When Jason Duncan created a new property management company he wanted to do things differently. As well as wanting to change the way properties are managed by utilizing technology, Duncan decided he wanted to do something completely new: reward landlords with Air Miles.
To make his ambition become a reality, Duncan partnered his new firm, RentalMiles, with the famous Air Miles brand. Under the partnership, property owners in the full service property management scheme receive a mile per dollar of their monthly rental income. So, a $2,000 month rental property earns 2,000 air miles annually. If an investor has three or more properties in the program they are elevated to platinum status. In that case, a $2,000 a month rental property obtains 4,000 air miles annually.
“We are trying to create an ecosystem of loyalty in a market that has attempted and failed miserably to provide a rewards structure,” says Duncan, who acts as CEO of RentalMiles. “It changes the landscape of rewards for property owners. With RentalMiles, they can go from having a blue and white member card for gas and groceries to having an Onyx class reward card with Air Miles, which can create a 40% increase in rewards value.”
Duncan is confident that the rewards on offer in the Air Miles partnership are considerably higher than any other reward structure in the marketplace. He’s aiming to change the loyalty landscape for both landlords and tenants, who will be also be rewarded for maintaining the standards of their rental properties and re-leasing early to ensure occupancy levels.
“We looked at what happened with the airlines and saw that, in a very short window of time, they were able to convert an existing industry and create a loyalty system that was scalable, interchangeable and rewarding,” Duncan says. “We’ve partnered with Air Miles because it means people are not only restricted to getting flight rewards, they can convert those points for a lot of other things, like hotels and shopping.”
“It’s up to the member to select what they want to redeem their rewards on. The average North American renter spends 40% of their annual income on rent and we think there should be some attractive rewards attached to that.”