As a property manager, you know that the right amenities help secure long-term tenants and increase reliability for your business. When looking at demographics, millennials should be your main target. These 25 to 40-year-olds are the largest population of any generation. Furthermore, upwards of 18% of millennials plan to rent for their entire lives. In 2020 for example, millennials submitted nearly half of the rental applications. As millennials are dominating the rental scene (and congregate in a millennial community), find ways to enhance your apartment amenities to match what this powerful generation is searching for. Here, we’ve listed six must-have apartment amenities that appeal to millennials communities.
1. A Nature Oasis
Natural spaces improve mood, cognitive ability, and emotional well-being. Investing in the green spaces around your apartment adds an air of serenity while also functioning as community spaces. Consider developing a rooftop garden or patio with an outdoor kitchen and grill. Residents can reserve the space for their own gatherings, and you can host apartment-wide events to develop a sense of community.
Tip: Even just adding real houseplants to an indoor common area can boost morale.
2. Co-Working Space
Millennials have always loved flexible workspace options. In light of the COVID pandemic, this trend is sky high with over 50% of millennials working at least part-time from home. Though the generation prefers flexibility, creating an at-home workspace can be an obstacle.
A simple solution? Add a co-working space to your apartment’s common areas! While you can go to the nines by including reservable offices and meeting rooms, it doesn’t have to be so complicated. The space can easily overlap with other common areas.
Tip: For a simple solution, include a community table with ergonomic work chairs and a couple of private call rooms.
3. Complimentary Beverage Station
Among the stereotypes of millennials, their affinity for coffee is one of the most prevalent. But it’s not completely unfounded. According to the Food Network, millennials account for 44% of the nation’s coffee consumption. Including a complimentary beverage station in the common area will not only attract millennial clientele but will also help with retention. Employers see a jump in staff retention and office culture when they provide free food and beverage, and these trends extend to the relationship between a tenant and landlord.
Tip: Start simple with a coffee and tea station, or go all-in with kombucha and cold brew on tap or setting up a drink swap fridge.
4. Fitness Center
What’s another way to boost emotional health and productivity for your tenants? A fitness center! Over 75% of millennials engage in weekly exercise, and many expect some form of a fitness center in their apartment. Design your fitness center based on the space you have available, or, in the case of apartment complexes, you can consider adding an additional building for the fitness center. Most apartments offer both cardio equipment alongside weight-training machines, and many others are branching into other wellness opportunities. Yoga studios, nutrition counseling, and saunas can be enticing additions to your property.
Tip: Many millennials not only want access to a gym, but they also want training. Partner with local fitness groups in your area to bring in teachers for yoga, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and strength and conditioning classes.
5. Smart Lockers
The generation of millennials appreciates creative ways to increase the efficiency of daily tasks. On the scales of a work/life balance, many millennials struggle to find the time for general chores like grocery shopping and picking up mail. As property managers, you can provide a powerful solution and opportunity for your residents: smart lockers.
Smart lockers are secure modular systems of individual lockers that keep deliveries in a safe and protected environment at your doorstep. You can get them completely customized to your common space or even get the weather-resistant locker to place outside!
What does this mean for you? No more overwhelmed mailrooms, package drop-off completely facilitated by the mail courier, and full documentation of the item’s chain of custody.
What does this mean for your residents? Convenient 24 hr pickup, no mailroom lines, easy notification, and tracking system, and a sanitary and contactless process.
Tip: Get a temperature-controlled Smart locker system for residents to receive refrigerated grocery delivery in addition to the smart locker in your mailroom.
6. Digital Connectivity
Raised alongside the emergence of smartphones, tablets, and social media, millennials are one of the most tech-savvy demographics. Streamlining processes through online forms and apps will attract the millennial community. These younger renters are used to paying bills with an app and transferring money using platforms like Venmo, Google Pay, and Apple Pay. Catering to these proclivities will take some stress off your residents. As a result, you will have full digital documentation with each of your residents. On a single platform, residents can pay rent and utilities, submit and track maintenance requests, and communicate with property management.
Tip: Many software providers want to make things easier for you. Look for programs like Smiota Mailroom that can integrate into a system you already have, so even your smart devices can be synced up.
Appealing To a Generation’s Values
Millennials appreciate when tedious tasks are streamlined to give more space for life’s luxuries. Even more so, millennials like convenience and community. They want to live in a central area with access to culture, while also being a safe neighborhood. In your apartment, you can add to both the sense of community and security by providing appropriate amenities for your residents. Creating enticing common spaces and digitized communication systems cater directly to the millennial values of time efficiency and autonomy.
