How To Build User-Focused Spaces In Commercial Real Estate
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I once stayed in Cancun. I traveled with my family, and we cashed in some travel points for the five-star experience. And wow, was it unique!
I walked into the gym, and immediately, someone greeted me with a rolled-up towel and a bottle of water. After my workout, an attendant stopped me on my way to the locker room to ask if I was thinking about taking a sauna. I wasn’t, but I said I might be interested. He escorted me over, set the temperature and offered effervescent salts for the hot rocks—which I happily used.
Walking back to my room, I felt so refreshed. Even my wife noticed how relaxed I was. I had only planned to work out once or twice during my trip, but I ended up going back five times. They gave me plenty of reasons to return.
I wondered: Could this same approach save commercial real estate?
Commercial Real Estate: An Evolving Space
Since Covid, commercial real estate has gotten complicated. With the rise of remote and hybrid work, fewer people are returning to the office. Leases expire, and if only 50% of a company is working in person, business owners may decrease their real estate footprint. Maintaining occupancy has evolved from asking how to fill space to getting people to show up.
Landlords have been making huge investments in on-site amenities, but in CRE, “If you build it, they will come” is never guaranteed. To protect their investments, owners should provide thoughtful amenities that connect with their end users. Developers looking to create these workspaces can take notes from hotel hospitality to create spaces that encourage and inspire people to physically come back to the workplace.
Know Your Customer
Landlords can fill space and encourage people to show up by improving end-user experiences. But since Covid, the end-user profile for CRE has changed. Before, landlords generally focused on the person signing the lease. If they did build amenities, it was based on C-suite requests. The connection between landlords and the ultimate user of the space was often weak.
Now, the end users—those making use of these spaces—are the customers. Employee-led committees now drive much of the decision making on workplace needs. Recently, we had a client who knew their team better than most. They knew the team would respond well to a space where they could not only mentally decompress but also promote their physical well-being. In their office building, they requested to allot a third of its space for a 7,000-square-foot fitness center with two group exercise studios.
Before investing millions, knowing the end users and the amenities they need to feel fulfilled in their workspace will ensure they spend more time there. Data analytics can help determine the psychographic profile of customers and build an understanding of what would make a difference to them.
The biggest competition today is the comforts of home. While developers can’t compete with a shortened commute, they can capitalize by emulating other work-from-home benefits, such as flexibility.
For example, they can create different spaces to accommodate a variety of environments for different tasks: couches for casual conversation or private cubicles to get focused work done. They can also account for flexible hours in the day with technology, programming and automated hospitality experiences at all hours.
Lessons From Hotel Hospitality
Over the years, hotels have aggressively evolved to serve their customers. A hotel lobby 10 years ago was largely empty, meant only to serve those checking in, with maybe a few seats or benches for those waiting. The focus was solely on getting guests into their rooms or tucked-away amenities.
Now, the lobby itself is designed to be a branded experience: Music plays softly, and scents waft over from the coffee bar where baristas draw the hotel logo in cappuccino foam. The lobby’s comfortable array of seating options is filled with people doing work, chatting among themselves and actively choosing to spend time there. Hotels heightened hospitality by enhancing the customer's experience from the moment they walk through the doors. Commercial real estate developers can do the same, creating an immersive experience from first touch to last.
Building spaces is only part of creating a great experience. If I were to open a restaurant, all I would have is an empty space until I activate it in a unique and special way, making it a place people want to go to. Many hotels bring out complimentary drinks for happy hour. At one of my favorite hotels in Miami, they bring out gelato.
As soon as your customer enters the building, cater to them and pamper them with "attainable luxury." Create experiences and maximize connections through individualized experiences. What used to be reserved for vacations and special occasions can be implemented as part of an everyday vibe in our office environments—supporting and cultivating the appeal for workers to be back in the office.
Covid changed the way we work and live. It left people feeling more anxious, so why not build better fitness centers that highlight meditation spaces or even offer spas with stress-reducing therapies for people to access more readily? A landlord can determine how to best enhance the workplace and work “life” experience based on what they learn about the needs of their day-to-day population. Perhaps a team expressed that they are feeling particularly isolated. Social events, such as live music in the lobby or wine tasting after work, can encourage company culture building and greater connections between tenants.
With the right hospitality mindset and a focus on wellness to thoughtfully target more end-customer needs, your office building can become a transformational space fostering both good vibes and great work.