In many colleges and universities, those living in dorms will have an RA, or resident assistant, who plans activities for the whole floor or area. This helps the students to feel more at home and cultivates a sense of togetherness among those who live there. This is a perfect example of why it’s important to plan community building activities if you are the manager for a residential property.
Increase Renter Satisfaction with Community Building Activities
“That sense of community gets leases renewed and encourages referrals from current residents.” Since both renewals and referrals are crucial parts of the property management business, you should at least be trying to cultivate this feeling of togetherness for those reasons alone, if nothing else. Since gatherings and activities are the easiest ways to draw people in, you can plan a few of the following in order to try and generate positivity from your renters.
It’s the end of summer, but if the weather is nice, you can still host a barbecue. This community building gathering utilizes your outdoor space, if you have one, and unites your residents under a commonly-loved theme: food. You can provide the main dishes, but this can be a chance to ask renters to participate and to bring, for example, sides, drinks, desserts, etc. Along similar lines, you could host a cooking competition and choose the entry dish depending on the time of year. Mac and cheese, burgers, salads, chili… whatever you choose, offer a good prize and encourage renters to participate! Everyone loves a little, friendly competition.
Speaking of competition… if you have enough space for it, or even if there is a park or grassy area nearby, then consider a sporting contest. Flag football or a few rounds of dodgeball are some typical choices. If those aren’t options, then maybe you should invest in a pool or ping pong table, so you can host this competition indoors instead. Just make sure that everyone understands the rules before you begin!
Do you know anything about the talents of your residents? “Sponsoring” a night dedicated to those talents might help with your community building efforts. Something like a small art display, a talent show, or a dance exhibition could entertain everyone while also teaching you more about the people who rent from you. If this works, then you might considering inviting “your creative-minded residents to an evening of crafting.” This is something that holds appeal for kids and adults alike, it can be very cheap, and it’s extremely variable in nature.
Does your building house any small business owners or other contractors? If so, they you might consider putting on your own kind of “trade show.” This allows those residents to show off what they have to offer, and others can perhaps get a good deal on their services and products. In a way, you benefit both sides and have something to offer both groups, so this will likely be a popular event.
Most of the above concepts have been geared toward adults, but if there are families in your building, then you need some community building activities that also accommodate kids. Toward this end, you might want to try one or more of the following: smaller contests, such as “raft-building” (wherein they would craft a small boat and see how it fares in a small body of water) and “story times.” There are a lot of similar events that you could hold that are catered toward children, and their parents will be grateful, too, as you provide entertainment.
With all of the above, make sure that you advertise far enough in advance that people can incorporate these dates into their schedules. It would be disheartening for everyone if you hosted something only to have little to no people show up. Allow yourself the maximum amount of time and energy to plan and promote these community building events by leaving the more complicated work to Skyline Property Management Software. SKYLINE will exceed your renters’ expectations and aid in retention and referrals as you become more productive than ever. With SKYLINE’s module-based platform, you’ll always have property and financial management in one system with the freedom to add special features as your company grows or your needs change. What are you waiting for?