Sentral is a VC-backed start-up that mixes long-term leasing of unfurnished, luxury apartments with hotel-like stays in furnished studios and 1-2 bedroom units, all in over 13 buildings across the US. It’s a relatively new space combining real estate and hospitality, similar to the likes of Sonder and Landing.
One of my friends was supporting the digital effort for the company in its early days but knew she wasn’t going to be able to do so for long. When she brought up my name to her boss (who was also coincidentally a friend and past client) as her potential replacement, we all knew it was meant to be.
I came on board in the fall of 2020, right as the luxury multi-family space was heating up. More and more people were working from home as a result of the pandemic and looking for beautiful apartments in cool neighborhoods in some of the biggest cities across the US to call their own. People were also coming to the realization that because they were able to work from home, they could call wherever they wanted “home”. If they wanted a 6-month lease in a furnished apartment in Austin in the winter and then make the jump to the same in Seattle for the summer, companies like Sentral make it easier to do that.
I’ve now been with Sentral for over two years, and in that time, my role has morphed a few different times. Below is a sampling of what I’ve helped them with, in somewhat chronological order:
- Provided monthly reporting of leads, leases, and ROI on the digital spend
- Developed social ad creative for each of the properties
- Worked as part of the transition team, onboarding new properties, and ensuring they were launched on all needed digital channels
- Managed to change leasing concessions across all digital channels including ILSs
- Managed the RFP process for the digital agency of record, onboarded them, and managed their day-to-day
- Provided strategic leadership of the digital effort during the rebranding of the company. My friend was no longer the head of the digital at the time, so I stepped in to lead the rebranding effort while the home office searched for her placement. In addition to working with the digital agency to ensure we didn’t lose any gained SEO traction during and after the transition, I also developed the social ad creative, worked with the agency to develop a PPC strategy, managed the transition with external digital partners to ensure all branding updated on time (ILSs, Yext, and all online listings like Yelp and Tripadvisor), gave input on the new website design, and provided reporting to home office
- Helped onboard the new head of digital when he was hired and got him up to speed quickly. Like me, he came from a hospitality background so he needed to learn the multi-family space in the real estate industry quickly.
- Now, with a new hire in the digital department, I continue to provide the team with support on special projects, including vetting and recommending new digital partners and platforms, new and existing month-end reporting, and transitions/onboarding for new properties.
Like the Auberge project, my Sentral contract is still ongoing as of today. But I’ve been working with them for so long now that I decided it was time to write it up.
….And like most of my other projects, this one came to me through a friend. Alila also came to me through a friend. That write-up’s next….
