Marc Andreessen famously said, “software is eating the world.” Indeed, software has disrupted many industries – from local transportation (Uber) to hospitality (AirBnB) – and has become a driver of competitive differentiation in many other industries. Real estate is no exception. Software, and more broadly technology, is transforming how companies and individuals research, buy, sell, use and manage real estate; and we are seeing the beginnings of a radical transformation of tenant experience.
So, what is the future of tenant experience – from both a landlord and tenant perspective? Here are my predictions based on the many interactions we’ve had with landlords and tenants:
Technology will transform how tenants experience buildings and amenities in fundamental ways.
Experiences will become truly seamless. Taking advantage of amenities in the workplace will become dramatically simpler and centered around the needs of people who use them.
Buildings and amenities will become smart: they’ll know your identity, personalize your experience with the property, and make tenants’ work lives easier. We’re already catching glimpses of the future here, and inevitably what is novel today will become the norm.
As an example of the direction we’re headed in, tenants will not need to wield access cards, or even their mobile device; instead they will be able to get secure access to buildings and physical spaces via technologies like facial recognition. Upon a visit to the gym in an office building, tenants will be presented with recommendations for fitness classes based on their schedule and previous class bookings; they’ll be able to reserve a spot with a single tap on their mobile phone, and pay for it using their virtual wallet!
Another example: instead of waiting in line for their lunch or coffee order from the café in their building, a tenant could order and pay for it ahead of time, and even have it delivered before their next meeting with a tap on their mobile phone, or a voice command!
Landlords who prioritize making tenant experience seamless, delightfully simple and centered around the needs of tenants will differentiate and win!
As tenant expectations rise, landlords who adapt to these rising expectations by meeting and even exceeding them will not only attract and retain tenants, but successfully differentiate themselves.
Of course, crafting such experiences requires landlords to effectively tie together multiple disparate systems. What makes this even more complex is that as technology evolves, landlords want to make sure they are able to take advantage of state-of-the-art technology; the best of the breed. This means adopting a platform approach where individual systems can seamlessly plug in. Today, it is not enough to merely invest in a tenant’s experience of an office building; landlords much choose the right approach in building the tenant experience.
Landlords who mine tenant experience data for insights and use it for decision-making will win!
Tenant interactions generate valuable data, which can provide insight into tenants. How they use and experience the building and amenities can in turn drive decisions on asset investment, amenity investment, and experience programming. Further, it can drive real impact to the bottom line for landlords.
Landlords who invest in breaking down silos of data to assemble a full picture across the various systems that make up the entire tenant experience have a clear edge on those that do not. Similarly, those landlords that prioritize discovering patterns and mining insights will build a competitive advantage that will be hard to replicate.
Abraham Lincoln said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” At HqO, we’re working hard every day to build this future and help landlords create places people love!
