Ep 6 | The Gap Preventing Widespread Adoption of ‘AI’ in the Multifamily Industry w/ Tamela Coval

The multifamily industry doesn’t just have an AI adoption problem.It has a literacy problem.In this episode of the Multifamily Property Management AI Playbook, Daniel Cunningham sits down with Tamela Coval, Partner at Multifamily NEXT, to break down what actually happened when they tried to teach operators AI:They had to stop everything…and start with “What is AI?”Because even senior leaders still don’t understand the difference between:- Chatbots- LLMs- And AI that actually does the workThat gap is driving hesitation, bad decisions, and real fear around compliance and risk.This episode cuts through it:- Why most “AI tools” are still just scripted widgets- The difference between responding to work vs executing it- Why leaders are cautious—and what’s behind it- How AI actually shows up in leasing vs maintenanceBecause the goal isn’t to add another tool.It’s to remove the work your team should never have been doing in the first place.If your AI still needs your team to manage it…You’re not running AI.You’re just doing the same work—with better branding.Continue the Conversation🔗 Connect with Daniel Cunningham on LinkedIn🎙️ Connect with Tamela Coval on LinkedIn🏢 Follow Vendoroo on LinkedIn🌐 Visit Vendoroo's Website📬 Get insights from the Vendoroo Weekly NewsletterChapters:00:00—The AI Literacy Problem 01:29—Tamela Coval’s Operator to Innovator Journey 07:15—The Workshop Wake-Up Call 08:54—Chatbots vs Real AI 14:31—What Agentic AI Actually Means 15:24—Inside the Dallas Workshop 19:11—The Platform Confusion Problem 21:06—The Leadership Gap 23:14—Maintenance Is the Real Opportunity 25:49—Maintenance Drives Renewals 27:39—What Leaders Should Actually Say About AI 29:21—Compliance, Risk, and Guardrails 33:58—Human-in-the-Loop = Trust 35:00—The Career Shift No One Talks About 37:08—Final Playbook: Remove Work, Not People