A woman has revealed how her property manager wanted to use her apartment for “staged photos” and offered her an Amazon gift card to thank her for it.
In a recent video posted to TikTok, Alexis, @alexisposerio, shared a screenshot of an email she received from her property manager named Deidre. The manager thanked Alexis for letting them use her apartment for “property inspections”. The email also noted how people in the “corporate office” were so “impressed” by Alexis’ space that they wanted to use it again for “staged photos.”
“Your unit impressed so many people at the corporate office that I am reaching out to see if you’d be comfortable with us photographing your apartment to use as our ‘staged photos for the…studio floor plan.”
Deidre noted how none of Alexis’ “personal items” would be shown in the photos, as they’re solely focused on “the furniture layout, scale of furniture, use of space, etc.” The property manager then emphasised how “adorable” the apartment was and offered Alexis a few gifts as a thank you, including an Amazon gift card.
“Your apartment is adorable, and I know your unit would help generate interest when we advertise that floor plan,” the email continued.
“We would provide you with an Amazon gift card, and I would have my on-site cleaner come in and clean your apartment for you (floors, windows, bathroom, appliances, etc.) as a ‘thank you!,’” the message concluded.
However, Alexis didn’t preface how much money was on the Amazon card.
According to Alexis, she was happy that her apartment was being used for photos. “My property manager sure does know how to make a girl feel good about her apartment decorating skills,” she wrote in the caption.
In the comments, Alexis said she emailed Deidre asking if they could also offer her a “rent/parking credit or discount.”
As of 18 March, the video has over 1.9m views, with many TikTok users agreeing that Alexis should be compensated more for the use of her space.
“Naww they need to be PAYING you for real for that,” one wrote.
“I’d ask for a monthly discount, honestly,” another comment reads. “They will use those photos forever and it will help them generate money.”
Other viewers encouraged Alexis to “get [her] money’s worth” with the Amazon gift card.
“Make sure you get your money’s worth with that gift card. Two new tenants signing a year long lease is $$$$$ for them,” a commenter said.
Some TikTok users also shared that they had an experiences similar to Alexis’, one of which wrote: “I did this once for a $50 gift card lol they used it in ALL their marketing. Looking back I should have asked for more but I didn’t know any better.”
In a follow-up video, Alexis showed another email that she got form Deidre, saying her building won’t be using her apartment for photos, as they planned on bringing in a “staging company.”
“At this time, corporate has decided to bring in a staging company to model a couple of the units,” the email reads. “They want the units to be cohesive with one another for pictures. Thank you again for offering up your cute little apartment!”
Alexis said in the comments that she was “not mad at all” about the staging company. “[I] wasn’t expecting anything extra, just thought that it didn’t hurt to ask,” she wrote.
Speaking to The Independent, Alexis said that she was “happy that they wanted to use [her] apartment for staging because [she] thought it was a great compliment.”
Regarding her requests for more financial benefits, in exchange for the photos, Alexis said they were never addressed. “They did not mention anything about my requests for a rent or parking discount, they had just said that corporate decided to hire a staging company instead of doing photography of tenant’s units.
