One of the aspects that renters love most about living at a professionally managed apartment community is a sense of belonging and camaraderie among other residents. The feature is built right into the preferred terminology: no one wants to live at an apartment complex. They want to live at an apartment community!
Hosting a variety of activities that will appeal to a wide range of renters is key to nurturing and strengthening that sense of community among your residents. Here’s why resident events are so important to successful rental housing management:
They build value in the living experience at your community
The create opportunities for renters to connect with each other and develop friendships, which in turn knit your residents more closely to your community
They provide a time and place for positive interactions between the community team and residents
An active community social calendar can be a compelling selling feature during the leasing process
Lively events make fantastic photo opportunities and allow you to create share-worthy content for your social feeds
Successful events can even generate positive reviews on Google, Facebook, and other review sites, which is advantageous for future leasing activity
Here are some of our most popular resident event ideas that are best to enjoy before the summer is over. Whatever event you plan, set yourself up for success by promoting your event well in advance through all of your many communication channels, including signage throughout the community, on your social channels, and sending invitations and reminders through your resident app.
Inflatable Floats Pool Party
The pool is probably one of your most popular amenity spaces in the summer months, and with a few extra props it can easily be converted into the ideal party local. If your budget allows, you can bring in specialty activities such as an inflatable water slide, or you can keep it simple and easy with inflatable flamingos, swans, and floaties. As another twist, having water volleyball tournament, water balloon toss, belly flop contest, and poolside trivia or bingo can bring a more interactive and competitive element to the party. Serve favorite hot-weather snacks such as ice pops or shaved ice. If you are permitted to serve alcohol, you could instead offer ‘grown-up shaved ice’ in popular frozen drink flavors such as margarita and strawberry daquiri.
Outdoor Yoga Invite both residents and prospective residents to an outdoor yoga class set in your most serene spot at your community: lakeside, under a shady canopy of trees, or even on your sports court. If this activity proves popular, schedule it on a recurring basis and your residents will become regulars. This increases the likelihood that they’ll make friends with others in attendance–and boom! Just like that, you’re building community. Kick things up a notch by adding healthy snacks or mimosas.
After Dark Dive-In Movie No doubt your pool area is well-utilized by day. But after dark, the pool takes on a whole new vibe! Set up an inflatable movie screen on the pool deck or your property’s lawn or courtyard space, and show a flick that appeals to your audience. Use your resident app to share a poll the week before the event and allow your residents to choose the movie you will show. Pass out glow sticks for an inexpensive but fun way to set the mood and light up the night. Offer movie-style snacks such as popcorn, candy, and hot dogs.
Food Truck Carnival Arrange for multiple food trucks at your community to create a carnival midway atmosphere with abundant choices for your residents. Food truck events are popular with the neighboring community as well, so promote your event widely on your social channels and you’ll see an increased level of visitors which can lead to leasing interest. Food truck events can work well for every budget, even if your budget is zero because residents are willing to buy their own food. If your budget does allow you to underwrite food, especially for prospects, all the better.
Yappy Hour A surefire way to a dog lover’s heart is to welcome their four-legged friend to your festivities. Design a resident social where dogs are the main event! Doing so can be as simple as setting up an outdoor happy hour with drinks, appetizers, and music for the humans and plenty of water bowls and treats for the pooches. Fun additions include toys such as tennis balls and frisbees for the dogs to take with them, of course (you slobber on it, you own it!) Who doesn’t love a picture of their beloved pet? Add a fun photo backdrop and designate a staff member to take pictures throughout the event. Share the pics with your guests and add to your social feed in your resident app and on your social channels. This is another low cost, high reward resident activity.
Create-and-Take Activities Your residents may enjoy a hands-on activity where they can learn a new skill and take their resulting creation home with them. Trending options include creating floral or succulent arrangements, painting, soap and candle making, or paint and sip events. Partner with a local expert to provide the instruction and materials. As with other events, this is a prime opportunity to capture great photos for your resident app’s social feed and your social media.
Ice Cream Social Create an occasion to mingle and celebrate everyone’s favorite summer treat. This event is perfect for all ages. A ‘toppings’ bar with endless toppings including fruits, candy, nuts, sprinkles, varieties of syrups and drizzles can take center stage in well organized apothecary and mason jar displays. Consider a local vendor who can help you include as many ice cream varieties as possible to accommodate food allergies and sensitivities for categories like nuts or dairy, as well as the possibility of healthier options such as frozen yogurt or fruit sorbets. For properties with a larger adult demographic, boozy ice cream is a fun spin on this event that unites drinks and dessert for the best of both worlds.
Rooftop Happy Hour With the extra daylight hours, the summer is the best time of year to enjoy sunsets, and what better spot than your building’s rooftop or any amenity space with a view of the horizon. Happy Hour beverages can be provided in so many themes ranging from Summer Sangrias, to Mimosa and Bubble Bars, Mojitos or Refreshing Spritzers. As an added flair, you can opt to bring in a local Mixologist or Bartender to share seasonal recipes and show your residents how to craft and enjoy the same cocktails form home, all year long.
Bonfire and S’mores under the stars Bring the great outdoors to your building with an evening centered around campfire activities on a summer night. A s’mores bar with varieties of chocolate, different graham cracker flavors, and fruit including bananas and strawberries is a spin on conventional s’more making that both kids and adults will love. Elevate the ambience with flameless candles, lanterns, upbeat music and activities or games such as charades, celebrities (hat) game, or name that song.
Bike & Brew Unite fitness and fun with a celebration of cycling and your choice of coffee for a morning event, or craft beers for an evening event. This event encourages residents to BYOB (Bring your own bicycle) for an hour of cycling outdoors in a designated loop, or an hour of spin if your property has a cycle fitness area. Following the cycle sessions, attendees can enjoy freshly roasted coffee from a local café or unique and seasonal selections from a local brewery. As an alternative to an hour of fitness, you can also welcome a local bicycle shop to host an hour bike maintenance for things like safety checks, air pressure, brakes, gears and chains as well as regular bike maintenance and advice.
Creating successful resident events can be a matter of trial and error. Here are five tips for planning activities that are popular and well attended:
Ask for input from your residents in advance. Use the polling feature in your resident app to find out which activities have the greatest interest
Involve your marketing team to create attractive promotional materials for your events that help build enthusiasm
Allow ample time to promote your event in order to drive attendance. Don’t even think about planning something with less than two weeks to prepare and promote
Partner with local experts such as restaurants, chefs, musicians, photographers, and fitness instructors. You’ll benefit both from their expertise and their marketing reach
Make the most of the event after it happens by sharing photos widely on the social feed of your resident app, on your social channels, and on your community website
May your community’s social calendar be as hot as the temperatures this season! Cheers to your summertime success.
Livly Events are Powered by Circuit Living
In 2022, Livly acquired Circuit Living, the premier tech-enabled amenities company providing fitness, wellness, and lifestyle events to residents nationwide. Circuit events are managed by best-in-class service and integrate top-tier local vendors directly into your apartment community.
We ensure high-quality, easy-to-deploy and memorable experiences to your residents
We provide you with all the marketing you need to make your resident event a success
We are your one point of contact and provide you with a single invoice
We handle every step for you from start to finish
Contact our team today to explore your first event for your community.
Comments