Tenant satisfaction surveys: 4 question types, timed to check-in
Most operators find out a tenant was unhappy in one of two ways: a one-star review, or a renewal that never happens. By then the dripping shower, the noisy neighbour or the slow maintenance reply happened months ago. The usual fix is a tenant satisfaction survey sent by email at check-out, which typically gets 5-15% of tenants to reply and ends up in a spreadsheet nobody links back to the bookings.
Satisfaction Surveys move the question inside VIVIN's tenant portal. You build a survey once, choose the moments it appears around check-in or check-out, and read the answers next to the stays they came from. It is built for coliving, student housing and mid-term rental operators who want to fix problems while the tenant is still there.
Why tenant satisfaction surveys by email get so few answers
- Wrong moment - one form at the very end asks about problems that are weeks old and can no longer be fixed
- Wrong place - a link in an email competes with the whole inbox, while the portal is where tenants already pay and ask for help
- No link to the stay - answers sit in a separate tool, so you cannot see which property, unit or stay length they belong to
- Manual reporting - someone exports, cleans and charts the results every month, typically 2-4 hours
How to run a tenant satisfaction survey in VIVIN
Everything lives in Tools > Surveys, with three tabs: Overview, Responses and Surveys.
1. Switch the module on
Surveys are off by default. An admin turns them on in Settings > Global Settings > Satisfaction surveys with "Enable satisfaction surveys", and the Surveys entry appears under Tools.
2. Build the survey
In the Surveys tab, click New survey, add a name, an optional introduction and your questions. There are four question types:
- Multiple choice - one list of options, with a single pick or several
- Text answer - a short line or a longer paragraph
- Linear scale - one rating between a low and a high value, with optional end labels
- Scale grid - several rows on the same scale (room, Wi-Fi, maintenance), counted as one question, with an optional "Not applicable"
Any question can be required, and Preview shows exactly what the tenant will see. Once answers come in, question types and scales lock so results stay comparable, but you can still reword or add questions.
3. Schedule the moments
Under Schedule, add one or more moments: a number of days before or after check-in or check-out, or on the day itself. Each moment can be limited by stay length in months, so a two-month stay does not get the survey meant for annual tenants, and a Start date keeps it away from stays whose moment has already passed. Switch the survey to Active and it starts reaching tenants.
4. Tenants answer in the portal
When a moment arrives, the portal's home page shows "You have a survey to answer" with an Answer button. The survey shows progress as the tenant goes and ends with "Submit answers" and a thank-you screen.
Reading the scores: response rate, lowest-rated areas and exports
The Overview tab shows the average score out of 5 with the change against the previous period, the number of responses, the response rate (answered out of asked) and the active surveys. Lowest-rated areas lists the three lowest-rated questions of the period, and Recent responses the latest answers, all filterable by period and property.
The Responses tab lists every submission with date, tenant, survey, score and comment. Filter by survey or score band (Low scores, High scores), search by tenant, property or comment, and export to CSV or Excel with one column per question.
To act on it, the Survey submitted trigger in Settings > Emails takes a survey, one rated question and a Minimum score: VIVIN then emails the tenant once per booking after an answer at or above that score, which is a natural way to invite your happiest tenants to leave a review.
Portal surveys vs email feedback forms: what changes for tenant retention
Illustrative figures for a 120-room operator:
| What changes | Email form at check-out | VIVIN surveys |
|---|---|---|
| Moments you ask | 1, at the end | As many as you schedule |
| Where tenants answer | A link in an email | The portal they already use |
| Monthly reporting time | 2-4 hours | Live Overview |
| Spotting a weak area | When the review lands | Lowest-rated areas, same week |
| Follow-up with happy tenants | Rarely | Automatic email rule |
The money is in renewals. If an early warning saves just two renewals a year at €650 a month, each avoiding about three weeks of vacancy and a turnover clean, that is roughly €1,100-1,200 kept, before counting the reviews (more in how to reduce tenant turnover).
Three surveys every coliving and student housing operator should run
The 30-day pulse
A short scale grid 30 days after check-in, only for stays of 6 months or more: room, building, Wi-Fi, maintenance, communication. A weak score shows up in Lowest-rated areas while there is still plenty of stay left to fix it.
The check-out survey
Seven days before check-out, ask how likely the tenant is to recommend you and what one thing you should change. It pairs well with digital check-out steps in the same portal.
From high score to review
Add a Survey submitted rule on the recommendation question with a high minimum score, and the tenants who loved their stay get your review link by email, once per booking.
Setting up your first tenant satisfaction survey
- Turn on Enable satisfaction surveys in Settings > Global Settings.
- Open Tools > Surveys, go to the Surveys tab and click New survey.
- Add your questions, check them in Preview and set the moments under Schedule.
- Switch the survey to Active.
- Optionally, add Survey available and Survey submitted rules in Settings > Emails.
Frequently asked questions
When is the best time to send a tenant satisfaction survey?
Early enough to fix what is wrong, and late enough for the tenant to have an opinion. Many operators ask two to four weeks after check-in on longer stays and about a week before check-out. In VIVIN both can be moments of the same survey, filtered by stay length.
How do tenants receive the survey?
It appears in the tenant portal when its moment arrives, with a card on the home page saying there is a survey to answer. If you also want an email, create a rule in Settings > Emails with the Survey available trigger, which is sent when the survey appears in the portal.
Can I export tenant survey responses?
Yes. In Tools > Surveys > Responses, filter by survey, period, property or score band, then export to CSV or Excel. The file has one row per response and one column per question, plus the tenant, property, unit, average score, lowest score and comment.
Can I be notified when a tenant submits a survey?
Yes. Each team member can switch on Survey responses in Settings > Personal Settings to get an email and an in-app notification every time a tenant submits a survey. To focus on problems, filter Responses by Low scores or check Lowest-rated areas in the Overview.
Ask while it still matters. A question 30 days into a stay can still change how that stay ends, and the answers are already next to the booking when you need them. Book a demo to see surveys running on a real portfolio.
