Teddy Abdelmalek on the fundamentals that actually drive occupancy and NOI
The student housing industry loves chasing the next big thing. New technology platforms, elaborate amenity packages, innovative marketing tactics. But according to Teddy Abdelmalek, Senior Vice President of Business Development at HH Red Stone, operators are looking for success in the wrong places.
“Success in student housing is not this magical or mysterious thing,” Abdelmalek states. “It’s about doing the fundamentals consistently every single day.”
After 25 years spanning from residence hall advisor to executive leadership, Abdelmalek has identified what separates thriving properties from struggling ones. The answer isn’t found in flashy solutions. It’s found in relentless execution of basics.
The Resident-CEO Philosophy
Abdelmalek’s approach centers on one powerful concept: “The residents are your CEO.”
This fundamentally changes operational priorities. Properties instinctively elevate their game when ownership visits, ensuring everything is perfect. That same standard should apply daily for residents.
“If we just use that level of attention with the people actually living on our property every single day, your properties would be elevated to such an extreme level,” he explains. “Your resident experience, your staff’s investment in the property, your reputation, your hospitality, how your residents treat your property, everything falls into place.”
This means knowing residents’ names, remembering details about their families, and maintaining genuine relationships. Small gestures create measurable business impact.
Speed as Competitive Weapon
In competitive markets, one factor consistently determines winners: response speed.
“If I am faster than my competitor and I can call back a prospect that left me a message or emailed me, if I am faster, then I’m going to win,” Abdelmalek emphasizes. “They didn’t email you for the sake of emailing you. They need an answer. They need to make a decision.”
HH Red Stone has built what Abdelmalek calls a “bias towards action” into operations. “Get stuff done. Why put something off to tomorrow that you can get done today?”
This urgency extends beyond prospect calls to maintenance requests, renewal conversations, and operational decisions. Properties that respond faster consistently outperform those that don’t.
The Consistency Challenge
The fundamentals sound simple: market consistently, interact with residents regularly, follow up promptly, execute foundational tasks daily. The challenge lies in maintaining that discipline when results aren’t immediately visible.
“You’re out marketing to strategic businesses. You’re out on campus interacting with the student body and student organizations. You’re not going to see the fruits of your labor until much later,” Abdelmalek notes.
Success requires the same mindset as physical fitness. “If you exercise every single day, you’re going to lose weight. The whole aspect of it is that we don’t do that, so we’re not consistent. It is a discipline versus this mindset of wanting to be successful.”
Intentional Partnership Selection
As HH Red Stone expands its third-party management platform after a decade managing its own portfolio exclusively, the company has adopted selective growth criteria.
“We’ve walked away from management opportunities where we didn’t believe the fundamentals were in place for the property to truly succeed,” Abdelmalek reveals.
Strong performance requires ownership willing to invest appropriately. Expecting premium results without proper capital plans is unrealistic. HH Red Stone seeks owners who understand strategic spending matters and who want accountability around controllable metrics: NOI, leasing velocity, and resident experience.
Technology’s Proper Role
Regarding AI and automation tools, Abdelmalek advocates clear boundaries.
“AI should definitely supplement things that we’re already doing. It should take some of the mundane work, things that distract us from the resident experience and resident interaction. Anything that helps with the paperwork aspect that is not necessarily customer-facing, that’s where the value is.”
Technology should create “superhumans,” freeing staff from administrative burdens to focus on genuine connection and community building. The goal is enabling human relationships, not replacing them.
California’s Development Shift
Recent California changes to development rights near universities create significant implications.
“California is effectively saying, if you’re building near a campus, we’re going to get out of your way,” Abdelmalek notes. “That’s a really big deal in California because they have a lot of red tape.”
Short-term effects include increased project proposals and rising land values. Long-term, California becomes a testing ground for regulatory reforms that could spread nationally, incentivizing development in tier-two markets and underserved areas.
Winners won’t just build fastest, but will understand how to lease, operate, and differentiate properties effectively.
Investing in Talent Development
Reflecting on 2025, Abdelmalek identifies talent investment as critical.
“You have to give your on-site talent a path forward. There has to be an investment in their professional development because it’s just so hard to find good people,” he emphasizes.
When you find talented staff, double down. Provide clear career paths. Pull promising employees aside to explore whether property management could become a career rather than a transitional job.
“There’s way too much turnover already in student housing. If you find someone who is good at what they do naturally, you have to invest,” Abdelmalek states.
His own journey exemplifies this principle. “I wasn’t going to go into student housing. I didn’t even know what student housing was. But the mentors that I surrounded myself with encouraged me to go down this route.”
The Formula Forward
As HH Red Stone expands, recently closing on property near Yale University while signing new management agreements, Abdelmalek’s advice remains consistent: be selective about partnerships, execute fundamentals with discipline, respond with speed, invest in people, and remember that residents represent the business’s purpose.
“When students and residents feel respected, your occupancy and NOI will follow,” he concludes. “That’s not a tagline. That’s the formula.”
For operators entering 2026, the path to excellence isn’t mysterious. It’s demanding. And it starts with showing up to execute fundamentals one more time.
Teddy Abdelmalek is Senior Vice President of Business Development at HH Red Stone, bringing 25 years of student housing and multifamily experience to property management strategy. HH Red Stone is the property management arm of HH Group, managing approximately 10,000 beds across multiple asset classes, including student housing, multifamily, affordable, and mixed-use properties nationwide.
Disclosure: Individuals or companies mentioned may have a commercial relationship with KeyCrew.
