How Tourus is Empowering Leasing Agents with Mobile-First Communication
Growing up in West Virginia with a mother and grandfather who were both brokers, real estate was a family affair. But it wasn’t until Lindsay Martinez decided to move to New York for graduate school that she discovered her own path in the industry – one that would lead her to significantly improve how property teams communicate with renters.
“Real estate’s huge. If I say real estate, probably ten different things can pop up in ten different people’s minds,” Martinez reflects. This diversity of the industry initially drew her in, but it was her experience as head of customer success at Nestio (now Funnel Leasing) that revealed a crucial gap in the market.
Transforming Leasing with Mobile-First Solutions
“I kept hearing the same thing over and over again, that there was all this technology and still their needs weren’t being met,” Martinez explains. “One of the big things that stood out was this thinking that the leasing agent was lowest on the totem pole. We want to replace them with AI.”
This perspective didn’t sit right with Martinez. Her experience showed that leasing agents were actually critical to the success of property operations. The problem wasn’t the agents – it was the technology that wasn’t designed for their mobile workflow.
This realization led to the founding of Tourus, the first native mobile app specifically designed for leasing and property teams. The platform emphasizes the human element while leveraging AI to enhance, rather than replace, the leasing agent’s role.
The shift to mobile is clear. According to Martinez, 75% of property inquiries were conducted via mobile devices last year, up from 50% in 2016. Despite this change in renter behavior, many property management solutions remain tethered to desktop computers, creating a disconnect between how teams work and how renters want to communicate.
The Human Element in Property Tech
Tourus addresses this challenge by providing a seamless mobile experience that integrates text messaging, email, and contact management in one place. The platform’s AI capabilities are fully controlled by the user, allowing agents to automate responses when they’re busy with tours but jump back into conversations at any time.
The system is designed around the real-world workflow of leasing agents. Through the native mobile app, agents can instantly send any size photo or video without quality degradation – a crucial feature for virtual property showcases. The platform also includes intelligent follow-up reminders that ping agents when conversations go cold, ensuring no potential lead slips through the cracks.
Integration capabilities were another key consideration in Tourus’s development. The platform can work alongside existing CRM systems and property management software, offering flexibility based on each property’s specific needs. This adaptability has made it attractive to a diverse range of clients, from operators managing 15-50 units to larger companies with portfolios of up to 15,000 units.
One of the platform’s most valuable features emerged from early user feedback. “We have a tool within Tourus where, after a tour, I can record a voice note and we transcribe it, save it to that contact,” Martinez explains. This feature allows agents to capture valuable insights from prospect interactions, which are then converted into actionable reporting for ownership and asset management teams.
The results speak for themselves. “We’re seeing around a 35% increase in text messages sent,” Martinez notes. This increase in communication is particularly crucial after property tours – a critical point in the sales process that often gets overlooked by traditional solutions. The platform’s design ensures that whether a renter has questions about applying or needs follow-up information, agents can maintain engagement through their preferred communication channel.
Looking ahead to 2025, Martinez envisions expanding Tourus’s capabilities. The company plans to integrate prospect and resident communication systems more effectively. “At the end of the day, that’s one person,” she points out. “We really want to centralize communication and create that entire experience seamlessly so properties can have a really thoughtful overview of the resident journey.”
This approach to property management technology reinforces Tourus’s fundamental premise: optimal results come from enhancing the human elements of the leasing process rather than attempting to replace them. Their focus on human-centric technology adoption offers a compelling model for modern property management.
