent opening of a Greystone community in Phoenix offers a case in point. At the end of the first four months, about 90 of 125 units were occupied,or about 73 percent. “We had lots of presales and they all started to move in right away because most of the planning and organizing, as well as the sale of the
house was already taken care of,” says Hunsicker. “That has generated nearly an additional $1 million in unbudgeted revenue.”

CREATING A RIPPLE EFFECT

Research suggests that use of relocation services may greatly reduce transition trauma few older adults by moving them in more smoothly, thereby reducing anxiety and giving them the services they need sooner, according to Zeller.The bottom line is that the more people put this move off, the more it affects their health, and the shorter their retention can be,” she says.

It also can make for a better beginning fix a whole community, according to Deidre Shwartz (dschwartz@hyattclassic.com), manager of interior design and relocation services for Chicago-based Classic Residence by Hyatt, whkh supplements its own move-in services with Moving Made Easy. Schwartz cites a new community in Palo Alto, California, that has benefited from coordinates, early move-ins. “By the end of five months, we’re projecting it will be 80 percent occupied.” It’s wonderful. It makes for a more vibrant community, more activity, more resident participating” she says. Reviewing floor plans to organize a new apartment in advance is among the relocation services that is most appreciated by new residents at Classic Residence by Hyatt, says Schwartz. The more planning and organizing that residents do up front, the quicker they’re settled and out playing bridge or swimming in the pool.”

Of course, getting off to a great start in a community can ultimately lead to more word-of-mouth referrals, says Michael Apa (mapa@montplace.com), executive director of Montgomery Hyde Park in Chicago, which uses Gero Solutions services under its own moniker, the Stressless Move-In Program. “lt’s important economically that your current residents are happy,” he says.

FOOTING THE BILL

The payment structure for these emerging alliances tends to vary. Montgomery Place will mostly foot the moving bill for new residents who use its relocation services with in 30 days under a three-tier incentive plan
tied to a timeline. Other communities offer to pay the bulk of the bill for services only when doing special promotions to fill communities.

Meanwhile, senior housing communities using MovinStation’s program typically pay an upfront fee to cover the planning and organizing services offed through Moving Made Easy, with residents paying for the actual move.

It all comes down to the marketing budget of the community, and the extent to which the relocation team is actively involved with helping the community and not just the resident. “Do you want someone to manage the relocation plans or just someone to refer people to?” poses Rob Adams, president of MovingStation. “We’re going to help communities sell and retain and fill fast.”