Peter Lohmann covers NARPM's leadership transition after CEO Troy Garrett's resignation, announces the October Nationals conference at Mandalay Bay with a July 6 speaker deadline, and introduces a new rule: he'll only cover AI announcements that disclose pricing and availability dates. He also shares his annual solo reading retreat practice.
NARPM Nationals is coming up this October in Vegas. I'm drawing a line in the sand on AI press releases, and I just got back from my annual solo reading retreat. I'll tell you why you should steal this idea. I'm Peter Lohmann. I write a twice-weekly newsletter for over 20,000 property managers and run a 750-door management company in Columbus, Ohio. Here is this week's property management news. NARPM Nationals. So NARPM's annual convention and trade show, most of you know, is happening in October in Mandalay Bay in Vegas. This is one of the biggest events of the year for our industry. There's learning, networking, the works. I wanna flag a couple things. First, the call for speakers closes really soon. The deadline is July 6th. So if you've got something worth saying, whether it's proven strategies, operational systems, tech insights, AI, leadership, whatever you've got going on, this is your shot to get in front of your peers from across the country. NARPM specifically wants practitioners teaching practitioners. They don't do the pay-to-play thing where vendors just pitch from the stage, which I like. Submit your proposal before July 6th. I'll put that link in the description. Second of all, NARPM is in the middle of a significant leadership transition. You, you may have seen my coverage in the newsletter here. Troy Garrett, the current CEO, recently resigned effective immediately. Now, this wasn't entirely out of nowhere. NARPM was already in the process of transitioning from OMG to MCI as their association management partner in the new year. And it sounds like Troy basically just decided he didn't want to wait around for that. So NARPM has announced they've already begun a nationwide search for their next executive director. That's going to be the new title for what was formerly the CEO in partnership with their new partner, MCI. They're estimating 3 to 4 months for that process. And that makes October's convention interesting. You're going to have either new leadership in place or on the way, a new association management partner coming online and a roomful of people trying to figure out what that all means. I'm going to want to be in that room. I don't know about you. So keep an eye on NARPM's website for the registration info. And again, I'll put a link in the description. As we go to record this, we just received news that NARPM's Broker Owner Conference is also going to be in Vegas. We didn't know the date or the location until now, and, and we just found out it's going to be April 27th to the 29th at the Aria in Vegas, and I will see you there. Next, and I've already written about this in the newsletter, but I wanted to say it on camera because I really mean it. I am no longer covering AI announcements from any vendor that doesn't include these two things. One, availability details for the new AI features. Like when can we get it, and 2, pricing. If you have a new exciting AI product, tell us when we can actually get it and what it costs. Dozens of vendors right now are publishing press releases about AI features with zero specifics, and it's super annoying. No release dates, no pricing, no tier information, just we're building AI, here's some info. That's not news. Every company in the world is building AI features. The fact that yours is also doing it does not constitute news. Recent guilty parties include Appfolio, Entrada, Obligo, Rently, even Rentvine. They've all put out AI announcements recently with either no release date, no pricing, or typically neither. The contrast I'll give you here is Rent Manager's Orion AI announcement. It's actually from a while ago, but they told us exactly what's available now and which subscription tiers get the new features. That's how to do it, people. Specific, actionable, and useful to property management owners and operators. Don't get me wrong, I do want to cover this stuff genuinely. AI is one of the most important things happening in our industry, but vague press releases dressed up as news don't help us make better decisions. It's just noise. So if you work at one of those companies, send me the details on the record and I'll cover your AI news. Until then, pass. Quick personal note before I let you go. I just got back from my annual solo reading retreat. I do this almost every year, 2 nights by myself in a cabin in the woods. Ideally no phone, no laptop, no tech, just a stack of books, a notepad, and plenty of time to read, think, and plan. I've been doing this for years and it never fails. There's something about going by yourself and giving yourself literal and mental space where nobody needs anything from you that turns on a part of your brain that you rarely get to use. Some of my best ideas personally and professionally have come out of these trips. I'm not going to list all the books I brought or all the articles I read. You can see my newsletter article if you want those details. The concept here is simple though. Get out, get into a quiet space, a quiet area, bring some stuff you want to read and leave your phone in the car. If you've never done this, what are you waiting for? Book something, even if it's just one night and tell me where you're going. I'd love to hear about it. That's it for this week's news. I'm Peter Lohmann and I'll see you next week.
