StudentCrowds Insight & Analysis Tool is an intuitive map-based tool which combines both operational data and student review scores for 100% of student accommodation halls in the UK.
Building StudentCrowd - Where it Began
StudentCrowd was founded in 2014 by three graduates who were frustrated with the lack of real and helpful information about student experience. Reviews quickly became the focal point of the platform with a mission to represent 100% of UK undergraduate courses, universities and purpose built student accommodation.
By providing students with all of the options, our founders created the most comprehensive operational dataset in the PBSA sector which has supported a wide range of universities, PBSA operators, investors, developers and property advisors. Our dataset is unique in its ability to present operational data alongside genuine student feedback.
The Insight & Analysis Tool
What started out as a raw data product has evolved into an intuitive map-based visual tool, which you can navigate using a wide variety of filters depending on your exact need.
As soon as we drill into a location, the map populates with a series of pins:
- Red - university campuses
- Grey - student accommodation buildings
- Green - student accommodation development pipeline
By default, the accommodation is graded by average price, with light grey representing the lowest and dark grey the highest.
By clicking on the left-hand legend, we can change the view from average price to other operational factors including minimum room price and number of beds or you can choose to look at the data through the eyes of students.
Based on ratings collated from reviews on our student-facing website studentcrowd.com, you can review properties based on:
- Average rating
- Value for money
- Location
- Hall management
- Cleaning
- Social spaces
- Social experience
- Internet/wifi
Value for Money vs Location
As an example, we are comparing how students scored properties in Manchester by both value for money and location.
You will note subtle but important differences between the two visuals - on the bottom we can see a big collection of PBSAs all rated very highly for location; a great asset to have! But in the top image, several of those pins are actually not rated the highest for value-for-money.
As an operator, investor or potential developer of those properties that is crucial information - you have invested in a prime location in Manchester but, despite that, students do not believe you are delivering the best value-for-money so what else is going on that is currently detracting from your building reputationally, and how can that be addressed directly? This is especially important as we see an ongoing trend in value-for-money becoming the single most important factor (over location) in student decision-making.
As a developer, this shows how to enhance an asset immediately. As an investor, it tells you what should be improved to maximise yield. And, as an operator, this tells you what you need to do to gain a competitive edge and optimise your student experience.
Make sure your accommodation ticks every single box
Whether you're planning to make improvements to an existing building or you are looking to build a new building, you cannot make informed decisions based on operational data alone.
Student demand is not just about the volume of students being enough to fill beds in your location, it's also about what students need from your product. So if you are not using student feedback in your planning and delivery, you risk not giving students what they want, impacting the sentiment of residents living with you and what they then communicate onwards to the next potential generation of students.
Watch our short demonstration of using student sentiment filters within our Insight & Analysis Tool:
To learn more, book a full demo with our Data Solutions Lead Zara McGeiver.
