The One Amenity That Never Goes Out of Style
In the property and hospitality line, there is a constant rush to have the latest and trendiest amenities, from urban staples such as swimming pools, fitness centers, and business lounges – to more recent, trendy options such as creator studios, infrared saunas, and salt rooms.
Yet amid all these investments into amenity space, another crucial yet often overlooked amenity is neglected – the service that occurs within these spaces.
While creating space is all about size, square footage, and built-up area, service is what takes an environment from simply being “space” to being a “place”. “What’s the difference?” you may ask. Space is simply an area that may be available for use but may be unoccupied. A place is where people go to with a clear intent and purpose in mind – an area used and designated for specific experiences – just like how many cozy coffee shops have turned retail space into a “Third Place” for many people in between work and home.
Service is what takes an environment from simply being “space” to being a “place”.
Service is what makes the difference between a common noun and a proper noun – a subtle nuance, yes, but isn’t nuance what makes all the difference in tipping a brand’s scale?
At URBN Playground, my partner Amy Blitz and I have worked on numerous amenity consulting projects and one of the first questions we are usually asked is about what kinds of new amenities renters, residents, and guests are looking for.
Without hesitation, the first answer on our lips is usually – service. We believe that the person looking at a new or existing rental or condo is choosing a lifestyle, rather than a cold, hard unit of space or built-up area.
A lifestyle is more than just the tangible and concrete but it involves feelings, emotions, motivations, memories, and a sense of place, or belonging.
They involve first and foremost people-driven interactions that are unique, memorable, positive, and personal. Such interactions may happen by chance, but it can also be engineered with the right planning and organization, delivered with intensity and passion. It is such interactions that will be the hallmarks of the next amenity at your property, whether it’s a new property or an already existing one.
To draw from the travel industry, take for example a trip to the museum - a day out at the museum isn’t happenstance; the cultural experience represents efforts that have been years and even hundreds of years in the making to turn a building into a cultural treasure trove.
We feel developments need spaces, and size of the space and other tangible specs are an essential ingredient to building a successful sales and leasing program, but the bigger opportunity for differentiation is service. There are the outliers – buildings with reputations for unbelievable service, but we feel there could be many more and are building a team with the expertise to bring this to life. It’s a process driven exercise in understanding what people want and will want in the future. It involves intent listening, and precise execution because the details are nimble and numerous – very, very numerous.
We believe that the opportunity will be great for those who plan a holistic, immersive experience for their residents. The opportunity is available to all buildings, no matter how big or small, how old or modern. Even if a building lacks a lounge or game room, service is an amenity that everyone can provide. Creating a brand built around service makes perceived value tangible.
Yes, to stay on top of its game, a property will need to keep up with trends, be it the latest co-working spaces with 3D printers or workshops with great tools and virtual reality simulators… but not in a vacuum without the right service. Planned service goals, genuine and sincere interactions and a structured program of events is what we feel will become the new norm. Our focus on being a service provider that will transform spaces into places that create value – value for the users, and value for the developers who manage to successfully deliver service and brand to new residents and customers.
At URBN Playground, we strive to deliver experience through premium, top-notch, hotel-style service. We draw our experience from the luxury hospitality line, infusing unforgettable and memorable experiences for our customers into the places that we manage and operate.
Ultimately, service is the essence of URBN Playground’s core values. It’s what we believe in, and it’s what helps our clients drive results for their business.
The Burden of Prestige: Avoid These 4 Amenity Management Mistakes
Winning awards, receiving free media attention, and achieving rave word-of-mouth reviews and staying relevant in the media after a grand opening – these are all goals of any property developer, owner, or amenity manager.
Developments with a prestigious reputation can command a higher value, boosting the top and bottom line.
However, with prestige also comes the two-fold burden of 1) having to invest more into the hamster wheel of keeping up appearances, and 2) the very real danger of allowing service standards to slip during this time, and not living up to the “hype” while facing greater scrutiny.
No business owner ever intentionally allows the burden of prestige to affect their business… but often it’s a subtle, slippery slope. Being well-known leads to more inquiries, which lead to more work, which leads to more complexities, and so on.
Many times, amenity companies start out with the right intentions – they hire the right staff, provide thorough training, and innovate to come up with best practices for running the show. However, the very things that make a property great often end up being neglected in the process of keeping up appearances.
In my 20+ years of experience in the industry, I’ve noticed a few common mistakes that many amenity companies make in their attempts to maintain their “prestige”:
1. Focusing overly on physical amenities to deliver a “wow” factor.
Physical amenities are costly investments and the demand for different types of amenities can change very quickly, depending on what’s trending.
Purely relying on amenities to sell your property is not enough – the entire experience of staying in the building must be considered, from the service provided at the front desk, to the fitness instructors, to the cleaning and laundry services.
A common misconception I encounter frequently is that having superb amenities will drive sales – however, poorly managed amenities can lower the value of a property over time. Conversely, smoothly-run, consistent operations lead to an experience that people come to rely on and trust.
2. Diverting staff to focus on the media.
This is when staff are pulled from their daily operations to plan, coordinate, and host media tours, visits, and photoshoots. If this happens too often, it prevents the staff from delivering and maintaining a high quality of service to guests/residents.
Resources should not be diverted to making the place look good for the CEO who is getting interviewed or walking through. It should just look good already.
As a property manager or developer, if you need to double-check with your provider to make sure the property is presentable for special occasions, you may want to re-evaluate the service package currently being deployed.
3. Conditional “sprucing up” of the property.
Often, many amenity managers decide to “spruce things up” only when the media comes by, be it enhancing the landscaping or flowers, adding new equipment, fixing faulty lighting, or even changing old linen.
This sends the message to staff that the place should only look tiptop when the media comes by, instead of 24-7. It will subtly influence the way the staff behave and serve on “regular” days versus “special” days.
4. Focusing only on traditional media reviews.
You may receive a rave review in a newspaper, but that doesn’t mean residents or guests will come pouring in. In today’s highly connected world, reviews on social media platforms are a huge influencing factor in determining if people trust your brand.
To not only reach the top but stay on top, property developers should be seeking amenity providers who have a long term mindset and the creativity to really innovate over time.
Despite all of these challenges, the burden of prestige is indeed a big opportunity, if taken advantage of correctly.
Tackling the burden is possible. If you have a long-term mindset, paired with a strong operational amenity partner, you can ride the wave of prestige and at the same time, continue to maintain and improve.
Marketing vs Operations: Building a Successful Property in the Age of the Customer
In the past, while customers controlled the buying decision, sellers controlled not only the products/services being offered, but information about those products and services.
Today, thanks to technology and the Internet, sellers no longer control information about their products and services. At the tap of a button, users can share reviews and information about their experiences with the rest of the world.
For property developers, this means that simply winning awards and receiving traditional media attention for your property is not enough.
To win the hearts and business of customers in an era where the rules have changed, property developers must go beyond typical measures of prestige (such as awards and fancy amenities) when it comes to marketing their property. They must now focus instead on ways to enhance the service experience for every customer.
The Conflict Between Marketing and Operations
Of course, enhancing the customer experience is easier said than done, because it involves a conflict between marketing and operations. Marketing focuses on top-line revenue and, accordingly, seeks invention and creativity in order to win new business, while operations is concerned with cost, efficiency, and execution. This being the case, conflict is inevitable.
Wearing the marketing hat, one is focused on reaching as many new and potential customers/buyers/renters as possible, possibly at the expense of keeping up the standard of operations. Wearing the operational hat, one might be tempted to keep costs low and not invest in the additional enhancements needed to raise staff capacity and service levels.
These two hats are often seen at odds with each other – however, I’d like to suggest that they are not at odds, but rather, complementary.
Excellent operations leads to enhanced reputation in the long-run.
A good marketer will not neglect the importance of operations, while a good operations manager will understand how operations drives revenue.
Investing in Customer Happiness
A clear sign that marketing and operations is being done right is simply happy customers.
Happy customers are the result of a great reputation (the promise) + a great experience (the promise fulfilled).
Marketing drives the promise, and operations fulfills the promise. Working hand in hand, both marketing and operational functions should be making investments in:
Training and equipping personnel: As your occupancy rates grow, and as the value of the property increases, the investment into staff should grow accordingly. Staff should be trained to deliver an even higher level of service, and there should be an increased sense of wage equity for top-performing staff.
Research and development: Top businesses are never satisfied with achieving a level of success – for every achievement, they strive to top it, and add more value to their stakeholders and the lives of the people they touch. Likewise, instead of just striving to be the best in the industry, look at how to innovate even further through research and development. This will ensure you become not only a market contender, but a leader for years to come.
Constant improvement of service levels: Success is easier to attain than it is to maintain. A player with an established reputation in the market will be put under more scrutiny and shown less mercy when a mistake is made. Therefore, the goal should be to never be satisfied with service levels, constantly striving to maintain, improve, and surpass them.
When the gap between marketing and operations in bridged, property developers will be able to deliver the level of service that gets people leaving glowing reviews on online platforms.
This continues in a positive cycle, because loyal customers will lead to a better bottom line and increased staff morale. That in turn will ensure operations keeps running like a well-oiled machine. And that consistency and excellence is what will keep people coming back.
It’s In the Details: What Your Bathrooms Say about Your Business
A long time ago, I learned that the details are what matter. My first job was at the Peninsula Hotel in New York City – yes, the same Peninsula where the forks and knives are placed on the table with measured perfection (literally with a ruler at their Hong Kong property). This level of attention to detail may seem absurd to some, but there were very important messages being communicated through every single breakfast served at those tables with measured perfection.
To the guests, the message was: “We will go out of our way and strive towards a self-defined perfection, ultimately to ensure you feel a certain way”. To the service staff, the message was: “There is no margin for error in striving for perfection”. This perspective lent importance to what we did, and made the smallest of tasks feel very important. Even a simple daily routine, serving breakfast, carried special meaning because of the discipline and excellence involved in it.
From setting tables to preparing the food to making sure each guest’s needs were attended to, every task held vision and meaning – to maintain the property’s prestigious reputation and five-star rating. A soft boiled egg had to be precisely soft boiled to exactly the right texture and temperature, with zero margin for error.
These lessons were certainly formative in the launching of our start-up amenity consultancy, URBN Playground.
In this post, I’ve taken a few examples from the restaurant scene here in New York City to illustrate how the seemingly little details can go a long way in creating that top-notch experience for customers and guests. While not all of them may reach the level of measured perfection I mentioned earlier, all these little details do generate feelings and contribute to the experience.
These establishments are winning the hearts and dollars of their customers because of their thoughtful approach to not only their food but also their customer experience. Each of these places I’ve highlighted has a similar approach to how we at URBN Playground operate every day. In each place, I’ve zoomed into a few details which I felt made it memorable, aside from the food (which by default should be good, of course).
Here are my favorite highlights – I hope you enjoy them:
Reunion, Brooklyn: The fact that the owners get their hands busy in serving customers makes all the difference, something which is firmly rooted in URBN Playground’s hands-on approach to amenities management. Alongside our amazing team, you’ll often find Amy and I immersed in the service. Another one of my favorite details that stuck out to me was the unique wallpaper they have in their bathroom’s walls, designed by Flavor Paper. The wallpaper features a quirky mix of prints featuring an eclectic mix of classic characters one would spot on the streets of Brooklyn, from Hasidic men to Notorious B.I.G. It’s not the kind of thing you’d expect to see in secondary areas of a bright and airy café, but it works and definitely leaves an impression.
Sweet Leaf, Jackson Avenue: The building that houses this café was built in the 19th century and is furnished with antiques imported from Paris, along with a host of other memorable details. These include a good hundred or two vinyl records, and a turntable to play them on. The bathrooms at Sweet Leaf are wallpapered with old pages from Star and Enquirer magazines, and decorated with pictures of Glam Rockers from the 80s. This was just not expected and it was memorable.
Babu Ji, Lower East Side Manhattan: There isn’t a better Indian restaurant right now in NYC. Reserve the Chef’s table and enjoy the ride! There are three details I’d like to point out that make this place home: the first, the classic Indian movies playing on the walls of the restaurant. Secondly, the self-service beverage fridge. Lastly (you guessed it), the décor and details that adorn the bathrooms – the walls are painted with a very special message to patrons, but they are in Hindi. It basically says “You son of a donkey, please don’t make a mess”. It’s a literal translation, but you get the drift. They send the clear message that not only money but also a lot of thought went into designing and building them.
Why details matter
Places like these are constantly busy and people keep coming back because of the attention paid to the smallest of details – like the wallpaper in the bathrooms. In the context of residential properties, it’s the details that determine whether tenants renew their lease or whether the value of a property goes up. Especially so when greater and greater incentives are needed to keep tenants or find new ones year over year.
Being able to pay attention to the right details is essentially knowing what motivates your customers. At URBN Playground we believe in and have a passion for connecting people to other people. Our philosophy when it comes to amenities is built around creating connection and community – within cities, neighborhoods, and buildings. We design experiences, lifestyles, and memories that create a deeper sense of community and well-being for every person we touch.
When the details are neglected
Details missed are really opportunities lost. Residential and hotel properties that aren’t thoughtful about the details experienced by their guests should be prepared to be compared with competitors solely on factors such as price and location. Neglecting details dilutes a brand’s value and causes customers to question its vision, mission and core values. This hurts utilization rates, ancillary sales, and future growth for the business, ultimately affecting not only the brand value but the company’s bottom line as well.
Changing the way we look at details at URBN Playground
Dissecting nuanced details to the umpteenth degree in the pre-development process is paramount. As an example, let’s look at a sliver of URBN Playgrounds operations – our uniform procurement and the decision making process.
As a general rule of thumb, staff at every spa, fitness center of amenity facility use polo shirts with an embroidered name of the brand or service provider on the left side of the shirt. At URBN Playground, we’ve changed our thinking and the conversation around uniforms. Our Group Fitness Uniforms are made by luxury fitness wear brand BADIER, who describe themselves as the “First Curated Luxury Fitness, Fashion & Music Boutique.” With BADIER outfits as uniforms, our URBN Playground staff are not only proud and excited to put on their uniforms, but they are also great conversation starters with our customers as well, and ultimately contribute to the overall customer experience.
There is nothing standard or generic about URBN Playground’s approach to amenities, and that’s what makes us special.
Have you experienced any amazing details as a customer lately? Leave a comment, and share what you are passionate about!
Connecting People to Other People, Places, and Experiences
by Jeremy Brutus, Co-Founder, URBN Playground
For most of my life, I’ve been passionate about creating connections – be it connecting people to other people, to places, or to experiences.
This passion has served me well an amenity consultant for the past 15 years. I’ve worked on amenity and lifestyle projects in locations ranging from California to New York to Saudi Arabia, comprising luxury high-rise condominiums, apartments, gated communities, hotels, and corporate fitness centers.
Recently, I decided to take an exciting leap of faith and launch my own amenity consulting firm, Urbn Playground. During my career as an amenity consultant, I was often frustrated by the traditional and outdated approach taken towards amenities.
This led me to venture out on my own in an attempt to revitalize the amenity marketplace. I’m always inspired by stories about people like my dear friend Maria Chatman, who is bringing new life to a traditional industry.
I’ve known Maria for over ten years, and I’ve seen her passionately combine her personal interests as a nationally-ranked triathlete with her desire to make a difference by ending child obesity. In her own words, her current mission is “Helping kids help themselves to a healthier way of life”. She runs fitness programs for kids that are fun and don’t feel like “exercise”, changing kids’ perceptions towards living a healthy lifestyle.
Her story, and many others, prompted me to think about how I could impact my own industry in a positive way.
As someone who lives and breathes community, I believe that amenities should not just be standalone spaces or facilities. They should foster engagement and connection throughout the entire local community.
The Power of Connection
We live in a world that is highly connected on a virtual level, yet as humans, we still long for physical connection. We find ourselves drawn to cozy cafes, communal areas, and trendy bars for one simple reason: connection.
We long for connection, whether to other people or even to the world around us. Seeing and hearing alone is not enough. For powerful, memorable experiences to be created, we need to taste, touch, feel, and smell.
Over the course of my career, I realized that being an amenity consultant is not just about cost savings, SOPs, or hiring and managing staff - although we do all those things. It’s also about doing what brings me the most joy: creating connection.
In the line of work I do, I get to create connections, day in and day out:
Connecting people to people: I connect developers and building managers with vendors. I negotiate best prices between them and forge lasting partnerships. I also connect residents or hotel guests to each other, through community-oriented lifestyle programs.
Connecting people to experiences: I connect people to memorable experiences, from wine tasting sessions, to yoga classes, to beer festivals, and to a whole host of other unique experiences.
Connecting people to places: Perhaps most satisfying of all, I connect people to their cities and neighborhoods in a whole new way. Whether it’s helping them discover an art gallery down the road, an artisanal coffee joint across the street, or a co-working space two blocks away, I help them find hubs, enclaves, and oases to meet their varied needs, creating micro-communities within bustling cities.
Connecting People to People
One of my favorite examples of this was an NYC property project that I worked on. Designed for young, single millennials, the building was mostly made up of studio and one-bedroom units. Over time, the residents grew up, and started having babies.
From a few families with young children, the number grew to over 10 families. From being a tight-knit, young and trendy community, the residents became disparate groups with different identities from when they first moved in.
In casual conversations with the Lifestyle Director, these young parents said that they were starting to feel out of place. In response, the amenity management team decided to start a small play group in the building.
The first play group consisted of just three woman, who began bringing their kids to a makeshift play area. Since then, the group evolved into a tight-knit community of families with children. At last year’s holiday party, almost 20 children joined the fun, and this disparate group of people felt like a community once again.
Connecting People to Experiences
Life is a collection of experiences and memories, some negative and some positive. I am blessed to be able to play a part in creating positive experiences for people every single day. I often tell people that I’m in the business of fun!
It is incredibly fun to create experiences for people that enrich their living experience. I enjoy helping building and hotel managers create unique experiences that distinguish them from the competition.
As an example, one of the projects I've worked on was a multi-sensory wine-tasting experience with the Moore Brothers. We held video conferences with winegrowers in Italy, France and Germany for people to see and hear the people who grow the grapes. We provided soil samples for participants to touch and feel. And of course, everyone got to taste and enjoy the wine at the end! These types of experiences are priceless for everyone that it involves.
Connecting People to Places
The places in which we live, work, and play – the buildings, houses, towns, and cities – add a richness to daily life. Yet in our daily commutes between home and work, we miss out on experiencing our local surroundings to the fullest.
When was the last time you’ve been to a local gig or visited a nearby museum? There are countless things to see and do in and around our cities and neighborhoods. But finding out what to do, when and where, can be daunting with our busy lifestyles. Just try Googling "things to do this weekend". You’ll likely be overwhelmed by the amount of information to sift through.
Through concierge services, we are able to connect people to their city from the comfort of their homes or hotel rooms. We curate and share experiences for residents and guests to enjoy in their local towns, cities, and states.
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In all, it has been an exhilarating ride leading up to where I am today. In preparing to launch out on my own, I’ve received overwhelming support and felt so much joy along the way.
This blog marks the beginning of an exciting new journey – one that I hope to share with you. If you are looking to take your next development project to another level or to inspire your existing residents, I'd love to help. Drop me a note at jeremy@urbnplayground.com and I'll be in touch!
4 Big Ways Millennials Are Shaking Up the Housing Market
The trillion-dollar real estate market in the United States is quickly evolving. A big part of the shift away from home ownership and towards renting can be attributed to characteristic differences in the Millennial generation, who tend to not only have different attitudes and preferences towards housing and home ownership, but who are also growing up and “adulting” in an economy and environment that looks very different from the one their parents grew up in.
This has given rise to co-living as an alternative. An increasing number of younger renters are willing to live in smaller spaces and pay a higher price per square feet, in exchange for access to more value-added services, from housekeeping and concierge services to swanky amenities.
This article looks at four Millennial-driven trends and how they are transforming the housing market: a growing gig lifestyle, a growing desire for location independence, shifting social norms, and undesirable housing inventory.
#1 - They're facing rising costs of living and are turning to a gig lifestyle to cope
Today, the 9 to 5 schedule is practically extinct, with technology and the internet allowing people to work across around the clock across geographical locations in a seamless, connected way, blurring the lines that clearly separated working hours and non-working hours.
Technology has also changed where people work – instead of being stuck at a cubicle, working out of coffee shops, in hotel lounges, or on a park bench is no longer a novelty but the norm. Due to rising costs of living, one job is not enough for many people to make ends meet. Many are choosing to pursue “side hustles”, such as freelancing on the side or driving for Uber, or to be “full-time gig workers” working at more than one job simultaneously. Freelancers are predicted to become the U.S. workforce majority within a decade, with nearly 50% of millennial workers already freelancing, a 2017 annual freelancing study found.[1]
#2 - They have a growing desire for location independence
While some may be working side gigs out of necessity rather than choice, the younger generation also tends to be more embracing of a nomadic, location-independent lifestyle. According to a study by the Boston Consulting Group[2], Millennials report a greater desire to visit every continent than preceding generations, and have greater interest in cultural experiences and international travel – with the effects being significantly delayed home ownership. Compared to home ownership levels of above 50% when the preceding generations were 25 – 34 year olds, only 39% of the 25 – 34 year olds of today own a home – a figure which is predicted to continue declining further.
#3 - They're shifting social norms - from living with spouses to living with roommates
Millennials are marrying later and remaining single for far longer than previous generations. In 1975, a 57% majority of young adults aged 18-34 lived with a spouse. In 2016, only 27% of young adults lived with a spouse, while the proportion living with their parents or other roommates increased[3]. A variety of factors may contribute to this trend – economic pressures of student debt, fears of financial instability with recent recessions still fresh in their minds, or Millennials’ desire to “find themselves” or establish their careers before settling down.
With an ever-increasing number of people flocking to tech hubs and big cities in search of jobs and better opportunities, choosing to delay marriage, this has created a new social challenge. Newcomers to a neighborhood face the challenge of meeting new people and finding a community amid busy work days. To address this need, more and more companies are establishing co-living residences in major cities, betting their money that this shared human desire for connection and community will pay off in the long run.
#4 - They're facing an undesirable real estate market and renting for longer
The real estate market in the United States today is facing historically low levels of housing inventory in the middle and entry-level tier of the market. With rising prices, potential mid-level home buyers are unable to afford a housing upgrade, and are deciding to stay in what was intended to be their starter homes. Because many owners of starter homes are deciding not to leave and sell their properties, there is now a shortage in the market for new or younger buyers who are looking for starter homes but have nothing they can afford. This causes them to delay home ownership altogether and continue renting for longer.
In conclusion…
All of these reasons combined have led to a growing demand for the alternative residential options that co-living provides. As with any major change, there will emerge winners and losers.
However, the rise of co-living and its long-term impact is still an unfolding story, shaped by multiple forces in the market. What will remain constant, regardless of fluctuating rent and prices, is that the ability to understand customers’ needs and to provide the ultimate amenity – service – will always be of relevance to companies wanting to earn their slice of the lucrative real-estate pie.
Sources:
Upwork and Freelancers Union, Freelancing in America. 2017.
BCG Perspectives. Traveling With Millennials, March 2013.
Stateline, Huffington Post. For Many Millennials, Marriage Can Wait. (Dec 21, 2016). https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/for-many-millennials-marriage-can-wait_us_58594a53e4b0630a254235b6