17 July Building Community: How to Plan Events at Multifamily Properties July 17, 2024 By Melisa Rana Property Management commercial real estate tenants, just for fun, multi-family property 0 BUILDING COMMUNITY: HOW TO PLAN EVENTS AT MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES July 17, 2024 | Property Management | just for fun, commercial real estate tenants, , multi-family property People have been through a lot in recent years. Between how the pandemic limited social interactions and a general rise in nostalgia, researchers have noticed an unfortunate trend. According to Discovery ABA, a children’s therapy service provider, over 60% of adults in the US report feeling lonely, and for young adults this stat is even more shocking. With a whopping 79% of young people reporting feeling lonely, researchers are now calling Gen Z the loneliest generation. This can certainly sound dire, but there are those who also see this trend as a rising opportunity. People want to be more social, they want interaction with their neighbors, and people want a larger sense of community where they live. Since 45 million households are renters (from data collected by the National Multifamily Housing Council), property managers and multi-family property owners are in a prime position to meet the new need of this generation, and one solution managers are turning to is event planning. Not only does community event planning show that you as a property staff care about your tenants, a happier community leads to a higher retention rate and more tenant referrals (lower vacancies). If you’re interested in planning your first event on your property, or you’d like inspiration for your next occasion, here are a few thoughts to help you get started! Community Events for Families Though many multi-family properties end up with an eclectic tenant population, some property managers prefer targeting specific groups, gearing specific amenities to cultivate a particular community. In the same way that a playground can encourage more families to move into an apartment complex, property managers can gear their community events toward these groups. As an easy first event to try out, consider hosting a free movie night in a common area on your grounds. Whether you choose a comedy or a classic, family movies are easy crowd pleasers, and setting up a group showing is a fantastic way to show appreciation. In addition, you can consider elevating the experience a bit by offering free popcorn, candy, and refreshments. No matter what price range you allocate for a movie night, this community event is a low-stress way to bring your tenants together. Note: Make sure to re-watch any movies that you end up showing! Even highly-regarded classics may have a few scenes that aren’t as age-appropriate as you might recall. Other options for family-friendly community events include: Back-to-School “Carnivals” (or themed events during seasonal breaks) Scavenger Hunts (where you have the opportunity to highlight lesser-used amenities) Family-friendly community events can also be a good opportunity to open things up to friends and families. You never know - a simple movie night could be the perfect introduction to your property for a future tenant! Community Events for Young Professionals For properties that cater towards the “young professionals” category of renters, options for community events expand, although it may take some experimentation to see what sticks. One avenue to explore for a younger crowd is sporting events like the Super Bowl, March Madness, or any other big games that are relevant in your area. These sorts of watch parties are a great way to allow residents to come and go as their plans permit without placing much pressure on your staff to entertain. Although these veer away from single events a bit, encouraging your staff to run a March Madness bracket with an open invitation to residents is also a way to build interaction and can help promote engagement for future events. Again, experiment with different types of events to see what your community is interested in and run with whatever your tenants are most receptive to! A few more ideas to consider include: Host a Fitness Class (contact a local gym to see if they’re interested in some free marketing) Promote a Book Club Coordinate a CPR Course (younger people are constantly looking to learn more skills, and having more tenants with this skill set can only be beneficial) Community Events for Everyone Finally, while it can be useful to aim events at particular niches, there are a number of community event concepts that are bound to appeal to most people. To best accomplish this, it can be a good idea to look to your neighbors for help. Get to know your local businesses and coordinate a food truck day, or invite a local restaurant to cater another event. Especially if you manage a larger property, these local businesses will jump at the opportunity to get their food in front of your tenants. Similarly (if you run a pet-friendly property), consider hosting an “adopt-a-thon” by contacting a local animal shelter. The shelter will certainly appreciate it if the event leads to a few adoptions, and your tenants will enjoy interacting with any cats and dogs that come to visit. Needless to say, opportunities are endless to show appreciation to your tenants or to give back to the community that you're located in through hosting events. Just remember to start small and don’t be afraid to grow based on your tenants’ response level. You’ll have a vibrant multi-family community in no time! Keeping your tenants happy starts with a robust maintenance plan. For all your property inspection needs, stick with National Property Inspections! Contact our team today to schedule an inspection with your local NPI commercial property pro. Comments are closed.