Background
Fresh Student Living is one of the Uk’s largest student accommodation providers, operating approximately 14,000 student bedrooms across 25 UK locations.
Requirement
Upon being notified that their existing Accommodation Management software provision was no longer being supported, Fresh Student Living went out to market to replace their existing technology.
Fresh required highly functional software that is rich in features; and due to the nature of their business, the ability to add new properties within a short timeframe was imperative.
Fresh also required their new Accommodation and Booking System to enable a complete online self service from booking through to move-in. Their new system needed to enable prospective and existing student clients to enquire, book and pay for their accommodation, without the need of any human intervention from the Fresh Student Living Team, until the day they moved in to their accommodation. This included allocation, contract signatories, guarantors and payments, along with the ability to adapt, develop and update the system in line with future needs.
“Selecting a new operational software package is not only about ensuring you are buying the operational functionality your team needs, but also ensuring it delivers at the front end – the all important student experience”, says Jane Crouch, Operations Director. “We were aware that our requirements may have been bespoke to our business and we wanted to ensure the product we selected could manage our operations now, and for the foreseeable future, and grow quickly with our business”.
The Solution
After a rigorous procurement process, TCAS Online from TCAS Online Ltd was selected because it could deliver the market leading functionality and the flexibility to add additional modular features as and when they are required.
TCAS Online was also able to integrate with Fresh’s financial software, and as the product is Cloud Based, the mobility and flexibility it offered provided a perfect fit for Fresh’s changing and diverse portfolio of properties.
In addition, the TCAS Online functionality afforded Fresh continuous improvement of features offered, and the willingness to develop the software was a deciding factor.
“Throughout the procurement process, selecting TCAS Online started to become a clear choice for us”, say Jane. “Their flexible approach, their modern product and their reputation, both in the UK and Ireland were all factors in our final decision. Their pricing also helped the evaluation”.
Outcome
Fresh Student Living now boast one of the most technologically advanced Student Accommodation Management and Booking systems on the market today.
Any existing or prospective student can enquire, book and move in to their accommodation using the TCAS Online accommodation management and booking system via the Fresh Student Living website.
The fully integrated Resident’s Portal provides all residents a unique interface with TCAS Online delivering a suite of functional tools such as booking an arrival time, maintenance reporting, e-induction, surveys, purchasing additional products and services and integration with social media.
Fresh Student Living went live with TCAS Online at the beginning of June 2012, and the positive effects were immediate.
“The Managers within my Operations Team have commented how TCAS Online has helped drive efficiencies in their day-to-day management of each site. Generating reports is now exceptionally quick, and we can communicate with our residents within a few clicks. In our first 10 days of going live, over 70% of existing residents (re-bookers) and new bookings had signed their tenancy agreements – this is a Fresh record! Only time will tell how quickly we see our ROI – I expect within the first 12-18 months.”
Products & Technology
Our integrated suite of products at Fresh Student Living includes:
TCAS Online – management software, specifically designed and developed for the management of student accommodation & conference facilities.
- Multi-stage Application with Online Contracts
- Automatic Allocation Management
- Maintenance Management
- Housekeeping
- Inventory Management
- Short-term Lettings
- Financial Software Interface package
- Self Service Report Builder Module
- PSP Interface package