Pinnacle Features YieldStar Revenue Management at Annual Management Conference

By Janine Steiner Jovanovic | Sep 30, 2011

YieldStar was front and center at the Pinnacle annual management conference this week. Pinnacle, a national leader in third-party fee management of investment real estate, is seeing a surge in demand for revenue management across its client base. Pinnacle’s President, Rick Graf, explained that every client he meets with is interested in discussing revenue management. It’s on everyone’s radar screen.

Back in 2009, Pinnacle chose YieldStar as their revenue management provider, which began a partnership that has produced stellar results for Pinnacle’s owned and fee managed properties coast to coast. Today, Pinnacle has over 15,000 apartment units with YieldStar on behalf of clients like Henderson Global, Carlyle Group, Long Wharf, and Bascom.

I was honored to be asked to speak over lunch at the conference. It was exciting to share Pinnacle’s latest results with the entire management team. In the second quarter of 2011, on a year over year basis, YieldStar properties within Pinnacle achieved a revenue premium over market of 7.5 percent. Pinnacle’s YieldStar portfolio did 6.4 percent better in new lease rents than the competition while further improving their occupancy position by 1.1 percent.

YieldStar’s unique ability to accommodate diverse asset strategies was a big topic for discussion at the event. Pinnacle defines the goals for their properties, and YieldStar revenue management is then configured to meet those specific goals. Rent, occupancy, and revenue are prioritized differently under diverse scenarios, such as a lease up, a renovation, or a disposition. Pinnacle has also launched YieldStar on several tax credit properties this year, with incredible results to show.

My favorite testimonial at the conference was from a Seattle-based investment manager who was reluctant to work with YieldStar at first. He’s changed his tune after working with the YieldStar team and system this year. “I was a skeptic, but now I’m a believer! I love YieldStar.”