Viva.com Makes Relocation Pain-Free

When employees relocate for work, they often need to find a new home fast. In Las Vegas, Viva.com and the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce have teamed up to make the transition pain free.

With Viva.com, renters save time and energy. Instead of searching through classified ads or driving around the city looking for “for rent” signs, renters can come to www.viva.com and request exactly what they want-for free. Their requests are sent to matching properties, which respond with live rental offers. These rental offers include information about an actual available unit, such as rent and amenities, as well as photos and maps. Renters can then communicate over the Internet with properties they are interested in, and schedule appointments with properties they would like to visit.

The Internet is perfect for renters moving to a new city, especially when someone is relocating for work,” says Scott Ingraham, CEO of Viva.com. “Starting a new job is always stressful, and we’re glad we can help them make a smooth transition.” Allan Hunter, Viva.com’s president, says that one of the Web site’s most useful features is the virtual property tour. “It’s really incredible technology,” says Hunter. “Renters can navigate through a 360-degree image of a property or unit, and really get a feel for what the property is like, all from their computer screens.”

When Viva.com launched its service in Las Vegas in March, the Chamber of Commerce was one of the first places it went to reach the community. “There are a lot of places consumers could go for Las Vegas information, but the Chamber of Commerce comes to mind first. We’re a natural market for it,” says Mike Varney, vice president of marketing for the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. Viva became one of the most prominent apartment services on the chamber’s Web site, and included its promotional material in the chamber’s relocation packet.

Viva.com worked well for Tracey Teehan, a renter who recently relocated from California to Las Vegas. “I just told Viva what I was looking for and within days I had rental offers from 25 different apartment complexes. I would recommend Viva to anyone.” Felicia Griffin, who recently relocated to Denver for her company, also found her apartment quickly with Viva.com. “It was a quick move deadline, so I had to find a new home fast. Viva assisted with that by providing housing leads according to our needs very quickly,” she says, adding that she passed Viva.com’s name on to her human resources director.

In addition to Las Vegas, Viva.com serves Phoenix, Tucson, Denver, and Atlanta, as well as most of Texas and Florida, and expects to be nationwide sometime in 2001. “Whenever we launch in a new city, the chamber is one of the first places we go,” says Ingraham. “No one knows a city as well as the chamber, and we’re proud to be working with them in all our markets.”