Build a Custom Voice AI for Emergency Tenant Communication
No major Voice AI providers offer a dedicated emergency communication tool for property managers. A custom system built with Twilio and a language model provides this specific function.
The system's complexity depends on the number of properties and integration with your tenant database, such as AppFolio or Yardi. The logic also adapts to handle various emergencies like fires, floods, or power outages, each with a unique communication protocol.
We built an emergency communication system for a regional property manager with 25 buildings and 1,200 residential units. The system was deployed in 3 weeks and reduced the time to notify all tenants of a power outage from over 2 hours of manual calls to under 5 minutes.
What Problem Does This Solve?
Property managers often first try enterprise alert systems like Everbridge or OnSolve. These platforms are built for large-scale municipal alerts, not targeted residential communication. They lack direct API access to property management software (PMS), meaning tenant lists must be manually uploaded and are frequently out of date. Their pricing models, based on high-volume annual contracts, are not suited for a 30-person property management firm.
Alternatively, they use the built-in communication tools within their PMS like AppFolio or Yardi. These are designed for non-urgent emails and text messages. During a power outage, tenants may lack the internet access needed to receive these alerts. These tools also cannot handle interactive responses, such as a tenant pressing a key to confirm they are safe or require assistance.
A pipe burst in a 50-unit building at 2 AM is a classic failure scenario. The on-call manager must look up tenants in a portal and manually call them, one by one. It takes 90 minutes to reach everyone, with no reliable way to track who needs help. Sending an update requires starting the entire manual process again.
How Does It Work?
We begin by establishing a direct, read-only API connection to your PMS, whether it is AppFolio, Yardi, or another platform. A Python service using httpx polls the API every 15 minutes, syncing tenant contact information to a dedicated Supabase database. This ensures the contact list for alerts is never more than 15 minutes out of date, preventing calls to former residents.
The core of the system is a FastAPI application deployed on AWS Lambda for efficiency and low cost. When a manager triggers an alert through a secure web portal, the system uses the Claude API to generate a clear, context-specific voice message. For a flood, it might say, "This is an emergency alert from property management. A water main has broken on floor four of 123 Main Street. Please avoid the east stairwell and await further instruction." The message is then sent to Twilio's Programmable Voice API for broadcast.
The system is built for two-way communication. If a tenant presses '1' to confirm they are safe, the response is logged. If they press '2' for assistance, their name and unit number are immediately posted to a designated Slack channel for the on-call team. The architecture supports up to 500 concurrent calls, enabling contact with over 1,500 tenants in under 4 minutes. Unanswered calls are automatically retried twice at five-minute intervals.
Deployment on a serverless stack keeps hosting costs under $50 per month, plus Twilio's per-minute usage fees. We implement structured logging with structlog, which sends any system errors to an alerts channel. Managers get a simple dashboard showing real-time call statuses, including delivery receipts and a list of tenants who have requested assistance.
What Are the Key Benefits?
Notify 1,000 Tenants in Under 5 Minutes
Automated voice calls reach every tenant simultaneously, replacing hours of manual dialing by an on-call manager during a crisis.
Pay Per-Minute, Not Per-Seat
Hosting costs are under $50/month plus Twilio usage. Avoid expensive annual contracts from enterprise alert systems not built for property managers.
You Own the Communication Engine
We deliver the full Python source code to your GitHub. You are never locked into our service and can have any developer extend it.
Instantly Identify Tenants Who Need Help
Real-time Slack alerts are sent when tenants request assistance. The dashboard provides a clear audit trail of who was contacted and their response.
Syncs Directly with AppFolio or Yardi
Direct API integration keeps your tenant contact list automatically updated. No more manually exporting CSVs or managing separate contact lists.
What Does the Process Look Like?
System Access and Scoping (Week 1)
You provide read-only API credentials for your Property Management Software. We audit the data and finalize the notification logic for different emergency types.
Core System Build (Week 2)
We build the FastAPI service, integrate Twilio for voice, and set up the Supabase database. You receive access to the GitHub repository to see progress.
Integration and Testing (Week 3)
We connect the system to your live PMS data and conduct a full-scale test on a pilot property. You receive a test report showing call delivery rates and response times.
Launch and Monitoring (Week 4+)
The system goes live. For 90 days, we provide active monitoring and support. You receive a runbook detailing how to trigger alerts and interpret the dashboard.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What factors determine the cost and timeline for a build?
- The primary factors are the number of integrations and the complexity of the notification logic. A system that just pulls from AppFolio and sends a single message is a 2-week build. A system that integrates with Yardi and a separate maintenance ticketing system, with branching logic for different buildings, is closer to 4 weeks. Pricing is a fixed, one-time fee based on that scope.
- What happens if Twilio has an outage during an emergency?
- The system is designed for resilience. If the primary Twilio number fails, it automatically switches to a backup provider. If the Claude API is down, it falls back to a pre-recorded static message for that emergency type. You receive a Slack alert detailing the fallback action, but the tenant notifications are still sent out successfully within minutes.
- How is this better than using a service like Call-Em-All?
- Call-Em-All is a broadcast tool, not an integrated system. You still have to manually upload a CSV of tenant numbers for every alert. Our system syncs with your PMS in real time, so the list is always accurate. It also provides two-way interaction (e.g., 'Press 2 for help') and logs responses back, which general-purpose broadcast tools cannot do.
- Can this system handle multi-language notifications?
- Yes. During setup, we can tag tenants with a preferred language. When an alert is triggered, the system uses the Claude API to translate the emergency script into the tenant's preferred language before sending it to the text-to-speech engine. This ensures critical information is understood by everyone, and it adds about 2-3 days to the initial build.
- Is the system secure? We are handling tenant data.
- Security is built in. All data is encrypted in transit and at rest. We use Supabase for its robust access controls, and the AWS Lambda function runs in a private VPC. API keys and credentials are never stored in the code; they are managed through AWS Secrets Manager. We deliver a system that meets standard data privacy requirements.
- Can we trigger alerts from a mobile phone?
- Yes. The primary trigger is a secure, mobile-friendly web page. We can also configure a dedicated phone number. An authorized manager can call this number, authenticate with a PIN, and trigger a pre-defined alert (e.g., 'Press 1 for fire, Press 2 for flood') directly from their phone without needing a computer or internet access.
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