Savills Shows Properties Efficiently and Remotely with Matterport

Specialists in Tenant Representation

Most commercial real estate firms represent buyers and sellers. Savills stands apart by specializing in tenant services and has done so in North America for over 65 years. While its global headquarters is based in London, the firm has 39,000 experts across North America, South America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. 

And even though it’s clearly international in scope, the company’s local professionals have the market knowledge to address every client’s unique needs, no matter where they are. On top of its skilled regional teams, Savills further distinguishes itself with its longstanding commitment to adopting new technologies. 

A Lifeline During a Crisis

Commercial real estate absorbed a series of setbacks in 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic struck. Business closures encircled the globe. Office workers were sent to work from home. Tenants and landlords alike faced steep revenue cliffs. 

At first, it felt like chaos for many building owners and tenants, but true to a lot of success in business—learning to adapt was key. Savills looked to technology to help keep many core activities moving ahead. 

Even prior to COVID-19, Savills used Matterport to capture building interiors and exteriors in 3D for clients. Today, that approach is even more critical. Savills is using Matterport to advise clients on how to optimize their commercial real estate portfolios to take advantage of real estate that offers hybrid office models—a combination of home working, local office hubs, and a head office—reducing overhead and enhancing employee well-being, sustainability, and organizational resilience.

Business Done Efficiently and Remotely

Savills uses Matterport to show properties to existing clients and to market properties to prospective clients. It takes only seconds to embed a link to a scan in an email flyer. “One way that we use Matterport to distinguish our services is by fully embedding it in our digital services platform,” says Sarah Dreyer, Vice President and Head of Americas Research at Savills. “Our client-facing app called Market Alpha, for example, provides true visualization of an entire market, where clients can see everything in 3D and explore building by building.”

When a large organization is thinking about leasing a new retail, office, or industrial space, decision-makers are often geographically dispersed, even across countries, but they still need to see a space to determine its appropriateness and value. 

“Matterport 3D scans are compelling and facilitate conversations among stakeholders across regions,” says Patrick McGrath, CIO at Savills. “Even when everyone is local, Matterport reduces the time it takes to understand a property - from multiple days and site visits to a couple of hours on a call.” These benefits won’t end with the pandemic, but COVID-19 means Matterport is all but required for now. 

Frankly,” McGrath adds, “in today’s environment, I don’t see how an advisor can have an effective conversation about real estate without Matterport.” 

Providing the Best Information to Clients

One of Savills’s goals is to ensure that clients have the best information at their fingertips to understand their local markets and make the smartest real estate decisions. Since the market will likely favor tenants over landlords for the foreseeable future, occupiers who can make faster decisions can secure more favorable deals.

With this in mind, the 3D Matterport models are essential in helping clients see why a location has potential value or why a specific building may be attractive to certain tenants. 

Data alone isn’t enough,” says Dreyer. “With Matterport, we can bring buildings and spaces to life along with the research and analytics that our team provides. And especially right now when we can't all visit physical sites, we want to ensure that we're providing our clients with the right tools and data to make the best leasing decisions.”

Scalability Addresses Surging Demand

Demand for Matterport at Savills surged with the pandemic. Within a few months, Savills increased the number of locations it had virtually captured from 50 to 250. “Matterport is scalable and easy to use,” Dreyer says. “Our Matterport Pro2 cameras became so popular that we had a backlog of up to 60 spaces waiting to be scanned, We expanded our licensing and quadrupled our number of cameras. We use them every single day.

"Today, prospects and existing clients alike expect Matterport scans to be a part of the process as they find commercial spaces perfectly suited to their needs.” Dreyer says, “Fortunately, we can now more easily meet the demands with Matterport Capture Services. It’s incredibly easy for our brokers to schedule a 3D scan of a space and send it to their clients within a few days. Now, we have the ability to scale in every region to meet our clients’ needs.”

Watch our on-demand webinar, "How commercial real estate professionals can find success with 3D technology" and learn the benefits of using Matterport for commercial real estate firms with guests Sarah Dreyer and Peyton Johnson from Savills, and Mike Merron from VRPM.

ABOUT SAVILLSSavills helps organizations find the right solutions that ensure employee success. Sharply skilled and fiercely dedicated, the firm’s integrated teams of consultants and brokers are experts in better real estate. With services in tenant representation, workforce and incentives strategy, workplace strategy and occupant experience, project management, and capital markets, Savills has elevated the potential of workplaces around the corner, and around the world, for 160 years and counting. 

http://www.savills.us 

HEADQUARTERSLondon, United Kingdom

INDUSTRY Commercial Real Estate

EMPLOYEES 39,000+

CHALLENGECreate 3D virtual walkthroughs to show properties to existing clients and to market properties to prospective clients

PRODUCTS Matterport Capture Services, Matterport Pro2

SOLUTION Savills uses Matterport along with the research and analytics to advise clients on how to optimize their commercial real estate portfolios to take advantage of real estate that offers hybrid office models—a combination of home working, local office hubs, and a head office—reducing overhead and enhancing employee well-being, sustainability, and organizational resilience.