2020 Year in Review
2020 has been a year unlike no other. We saw how quickly Covid-19 turned the world upside down, and grieved the loss of normality as lockdowns forced us to stay inside. We canceled our travel plans, found new ways to keep ourselves entertained indoors, developed a newfound appreciation for nature, tried to stay sane amid the uncertainty, and missed our friends and loved ones.
During this year, at URBN Playground, our number one priority has been keeping our communities safe - from our customers and residents to our staff, including all our frontliners, the heroes behind the scenes who keep things running safely and smoothly even as the pandemic persists.
In the middle of the challenges this year brought, we’ve also seen a few bright spots amid the turbulence that has been 2020. As we look back on the year, we’d like to share some of our proudest moments - and to say a big thank you to our communities, friends, and partners for being part of this journey with us, and for trusting us.
Launch of URBN Playground App
Covid-19 has shown us how integral technology is to our daily lives. In early 2020, we officially launched our proprietary white-label concierge and service booking app, allowing residents of a building to easily book housekeeping, delivery, or fitness and lifestyle services ranging from personal training to cleaning, dog walking, and laundry services - all at the tap of a button.
To date, the app has been rolled out in over 60 buildings across the United States. In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, the app allowed for pre-programmed limitations on headcount to be set for booking fitness services, to comply with social distancing regulations.
Launch of URBN Burn Fitness Program
To provide customers with the flexibility to work out at their convenience, since last year, we began investing into producing high quality fitness training videos as part of a digital workout program. This became especially relevant during COVID-19 to help residents stay fit during the pandemic. During lockdowns, we decided to offer a portion of URBN Burn programming free of charge to all customers via Instagram Live and video recordings made available on the URBN Playground website - and this programming is still freely available on our IGTV.
Expansion into Texas, Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina
In 2020, we expanded our reach beyond the Tri-State Region to launch services in new cities including Atlanta, Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles, North Carolina, Austin, and Houston. Beyond the residential market, URBN Playground also expanded its service offerings into commercial, corporate, hotel, and spa services.
Growing our Presence by 7X
Last December, we had employees in one state. Today, we have them in seven states including the markets mentioned above. We’re excited as the URBN team grows and we’re grateful to be working with an amazing team of frontliners delivering convenience as luxury as a service!
Feature in the Jefferies Fitness & Wellness Summit
In the fall of 2020, we were invited to the Jefferies Fitness and Wellness Summit to showcase our URBN Playground proprietary concierge app as part of notable emerging technologies for the Multifamily and wellness space.
Successfully Helping Existing and New Customers React to and Navigate the Epidemic
During these changing times, we have adapted and continue to make great strides for our users and residents - it’s not simply doing grocery shopping for them, it’s being on the forefront and edge of the guidelines and operations related to service and hospitality.
We have had near zero Covid-19 cases related to our service models, because of our progressive approach in partnering with our team. We’ve provided our staff with masks, gloves and sanitizer not only on the job, but also for them to freely take home, keeping them safe beyond the workplace. We’ve increased wages for frontline workers by 15% for numerous months, to help our team afford the increased living expenses during this time.
We have pivoted our business to support our clients through transitions due to COVID-19. We have remained a resource for consultation as we have been involved with following CDC regulations and guidelines in reopening amenity spaces in many of our properties across the nation. We have been able to provide invaluable insight to many property owners and managers on what has worked or not worked in other buildings/cities. Additionally, we have been influential in working with lobby groups to provide resources to reopen amenities safely.
Selection as part of GlobeSt's Multifamily Influencers
In October, we were selected to GlobeSt's Multifamily Influencers list. The list focuses on highlighting experts in the multifamily industry who have exemplified skill and wisdom throughout the year. The 2020 list had an emphasis on how honorees have pivoted to serve clients amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and how they have contributed to the multifamily community throughout the past year. As a company with a direct impact on the lives of our clients, we are humbled to have received this recognition in result of our efforts over the past year.
Double Feature in The New York Times
In September, URBN Playground co-founder Jeremy Brutus was interviewed in the New York Times discussing “How the Pandemic Has Changed Apartment Building Amenities”. Jeremy highlighted the importance of focusing on residents and their needs in the buildings that we manage.
Since the onset of the pandemic, URBN Playground has focused on pivoting and evolving our services to accommodate the needs of residents. This has included modifying space allocation within buildings with our partners, rolling out technology scheduling capabilities for amenity spaces, launching virtual programming including fitness and events, and deploying software for symptom questionnaires and contact tracing. Read the full article here: New York Times: How the Pandemic Has Changed Apartment Building Amenities
In December, we had the opportunity to share our perspective with the New York Times again, on how we were helping residents across 15 New York City properties make sure they didn’t miss their favorite holiday traditions. “This year we want to create as much normalcy for families,” said Jeremy in the article “Still at Home for the Holidays”.
New Opportunities on the Horizon
We have also won new opportunities that we are currently working on, including the development of over 125,000 square feet of amenities space, as well as the development of our first fully-integrated properties, from space development, to operations and technology.
We are honored and privileged to be able to continue serving our customers and communities, and to be recognized for the work we’re doing in setting standards and best practices for safe building and amenity operations amid challenging conditions.
Onwards to New Beginnings...
As we say goodbye to 2020 and usher in 2021, we want to take the time to say thank you for being on this journey with us. We look forward to continuing to partner with you to achieve greater heights and new innovations in our service model and delivery, and to continue to keep our customers safe while providing high-touch luxury service.