The Guest Card (A Rent Roll Podcast)

Tyler Christiansen, CEO of Funnel, joins The Guest Card (a Rent Roll podcast) with Jay Parsons to break down where AI is actually delivering value in multifamily—and where the hype is getting ahead of reality. Christiansen explains Funnel’s focus as a multifamily-only, front-office AI and CRM platform built around the renter experience, currently supporting roughly 1.5 million units. He challenges the long-standing narrative that the industry is years behind on technology, arguing that consumer-facing tools are now only months behind the broader market. The conversation gets practical on how AI is already being used: handling previously missed conversations, automating outbound resident communications, and driving full workflows such as mid-lease changes (adding a pet, transferring units, or adding a roommate) through to countersigned documents. On the renter side, he shares data showing strong differences by task: roughly 90% of renters prefer self-service for applications, while about 75% still choose an agent-guided tour—and those agent-guided tours convert both higher and faster. The discussion closes with Funnel’s recent partnership with RealPage and why operator demand for interoperability is pushing major platforms to work together rather than force exclusive choices. A grounded look at AI in multifamily leasing, focused on workflows, human + AI design, and what actually moves the needle for operators. All covered in fast-paced, 10-minute conversation on this episode of The Guest Card.

In this episode of The Guest Card, Portico founder and CEO Darren Williams shares how he accidentally entered multifamily with an MBA and hospitality background, then built a purposeful 23,000-unit (soon 25,000) portfolio across Texas, Nashville, and Phoenix. He explains the evolution of Portico’s “strike zone”—now including more affordable/tax-incentive deals while still avoiding student, senior, and tough C-class assets—and why the firm said no to roughly 50% of opportunities last year without missing targets. Williams also digs into the winner’s dilemma of scaling while protecting culture and quality, the non-negotiable importance of frictionless customer service for people who actually live with you, and how today’s more demanding renters (shaped by Amazon, DoorDash, and seamless apps) are raising the bar that multifamily tech still struggles to clear, but that is the bar today's renters expect property managers to meet. A practical, candid conversation on disciplined growth, feedback-driven culture, and competing with the best experiences outside the industry. Hear it all in this 10-minute interview hosted by rental housing economist Jay Parsons.

Jay Friedrick, president of STYL property management and managing director at Magnolia Capital, joins The Guest Card for a 10-minute conversation with Jay Parsons to talk through where multifamily stands in late 2026, where STYL is seeing emerging strength and what might be the keys for success in 2027. Friedeck shares his path from a pre-GFC condo developer to the Zell organization, early LivCor, and then Magnolia—joining when the firm had five deals and helping build a fully integrated operator that now manages 54 assets and about 15,000 units across Atlanta, Dallas, the Bay Area and Chicago, among other markets. On the market, Friedeck calls 2026 a real inflection point in direction, not yet in strength. The bleeding has stopped, trade-outs have turned, and the supply overhang is clearing, but true pricing power is still missing. Demand and absorption have surprised to the upside and vacancy is down, yet occupancy has sat in a flat 92–93% band and 50–60% of new leases still carry a concession. He breaks down Q3 blended trade-outs — with Dallas and the Bay Area leading, including a sharp Oakland rebound in his portfolio. Friedeck shares early 2027 budget thinking, headlined by rent growth around 2%. The conversation closes on the two priorities his team is leaning into: concession discipline to close the gross-to-effective gap, and using AI to drive procurement savings.

Lisa Taylor is on the clock! Greystar's head of property management for build-to-rent joins The Guest Card for a 10-minute conversation hosted by rental housing economist Jay Parsons. A second-generation industry professional who moved to a full-time BTR focus in 2023, Lisa oversees nearly 48,000 homes across 23 states, spanning single-family detached, townhome, and cottage-style rental units. Lisa and Jay talk about how the BTR differs from traditional multifamily—from leasing and marketing to resident expectations and operations. Lisa explains why BTR attracts the same renter with different priorities, how product type shapes staffing, lease-up costs, and community engagement, and how Greystar runs the business through shared talent and local teams rather than a separate silo. Lisa also shares resident profiles by product type and her 2027 outlook: a normalizing pipeline and moderate rent growth, with room for stronger gains if new supply is slower to arrive.

Like many of us, Heather Riggs did not plan a career in multifamily. She happened to see a “now hiring” sign outside a leasing office 25 years ago, and that job as a leasing agent led her to the role that she holds today leading operations for a national apartment operator, Continental Properties. Today, she continues to lead while fighting cancer — and finds ways to encourage others amidst her health battles. She is not “back to normal,” she admits, but she hasn't let it stop her from doing the job she loves -- traveling the country to walk her apartment communities and spend time with her teams in person. In this conversation, she talks about why she made her diagnosis public, how she keeps the hard days from becoming the whole story, and why strong leadership is measured by what happens when she is not in the room. She also gets into the work she still loves: taking care of residents without saying yes to everything and building leaders instead of making herself indispensable. Heather also shares about how Continental is thinking about 2027 — a real but uneven recovery, disciplined new development, and why the Midwest remains a core bet — all within this fast-paced 10-minute conversation hosted by rental housing economist Jay Parsons.