It’s been a year since COVID-19 upended so much of day-to-day life as we know it.
In the Multifamily space, property managers have faced unique challenges in balancing safety with the customer service that residents expect and deserve.
Safe access to community amenities has been one of the most significant puzzles to solve. In response, apartment communities across the country introduced amenity scheduling for residents, which allows residents to reserve blocks of time to use amenities such as the fitness center or the pool, limiting the interaction between residents and staff.
This technology came about due to a crisis, but the convenience of apartment amenity scheduling has transformed it from an emergency response to COVID to a must-have going forward. When the pandemic is a memory rather than a daily reality, we expect amenity scheduling to still be thriving.
Not only are apartment communities adapting to socially distanced amenity usage, the amenities themselves are shifting as a result of the pandemic. In this post, we take a look at what apartment amenity booking might look like for the rest of 2021 and beyond.
Work-from-home spaces
Millions of Americans began working from home when the pandemic hit last year, and many companies have no plans for employees to return to the office full-time, if ever. For some people, this means they are spending nearly all of their time inside the four walls of their apartments.
Apartment operators around the country have been responding to this shift by converting vacant apartments into virtual office spaces that can be booked through an amenity reservation platform. And we’re hearing that some newer apartment communities are being constructed with dedicated bookable offices that come with movable walls for privacy and robust ventilation systems to keep residents safe.
Content creation spaces
If you use TikTok, you’ve probably heard of the Hype House, a mansion in Los Angeles where a revolving roster of TikTok stars live together and create video content full-time. Multifamily developers in California are capitalizing on this and incorporating content creation spaces into their apartment communities that can be booked with a community amenity scheduler. Think tripod stands, camera-ready lighting, mirrors, and fast WiFi all set up in a space of about 100 square feet. Some new communities are even creating small podcast studios for residents to book.
Guest parking reservations
Parking is not a sexy topic, but apartment communities that don’t prioritize it could find themselves navigating a sea of bad apartment reviews. Residents will not stick around at a community that makes parking difficult for residents and guests. Having guests over is not yet normal again in many places, but it won’t always be like this. Offering residents the option of booking visitor parking spots for guests will undoubtedly make life easier, and this can be performed through an amenity scheduler. Residents would be able to choose the time increments and receive reminders through the amenity booking tool when time is running out, so towing might be diminished as well.
Package pickups
The pandemic has caused a shift in mail delivery — more people are getting the things they need delivered to their apartments rather than buying items in person from a store. As a result, some apartment communities are changing the way they handle package pickups. In order to maintain social distance, property managers are setting designated times for residents to pick up their packages from the rental office, front desk or package room. This can be easily handled with an amenity reservation tool.
Conclusion
Apartment amenity scheduling is here to stay. It was created out of necessity at the height of the pandemic, but amenity booking is becoming a regular part of normal, everyday life in many apartment communities in the U.S. and will be for years to come. Respage’s Resident Amenity Scheduler is the most robust amenity scheduling tool in Multifamily. If you think this technology could help your community, contact Respage for a demo!
