COVID-19’s Continued Impact on Apartment Amenities and Events

Many apartment communities hit a hard pause when it came to opening their apartment amenities this year–from workout rooms to pools and everything in between–it was a tough call to make. With state mandates in place, the choice was already made for many people in the multifamily industry. However, there are still a good group of people who were left making the decision on their own.

Historically, amenities have been used to attract new residents and differentiate your apartment community from your competitors. But this year the playing field was leveled a bit. At 30 Lines, we wanted to learn more about the impact these mandates have had on amenities, so we surveyed a group of property managers, marketing managers, and leasing agents. 

Due to COVID-19, over 86% of respondents who took our survey shared that their summer events and amenities were shut down. During the summer, the biggest amenity affected were the pools.

Noah Davis, leasing manager from 100 Midtown, a student living complex in Atlanta, shared that all their amenities were running at reduced numbers. “All of our amenities are operating 50% occupancy and by reservation only,” he said in his survey response. 

By the looks of it, 100 Midtown wasn’t alone in their approach; other respondents shared that they’ve had to pivot this summer standard by offering time slots for residents to reserve a dip in the pool. This helps limit the number of people in one area, which helps ensure government mandates are followed. Other ways to restrict pool use have been a little more grassroots. Survey takers shared that they removed pool chairs and lounge furniture, while others hired an attendant to perform temperature checks and monitor the number of people in the area. Inessa Asrian from Village Green Communities stated that they were able to leverage their mobile app to allow residents to reserve time slots for use of amenities.

In our survey, about 1 in 10 respondents shared that they integrated new amenities to replace the loss or reduction of another amenity. Inessa also shared that her organization added community gardens to help engage and serve their residents while respecting social distance guidelines. Other groups have reported offering food truck visits, opened weekly tabs at local coffee shops for their residents if on-site coffee stations were closed, and hosted outside group fitness events allowing each participant space for appropriate social distancing.

This summer 22% of respondents reported that they canceled their summer events and 40.9% have shifted to a virtual version of their event. These numbers are strong enough to indicate that as government mandates continue to hold in place, the impact COVID-19 had on summer events and amenities will likely continue into the fall. 

With that said, start planning for a different autumn season than you’re used to. Property Managers need to think differently about the fall-themed programming they might be hosting and consider leveraging a scheduling tool to ensure events aren’t overcrowded. 

Want more ideas for resident events and how to effectively communicate during the COVID-19 Pandemic? We created a list of resources, tools, and suggestions to help navigate your business. Find them on our Crisis Marketing Resource page.

Have questions? Drop us a line. We’re here to help.