Last year Blanket teamed up with the NARPM Women’s Council of Property Managers to develop the Leading Women in Property Management program.
This program brings women role models to the forefront of our industry and showcases their leadership abilities and property management expertise. Our goal is to encourage more women in property management to step up and step forward as mentors, leaders, and to invest in their professional skills. 2025’s theme was She Makes The Difference, which emphasizes the indispensable role women play in each and every property management company across the country.
As part of the program, we recorded professional interviews with all twelve LWPM honorees during the 2025 NARPM Annual Tradeshow and Convention in Orlando. The interviews are finally ready, and we’re thrilled to share our conversation with Ashley Andreoni-Romo, CCRM, Director of Property Management at Windermere Signature Property Management in Sacramento, California, where she oversees a portfolio of over 1,550 doors.
Ashley shared many great insights
- Leading by example: Ashley measures leadership success not just by KPIs, but by integrity and whether people genuinely want to follow you. Being someone your team looks up to matters as much as the numbers.
- Tailored training: Every team member learns differently, and great leaders adapt to that. Ashley emphasizes building training programs and resources that speak to different skill sets and learning styles rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach.
- Leveraging virtual assistants: Burnout is real in this industry, and Ashley’s team has found relief by bringing on virtual assistants to handle the tasks that wear property managers down daily. It frees up their time for higher-value work with clients and residents.
- The strategic partner shift: Owners, especially accidental landlords, are no longer just looking for task management. They need a partner who can help them turn their properties into real income, and PMs who show up that way are the ones building lasting relationships.
- Collaborative competition: At SAC NARPM, Ashley found something rare, competitors who actually help each other. Having colleagues you can call when something new lands on your desk is something she credits as a career-long resource.
Our interview with Ashley Andreoni-Romo
Q: How do you define success?
A: I think there’s two ways to think about success as a leader. I think that there’s a way to measure success as a property management company. Obviously, by picking whatever KPIs or metrics that are important to you- more revenue, increasing your average rent are ways to sort of keep an eye on that success. But then there’s an overall, just as a human, what does success mean to you? I think if you are somebody that leads by example, you’re somebody that people want to follow, you have integrity- those are all parts of a successful leader.
Q: What’s one thing every leader should know about leading a team in this industry?
A: What people need to know about leading in this industry is that everybody has different learning styles and what might work for somebody will not work for somebody else.You have to tailor your training programs and adjust your resources that you have available to your team to meet those different learning styles and to speak to those different skill sets that are required of a property manager.
Q: What are you prioritizing in your business?
A: It’s really easy in this industry to become burnt out. Part of that is, utilizing virtual assistants- that’s something that’s new to us. It’s been really helpful in offloading those tasks that really burn out the property manager on a daily basis and allows them to leverage their time for clients and residents.
Q: What are the challenges that property managers face today?
A: One of the top challenges, being in California, is the constant evolving landscape of tenant landlord law. It changes annually/biannually. We’re constantly having to pivot and rewrite our policies and procedures to be compliant with the law. Our clients are expecting us to be experts in the industry. That’s something that’s constantly challenging for us.
Market conditions and economic conditions have really changed the perspective for a lot of unintentional or accidental landlords. Where they could have let it just sit for a while, and not really have to pay attention to it, they’re looking at these properties as a way to create income for them. They’re looking for strategies to make it more profitable for them so they can actually use this revenue for real life expenses. There’s a shift from thinking about us as, not just the sum of our tasks, but as a partner in strategizing towards that goal.
Q: What impact has NARPM had on you?
A: When I say that NARPM has changed my life, there’s this sort of like, really? And it has. The people that I’ve met, the quality of people that I have met. You’re in a space that’s collaborative. Even in our local chapter at SAC NARPM. Technically we’re all competitors in our market and it doesn’t feel that way when you go to NARPM events.
It’s really become a place where I can call up colleagues and ask, ‘How do you handle this situation?’ I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years, and there’s still new things that come across my desk every day, which is what I love about the business, but it’s also a challenge. Having people that are on your side that get it, it’s really important
Q: Best advice for someone getting started in property management?
A: I would say, if you are starting in property management, do all the things, read all the things, go to all the classes, shadow more experienced property managers. Get in the trenches of all of the different jobs and really build that skill set. And, I think that with those tasks, you will build confidence and self-reliance in a way that you can’t do from the top.
About Blanket
Blanket is transforming the property management industry with its innovative platform that helps property managers grow their portfolios and retain owners. By combining AI-powered insights, automated lead generation, and seamless integration with existing property management software, Blanket provides property managers with the tools they need to succeed. Blanket is backed by leading Venture Capital Funds like Foundation Capital, Symbol, Operator Partners, RE Angels, and industry-leading Angel investors. Together, we’re shaping the future of property management.
