Multifamily properties have long included gyms and lobby areas. But in the last few years, community spaces and amenity types have expanded. The pandemic encouraged property managers to include a coworking area, as well as place a greater focus on wellness for residents by offering bigger gyms or even amenities such as golf simulators.

The challenge for multifamily operators is how to generate revenue from these areas, said Lee Miller, senior director of sales for cloud-based access control provider Brivo. Often, they’re a significant investment without a guaranteed return. One solution is to install technology that not only provides a seamless experience but gathers the information the operator needs to determine which amenities residents really use.

The main driver to install amenity-rich community spaces is resident retention, Miller said. This directly impacts revenue by reducing resident turnover. Residents who make seven or more friends in their block are 47% more likely to renew their lease, so it is in a property manager’s interest to facilitate networking through common areas.

“People’s lifestyles have changed in the last few years,” he said. “They might work from home and miss out on talking to people in the office. They’ll want to get away from their computers and use some of the community spaces.”

Aside from securing revenue by encouraging residents to renew, many multifamily operators are now looking to create an additional revenue stream from these facilities. One way to do so is to give residents a certain level of access to spaces with their lease, such as 10 hours per week in a coworking space, then charge for extra time, Miller said.

“Another way to generate revenue is to lease out spaces to external people,” he said. “A clubhouse at a pool area could be leased out to a group of people or even for a kid's birthday party. If you have a wider portfolio, you could allow people from other properties in your portfolio to pay to use amenities in another property.”

Brivo’s amenity booking system not only facilitates the management of spaces but also their monetization through its integration with Swipe. As the solution is cloud-based, leasing agents don’t need to be involved when residents want to book a space. This provides a seamless experience that is totally secure.

Gaining access is one part of the access control picture, but another part is gathering information about who is using which amenities and when, Miller said. Brivo’s solution provides data in real time, which can be accessed on the cloud from any location. This provides valuable information about how residents are using spaces and which are the most successful.

“The biggest struggle for a property manager is knowing what’s going to resonate with residents,” Miller said. “I’ve seen many amenities from bowling alleys to golf simulators. These spaces aren’t cheap. So they need to make sure they’re investing in amenities that not only attract residents but are really used when people move in.”

Brivo’s system provides data on use of spaces across the entire portfolio in one dashboard. If the property owner is investing in a new property or looking to refurbish an existing multifamily block, they can make informed decisions on what amenities are the most valuable.

If they use data from other properties in their portfolio, they will be able to identify opportunities to transform an existing, underused community space into one that will generate revenue.

“They’ll also understand how to staff these spaces,” Miller said. “We can tell you at what hour most people visit the gym or are most likely to make use of the clubhouse. Property managers know when more staff are needed and where, across their portfolio.”

Miller said clients aren't only focusing on getting amenities right within multifamily properties. Some are scaling up their use of cloud-based access control to create mixed-use properties, linking offices, leisure and residential spaces. Using technology available today, it is much easier to give people smooth access to each element.

“All of a sudden, property owners are seeing an uplift in rent because residents want to be in these places,” Miller said. “They can live there, work there, shop there. Property managers are able to create places people want to be in because they can pull data from all these buildings and share access all in one app.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Brivo and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.