Mandie Yannitti is the director of engagement and marketing at Woodard Development, a full-service commercial real estate development firm based in Dayton, Ohio. She manages the marketing of two historical properties: the Schaefer Building and the Johnston Building in Ohio. They’re also in the process of constructing another 50-unit historic adaptive re-use named the Ohio Building in Downtown Sidney, Ohio. This is in addition to 225,000 square feet of commercial space, which includes professional offices, retail spaces, restaurants and even specialty businesses.
Woodard has been able to retain these tenants long-term by supporting their specific needs through efficient management and modern amenities. A big part of that retention strategy includes the marketing, communication and operational abilities of Yardi Breeze.
We talked about Mandie’s role and how Yardi Breeze helps her small team manage historical properties with ease.
What is your role as the director of engagement and marketing?
My role is to lead the strategy and execution of our brand communications, community outreach and marketing initiatives. I’m responsible for building meaningful connections with customers, partners and the broader community. I’m always focused on driving visibility and engagement for our projects.
Practically speaking, that means I oversee campaigns, manage both digital and traditional media, shape messaging and handle website development. A big part of my job is ensuring our brand truly reflects our mission and the communities we serve.
What unique challenges does your business face, and what did you need from your software in order to address them?
We operate in a very fast-paced, multi-project environment. Communication, consistency and real-time access to information are absolutely essential. One of our biggest challenges is managing multiple developments, tenants, timelines and marketing efforts simultaneously while maintaining a high level of organization and responsiveness.
We really needed software that could streamline communication across teams, centralize our data and help us track engagement and results without losing valuable time to manual processes. Flexibility, scalability and intuitive design are key because we have to continually adapt as we grow.
It takes a lot to manage a historical property. You need to pay attention to preservation requirements while still integrating updated amenities that appeal to modern sensibilities.
We needed a solution that could support these unique needs while also providing digital tools for our tenants, including online leasing, payment portals and maintenance requests, all of which our software now seamlessly delivers.
What led you to Yardi Breeze?
Our team chose Breeze because of its functionality, ease of use and how well it aligned with our growing portfolio. Even though we’re a small office of just 11 people, many team members came from other commercial and residential backgrounds where they had positive experiences with Yardi. I’m sure that familiarity and confidence helped make the decision easier.
Did Woodard use any systems before Breeze?
From what I understand, the office did not have property management software before Breeze. It relied on more basic solutions like website plugins or simpler accounting tools.
As the business grew, that became challenging. Those tools couldn’t really support property-specific websites or offer tailored marketing capabilities, and they certainly weren’t set up to handle property management, accounting, marketing and tenant communications in one place. We needed something more robust that could centralize and streamline our marketing, accounting and tenant data. So, when our portfolio expanded, it became clear that moving toward a more integrated solution like Breeze was the best way to support our growth and efficiency.
What challenges did the team face without software?
As our portfolio grew, we needed better marketing tools. We wanted dedicated websites for each property, and our company website hadn’t been touched in years. We also struggled to efficiently manage and update unit availability across multiple platforms. Without integrated systems, we had to manually update every platform separately, which was cumbersome and time-consuming.
We ended up choosing a RentCafe website because we needed a professionally designed, dedicated website that was both visually appealing and easy to use. It’s also important for us to build excitement ahead of a property opening, and RentCafe offers exactly the right tools and flexibility we require for that.
What has Breeze done to address those areas of concern?
Yardi Breeze has significantly streamlined how we handle our day-to-day operations. For marketing, RentCafe automatically posts available units online, eliminating the need to manually update individual listings across multiple platforms. This saves a ton of time, especially since we manage both residential and commercial properties.
It’s just a fact that tenant communications, maintenance requests and accounting tasks quickly become overwhelming without the right tools.
With tenant interactions, Breeze simplifies communication. Tenants can handle everything online, from applying and signing leases to submitting maintenance requests and paying rent. It’s all done digitally, which our tenants really appreciate.
On the accounting side, Breeze has made things much easier, especially with complex tasks like CAM reconciliations. For instance, Breeze calculates CAM charges automatically based on each tenant’s space, reducing errors and speeding up the process.
Overall, this centralized, integrated approach helps us stay consistent, organized and responsive as our portfolio grows. Breeze provides a way to manage all these different pieces together.
How does Breeze help in your engagement and marketing efforts?
Yardi Breeze plays a really important role in our engagement and marketing efforts. With RentCafe and CommercialCafe, we can centralize key property information and present it in a clear, consistent way to prospects and tenants alike.
Having integrated property websites allows us to maintain consistency in our messaging and branding while also giving each property its own distinct online presence. Prospective tenants can easily explore the property online, see exactly what units are available, view amenities and even complete applications right from the website.
Has Breeze made a difference in how your current tenants interact with you?
Yes, absolutely. Before we took over the Schaefer and Johnston buildings, tenants were dealing directly with a private landlord. There wasn’t any real system in place. They probably had to drop off checks in person or maybe transfer funds manually, depending on what the owner allowed. Now they can pay rent online, submit maintenance requests digitally and communicate without needing to track someone down in person.
This streamlined approach supports stronger tenant communication, better leasing visibility and helps us drive more engagement across our residential and commercial properties. It’s a major improvement in convenience and service.
Can you think of any time savings you’ve experienced since implementing Breeze?
Yes, especially in marketing. Breeze automatically generates availability on RentCafe, which means I no longer have to manually update multiple listings every time a unit becomes available. That alone saves significant time each week.
Overall, I’d say full integration probably saves us several hours a week, if not more, while drastically reducing potential errors.
How many people use Breeze at your office? Is it easy to train them?
Four of us use Yardi Breeze regularly. Training has been very straightforward. When I came in, I had over 20 years of marketing experience but absolutely no real estate background. Still, our property manager walked me through everything step by step. Breeze made it easy to pick up, and if I ever needed more help, I used the tutorials or just hit the help button.
I’m 47, and I think people sometimes assume that if you didn’t grow up fully in the digital age, it’s harder to adapt. But honestly, I found the software super intuitive. Even our main real estate agent, who’s been in the business for 40-plus years, loves how easy it is to use.
Even new teammates are able to adapt right away. We always point each other toward Breeze’s training tools and the REfresh user conference, which has fantastic sessions on everything from accounting to marketing. It really makes onboarding smooth for anyone, regardless of experience.
How else do you use Breeze? Any ways that are pleasant surprises, or functionality that’s made an impact on your bottom line?
Beyond marketing and property management, one of the most pleasant surprises about Breeze has been its integrated accounting functionality, especially how easily it handles commercial and residential accounting together. Having everything from financials to tenant communication in one system has streamlined operations significantly.
The ease of integration between marketing, property management and accounting has not only saved us time but has also dramatically reduced errors. This kind of seamless workflow was a pleasant surprise. It has clearly boosted overall efficiency, which directly impacts our bottom line.
We’ve also seen positive effects on tenant satisfaction. For example, tenants appreciate being able to pay rent and request maintenance online, so we’ve retained commercial tenants longer and enhanced the residential experience as well. The software has truly improved both tenant relations and our internal operations at the same time.
In one sentence, tell me your favorite thing about Breeze.
My favorite thing about Breeze is how seamlessly it integrates marketing, tenant management and accounting into one intuitive platform, making everything easier for both our team and tenants.
