In this episode of Multifamily Unpacked, Nikki Hand, Chief Product Officer and Chief Customer Officer at Funnel, shares how specialization, centralization, and human-centered AI are reshaping multifamily operations. Nikki reflects on Funnel’s evolution since 2020, the industry’s shift to the new operating model, and why AI works best as a teammate, not a replacement.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• Why generalist roles are burning out top performers, and how the new operating model solves it
• How Funnel’s platform evolved through deep co-development with early partners
• What the next phase of centralization and AI-driven marketing looks like
• How centralized models improve personalization and renter experience
• Why “partnership first” is core to customer success at Funnel
• The origin story of Camden’s Birdie and Funnel’s early bet on AI

If you enjoyed learning about centralization, AI, and what the new operating model means for the future of multifamily, you'd love Forum. Register today. https://meet.funnelleasing.com/forum-2026-registration

To stay up-to-date follow Funnel on Linkedin and connect with Tyler there, too.

In this episode, Tesho Akindele — former MLS forward turned developer and community-builder at Camp North End in Charlotte, NC — joins us to share how reading Walkable City inspired his mission to design neighborhoods where people can truly live, work, and connect on foot. That vision led him to help transform a fenced-off industrial site into a thriving, mixed-use community. Along the way, he unpacks zoning, NIMBY challenges, and how technology helps deliver hospitality at Camp North End. Let’s kick it off.

What you’ll learn:

• How a professional athlete became an urbanist: Tesho’s journey from the soccer field to shaping the built environment — and what travel taught him about great cities.
• Why zoning is the unglamorous hero: How flexible zoning unlocks mixed-use communities and missing-middle housing.
• How to turn an industrial site into a neighborhood: The playbook behind Camp North End’s transformation and its 1,000+ annual events.
• Where technology meets hospitality: From Wi-Fi that covers the campus to multilingual AI and follow-ups that feel personal.
• What renters really value: Why natural light, balconies, and proximity to life’s best moments beat flashy amenities.

If you enjoyed this episode, you'd love Forum. Register today. https://meet.funnelleasing.com/forum-2026-registration

To stay up-to-date follow Funnel on Linkedin and connect with Tyler there, too.

Recorded right after NMHC Annual, this episode looks past the noise to what’s actually shaping multifamily right now. Alex Howe, SVP Marketing + Growth at Funnel, and Tyler Christiansen, CEO of Funnel, unpack how sustained cost pressure is driving real operating decisions, why early AI hype cooled, and where AI is finally delivering value inside centralized workflows. They break down what the recent coverage reveals about competing visions for AI, explore how capital consolidation and policy signals are influencing operator behavior, and close with why ZRS Management’s decision to standardize on Funnel across 110,000+ units is a signal worth paying attention to.

Forum registration is filling up, register today. https://meet.funnelleasing.com/forum-2026-registration

To stay up-to-date follow Funnel on Linkedin and connect with Tyler there, too.

Rather than chasing novelty, Mallory Sheibley, Lead Product Manager - AI at Funnel, is focused on building something more difficult and more durable; AI that improves outcomes in a people-first, highly regulated industry without stripping away judgment, trust, or accountability.

In this episode we cover:

What AI is actually for: Reducing repetitive work so teams can focus on judgment, empathy, and relationships.

Building AI for high-trust, regulated work: Clear guardrails and human review are what make AI usable at scale.

Why “self-learning” AI is mostly a myth: Autonomous learning sounds efficient but introduces risk without oversight.

Perfecting the handoff, the hardest design problem in AI: Knowing when the system should act and when it should step aside.

To stay up-to-date follow Funnel on Linkedin and connect with Tyler there, too.

In this rebroadcast of the Apartment Jedi podcast, Funnel CEO Tyler Christiansen joins host Andrew Bowen for a wide-angle look at the operating-model shift reshaping multifamily. They cover where centralization and specialization actually stand today, how AI is evolving from simple automation to agentic systems, and why brand power is finally emerging as a real economic lever in rental housing.

Tyler breaks down what he’s seeing across REITs, large fee managers, and early-stage adopters: which operating behaviors are sticking, where friction remains, and how the next generation of workflows will change staffing, service levels, and resident expectations. He also explains why winners and losers will separate faster than most expect — and what operators should be preparing for now.

You’ll learn:

• Where multifamily truly is on the centralization and specialization journey
• How REITs, third-party managers, and owner-operators are taking different paths based on incentives, contracts, and brand strategy.
• The real ROI of specialization: why the biggest gains are coming from back-office functions, not leasing “glamour metrics.”
• How centralized models change service levels, staffing ratios, and retention, including what operators consistently underestimate.
• AI’s next chapter: moving from chatbots to agentic workflows that perform tasks, not just answer questions.
• What resident interactions will look like when AI can renew leases, negotiate within guardrails, process payments, and sync context across systems.
• The coming shift in leadership development as old career ladders collide with new operating structures.

To stay up-to-date follow Funnel on Linkedin and connect with Tyler there, too.

This episode is a rebroadcast of The Rent Roll and brings together two of the clearest thinkers in rental housing.

First up is your host, Jay Parsons, economist, advisor, and creator of The Rent Roll, a top-ranked podcast known for breaking down market trends, operator realities, and the forces shaping rental housing.

He’s joined by Tyler Christensen, CEO of Funnel, who works directly with the industry’s largest operators to help translate this moment — AI adoption, centralization, and new operating models — into practical changes for teams and workflows.

You’ll learn:

• What AI is actually doing onsite today
• How centralization unlocks the savings AI alone can’t
• The jump in voice AI and what renters use it for
• Real agentic workflows (mid-lease changes, addenda, renewals)
• Why operators are consolidating tech stacks
• What leaders should realistically prepare for next

To stay up-to-date follow Funnel on Linkedin and connect with Tyler there, too.

As one of the key architects behind RealPage’s $10 billion rise, Michael Britti has seen firsthand what makes mergers work, and what makes them fall apart.

Before leading acquisitions that reshaped the industry, Michael built and sold his own companies, giving him rare perspective on both sides of the table. In this episode, he and Tyler Christiansen, CEO of Funnel unpack the deals that defined a generation, the importance of culture in innovation, and why the best leaders are really just great sellers with a vision people want to follow.

What you’ll learn:

• How one acquisition strategy changed multifamily forever
• The difference between a “build or die” and “build or buy” market
• Why great culture is a company’s best competitive edge
• What today’s entrepreneurs can learn from multifamily’s past cycles

If you enjoyed this conversation, do not miss Forum. https://meet.funnelleasing.com/forum-2026-registration

To stay up-to-date follow Funnel on Linkedin and connect with Tyler there, too.

A highlight recorded live at Forum 2025.

In this Forum panel, four leaders share what it actually takes to scale a centralized operating model—across asset types, management structures, and team sizes.

You’ll hear from:
– Joni Lowe, SVP Marketing, Pacific Urban Investors
– Dom Beveridge, Founder & Principal, 20for20
– Jason Terry, Former Director of Resident Services, Redstone Residential
– Melody Reid, Managing Director, US Property Systems, Greystar

What you’ll learn:

• Why property admin—not leasing—is often the first to go off-site
• How Greystar built AI-powered workflows that save time and deliver more consistency at scale
• How Pacific Urban tracks to measure centralized success across operators
• How Redstone uses their CLO or centralized leasing office to handle turnover and spikes in demand
• Why fee structures matter for third-party centralization—and how top firms are evolving

Read the full forum recap here: https://funnelleasing.com/today-in-operations-centralization-in-action/

Don’t miss out next year. 2026 registration is open, can’t wait to see you there. https://meet.funnelleasing.com/forum-2026-registration

To stay up-to-date follow Funnel on Linkedin and connect with Tyler there, too.