Retently, the customer experience platform we use to measure satisfaction, recently published a case study on how BlueSky Property Management approaches feedback — and the results our program has produced. We’re proud of the numbers, but we’re even prouder of the philosophy behind them, because it says a lot about how we think about the two very different groups of people we serve every day: property owners and residents.
You can read the full case study here: How BlueSky Property Management Separates Owner and Resident Feedback. Below is the story behind it, and what we’ve learned along the way.
Why don't we use one satisfaction score?
Most property management companies that measure satisfaction at all measure it with a single blended number. Every survey — owner or resident — goes into one pool, and out comes one score. It sounds efficient. The problem is that it describes nobody.
Owners and residents are not the same customer. Owners hire us to protect an investment: they care about occupancy, rent collection, maintenance costs, and clear financial reporting. Residents live in the homes we manage: they care about responsive maintenance, the condition of the property on move-in day, and whether someone answers when they call. They want different things from us, and they judge us on different things.
Industry research bears this out. Across the property management industry, firms average a Net Promoter Score of about 35 with owners and only about 10 with residents. Blend those two populations together and the gap disappears — usually swallowed by whichever list happens to be bigger. You end up with a comfortable-looking number and no idea where you actually stand with either group.
So since spring 2024, we’ve run two entirely separate survey programs — one for owners, one for residents — each with its own cadence and its own list. In the last twelve months alone, that program has sent more than 7,100 surveys across Central Virginia.
What is NPS, and how did BlueSky score?
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is the standard measure of customer loyalty. It asks one question — how likely are you to recommend us? — on a 0–10 scale, then subtracts the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters. Scores range from -100 to +100, and in property management, an owner-side score of 35 is the industry average.
Our owner NPS currently sits at 48 — thirteen points above that benchmark. We’re grateful for the number, but what means the most to us is what’s written underneath it. Nearly half of everyone who responds — 49% — takes the time to write something in addition to giving a score. And when owners write, they tend to describe two things: how long they’ve been with us (often a decade or more, across multiple properties), and their property manager — by name.
That last part matters to us more than any statistic. Owners don’t stay for ten years because of a company logo. They stay because of the person who picks up the phone.
The question that changed how we operate
If there’s one thing from the case study we’d encourage any business to steal, it’s this: a score without a reason is not actionable. Knowing a client gave you a 6 tells you nothing about whether the problem was a slow maintenance ticket, an unanswered email, or the condition of the unit on move-in day.
So the moment anyone gives us a score — owner or resident — we ask a second question: what drove it? Respondents choose from four fixed categories:
- How well we keep you informed and how quickly we respond.
- Condition of Property. The state of the home itself.
- How repairs get handled, start to finish.
- Marketing, showings, and getting homes rented.
Because both surveys use the identical list, we can compare owners and residents on the same axes — and spot when a single operational weakness is affecting both relationships at once. As we put it in the case study: a score on its own just tells you how you did. The reason behind it tells you what to go fix on Monday.
What the data told us
Communication is the biggest lever — in both directions
Across the last twelve months, Communication was chosen as the driver behind scores roughly twice as often as any other category. It’s also the most polarizing: it appears in more of our promoter responses than anything else, and in more of our detractor responses than anything else. For a company deciding where to invest its next operational hour, that’s an unusually clear answer. When we communicate well, it’s the number one reason people recommend us. When we fall short, it’s the number one reason they don’t. That clarity now shapes our training, our staffing, and our internal response-time standards.
Leasing is a confirmed strength — not an assumed one
Every property manager claims they lease homes quickly. We can now back that claim with data: on the owner side, Leasing draws positive selections at more than ten times the rate it draws negative ones — the cleanest signal in our entire program. Owners repeatedly note that their homes are re-leased within weeks of receiving notice. In a college town like Charlottesville, where timing the market matters, that’s the difference between a smooth turnover and a vacant month.
Feedback became a coaching tool, not just a report card
Beyond the four driver categories, we tag every response to the property manager who owns that relationship. That gives our leadership team a clear, ongoing picture of who’s excelling and where a process needs attention — so concerns get resolved quickly and every owner and resident gets a consistent experience, no matter who manages their property.
What this means if you own rental property in Central Virginia
If you’re an owner — with us or with anyone else — here’s the practical takeaway: ask your property manager how they measure satisfaction, and whether they separate owner feedback from resident feedback. A manager who blends the two (or doesn’t measure at all) can’t tell you where they actually stand with the residents living in your investment. And resident satisfaction isn’t a soft metric; it shows up in your bottom line as renewals, fewer turnovers, and better care of your property.
For our part, this program gives us a consistent, real-time pulse on both sides of every relationship we manage. Concerns surface early, our team responds proactively, and small issues get resolved before they become big ones. After sixty years of managing homes in Charlottesville and the Shenandoah Valley, we’ve learned that trust isn’t built in the lease signing — it’s built in the follow-through. Now we measure the follow-through, every single week.
Read the full Retently case study here: BlueSky Property Management Customer Story.
Curious what this level of attention looks like for your rental property? We’d love to talk. Contact BlueSky Property Management to learn more about our approach to management in Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Waynesboro, and Staunton.
Why does BlueSky Property Management survey owners and residents separately?
Owners and residents want different things from a property manager and judge performance differently. Blending their feedback into one score hides the gap — the industry average is an NPS of 35 with owners and 10 with residents. Separate surveys let us see exactly where we stand with each group.
What is BlueSky's owner NPS score?
BlueSky’s owner Net Promoter Score is 48, thirteen points above the property management industry benchmark of 35. The score is based on surveys sent to property owners over the past twelve months, with nearly half of respondents adding written feedback.
What is Net Promoter Score (NPS)?
NPS is a customer loyalty metric based on one question: how likely are you to recommend us? Respondents score 0–10, and the score equals the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors, ranging from -100 to +100.
How does BlueSky use feedback to improve service?
Every survey response includes a follow-up question asking what drove the score: Communication, Condition of Property, Maintenance, or Leasing. Responses are also tagged to the specific property manager, turning feedback into a coaching tool that identifies what to fix and who needs support.
What is the biggest factor in owner and resident satisfaction?
Communication is the single biggest driver of both positive and negative feedback at BlueSky, appearing more often than any other category in both promoter and detractor responses. It’s the clearest signal for where to focus operational attention.
How quickly does BlueSky re-lease vacant properties?
Owner feedback shows Leasing is BlueSky’s strongest-performing category, drawing positive mentions at more than ten times the rate of negative ones. Owners frequently note that their homes are re-leased within weeks of receiving notice.