How Luxury Buildings Are Using Technology to Snag Residents
It seems that for everything in life there is a different protocol: if you want to take a fitness class, you have to sign up at the gym or on their website; if you want to pay rent, you have to send in a check or use direct deposit; if you want to get your dry cleaning done, you have to go to the dry cleaners—the list goes on and on. But now, all the things mentioned above, and more, can be handled with a simple swipe and a tap.
Luxury real estate developers are creating apps for their buildings, so that their residents don’t seem so burdened by everyday tasks. Most real estate apps allow residents to do anything from paying rent to reserving common areas for parties, or even receiving package notifications and telling your resident manager that you need your stove fixed.
“Some of it is as basic as: ‘How do I reserve things? I want to have friends over for a barbecue on Saturday night. How do I know I can reserve the barbecue?’” said J. Brian Peters, chief operating officer of Rose Associates, a luxury real estate development and management company.
Other apps, like the RoseLife app, developed by Rose Associates, offer exclusive discounts and incentives to residents who use the app. In RoseLife’s case, tenants can receive discounts at neighborhood businesses that promote themselves on the app; so sign up and you could get $10 off dinner at that new restaurant around the corner.
And then there’s the hOM app, which takes things a step further; HOM partners with building owners and property managers to bring fitness instructors to lead a variety of classes in underutilized spaces in luxury residential, commercial and hospitality properties. The hOM app works like GoFundMe, where residents can propose and upvote in-building programming. The cost of the classes is then shared among participants and can range from $5 to $29, depending on how many people sign up. So far, hOM has partnered with Stonehenge Partners, Rose Associates, Kushner Real Estate Group, Douglas Elliman and Edison Properties in New York and New Jersey.
“This notion of buildings developing apps to communicate with their tenants and make it more convenient is a great example of how buildings and developers are thinking creatively about alternative concessions and incentives,” said Lauren Riefflin, a senior manager for marketing and communications at StreetEasy. “It’s a product of a changing competitive landscape in the luxury market.”
In recent months, as luxury rental prices have plateaued and demand has dropped, developers and building managers have been looking for new ways to attract prospective residents. Real estate apps seem to be an answer to their prayers. And as a result, more and more buildings are coming up with apps to make their tenants’ lives a little easier. Big name developers like Brookfield Properties, Extell Development and JDS Development have all rolled out their own versions.
“The buildings that really understood the value at the outset were luxury rental buildings,” said Francesca Loftus, creator of hOM. Now, smaller buildings without the same amenities — a doorman or gym — are trying to get in on the act. “If you can get $2,000 a month on a 300-square-foot studio and also have some sort of community element, it’s such a win, such a competitive advantage.”
Residents of the buildings definitely agree. In one of Extell’s buildings, 93 percent of tenants are utilizing the app. And even though people complain about how technology reliant we are these days, it is hard to blame them. After all, why would you want to go back to living in a regular apartment after you have lived in one where you can have your groceries delivered to you, laundry cleaned and appliances fixed with the tap of a finger? Sign me up.
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