Back in 2017, while working on a luxury residential development project as the lead design architect, I was tasked to “spec” a suitable access management system for installation. I researched thoroughly, but to my great disappointment, I found that even the state-of-the-art systems available were nothing more than glorified video intercoms with a few additional functions that’s hardwired from end to end. Upon further investigation, I found most residential property developments were still running similar disparate and outdated legacy systems. Property management staff were desperately trying to bridge these silos manually, like with pen and paper, and walkie-talkies, leaving much room for human errors. It also prevented property managers from understanding how their frontline staff were failing to meet tenant expectations. It led me to question all aspects of how property management service was being offered.

After teaming up with a few very talented and like-minded partners, DOMINUS was founded on a mission to reinvent the way tenants, specifically those in residential properties, receive their tenancy services from property management frontline staff and managers.

Inspired by the exceptional service advancements introduced by companies like Uber, AirBnB, and OpenTable, we set out to understand how we could apply their insights to improving tenant experience in residential properties. We wanted to build the system from the ground up, offering a comprehensive solution driven by the practical needs. Through our extensive research and interviews, we saw a consistent pattern: tenants’ frustrations rarely come from not being able to obtain services but rather from the myriad of inconveniences encountered in the process of being provided such services. The main cause being property management companies’ inability to leverage today’s technology on the overly-manual and labor-intensive practices of their frontline staff in the delivery of everyday tenancy services.

At first, we believed the solution might be a dedicated tenant-facing technology, such as a mobile app. What we discovered, however, was that an app alone was simply a more adaptable infrastructure for delivering conventional services, and a more holistic approach was needed. We broadened our focus to see management, staff, and tenant technology as equally important parts of a whole. We focused on connecting tenant experience, with staff operations, and management support through an integrated end-to-end DOMINUS platform. By harnessing the unique strengths of AI for computational processing and human for adaptive problem-solving, amplifying their relative performances by the teaming effect, property managers can finally empower their staff to deliver an unprecedented overall experience to their tenants and much more!

It had been an exciting journey for DOMINUS. We had formed deep partnerships with architects, developers, property managers and tenants, and we had listened to, worked with, and learn from many seasoned property management professionals to develop our suite of products. By using these powerful innovative tools, our property management partners would have improved staff morale, streamlined operations, and increased tenant satisfaction in a short period.

We are looking forward to supporting more brilliant property managers and their motivated staff with our DOMINUS platform, grow with their practice, and becoming a part of their success story.

Best Regards,
Sean Kwok