Case Study: Hill Crest Apartments achieves stronger resident engagement and retention with Zillow

Hill Crest Apartments - Customer Case Study

Jay Koster, property manager at Seattle’s Hill Crest Apartments, faced the common multifamily challenge of turning tenants into a connected, long-term community rather than short-term occupants. With many residents indifferent to participation, he needed a scalable way to boost engagement and improve retention while still managing daily property responsibilities.

He introduced an on-site Ingress augmented-reality game community via the building intranet, acting as recruiter and moderator, and paired that tech-driven approach with hands-on outreach—vendor partnerships, resident perks, and face-to-face engagement. The program brought roughly 10% of residents into active play, deepened a sense of belonging, helped secure discounts and a healthy waiting list, and contributed to stronger resident retention.

Hill Crest Apartments

Jay Koster

Hill Crest Apartments