Part 02 | Why no one uses your amenities
They aren’t providing utility
If you’re a millennial-ish, you may remember the wildly entertaining MTV show called “Pimp My Ride.” C-List rapper Xzibit, in partnership with West Coast Customs (a mechanic shop) would surprise people down on their luck by converting beaten up, barely operable cars into over the top new rides.
The plot-within-the-plot was that Xzibit would take inventory of the car owner’s personality and interests and have the shop install features like built-in-aquariums (for fish-lovers), bowling ball shiners (for bowling lovers) and retractable shoe racks (for shoe-lovers).
Needless to say, after the show was canceled, the car owners reported that a) these insane bells & whistles broke down in real life and b) were never used.
After all: if your design doesn’t enhance your users’ journeys and exist within the dominant set of activities in their lives, it probably won’t be of much value.
Same goes with amenity design.
People wash their pets on rare occasions
They drag their clubs to the golf simulator once in a while
They make a masterpiece in your maker space almost never
On the flip side:
Lots of people use the gym daily
They access their smart locks multiple times a day
They get packages way too often
The former list is low utility and the latter list is high utility. High utility amenities are more valuable than low utility amenities as it relates to resident satisfaction and renewals. Sometimes, low utility amenities are valuable for customer acquisition (which is more expensive than customer retention).
Most importantly, all amenities should fall in line with your brand promise – both in the ways you craft those spaces and the actual spaces you choose to include in your project.
Take your fitness center as an example: it should have programming, interior design, and art that reinforces your story and makes your brand stand out. For instance, the gym at The Standard Hotel should have elements that communicate its rebellious brand – perhaps, pictures of athletes who bucked convention like Ron Artest, David Beckham, Ricky Williams, and John Daly adoring the walls.
And the space types you choose should also point back to your brand. An example: If you were building an office for cutting edge creatives, you could include a rotating, experimental F&B operation.
So, how should you think about your programming with this knowledge in mind?
At No Walls Studio, we’ve coined the 70-20-10 Rule™.
70%
Of your amenity investment (spend and/or space) should be allocated to activities that support daily utility.
The actual activities included in this allocation differ by brand, asset class, target audience, location and other factors. It’s crucial to validate this data with customer observation and interviews before arm-chair guessing what should fit in the mix. That being said, here are few amenities that may make the list:
Access control / visitor management
Package retrieval / delivery / returns / waste management
Fitness centers
Coffee programs
If you become the best at our 70%, you’ll win over the hearts and minds of your users. You’ll constantly remind them you’re delivering something great and it will be hard to go back to something else.
If you’re able to identify new ways of delivering on the reg (aka innovation) then you’ll be even more valuable to your customers. We think that this 70% is ripe for new ideas. Avoid the archetypal spatial programming. Treat each space like it’s new-to-the-world and design them from the ground up, centered on your brand promise.
20%
Of your amenity investment (spend and/or space) should be allocated to amenities that support weekly-to-monthly activities.
Workspace
Pool / Sauna
Specialty fitness (class space / unique equipment)
Resident apps
The 20% starts to fall into the customer-acquisition zone, or what we call “showstoppers.” They are valuable in getting residents to sign leases or guests to click “book.”
When planning for the 20%, consider our Paradox of Space™: customers want appropriate spaces to support their various activities, but don’t care too much about the amount of allocated space. If you shrink these spaces and focus on the design and quality of the amenity, you’ll get the same return.
10%
Of your amenity investment (spend and/or space) should be allocated to activities that support monthly-to-never-utility.
Gear rental
Treatment rooms
Demonstration kitchens
Pet spa
Screening rooms (which we don’t recommend in general)
These are often spaces that enhance your overall brand narrative and are helpful in obtaining customers, but they don’t provide regular utility.
Think of these spaces like that “off-roading” feature on your SUV. The switch exists to give you the impression that you could drive up a mountain pass…but you won’t use it on your weekly trip to Whole Foods. Or the Volvo safety sensors that stop the car on a dime to avoid a collision; you’ll likely never be in that scenario, but you’ll likely choose the brand for the remote possibility of that scenario.
You should focus the least amount of capital and square footage on this type of space. Afterall, your end user will likely brush by this in the blur of a tour or a web scroll.
BUT – and this is a big caveat – you should focus a lot of creative energy on this type of space. Think of the 10% as your most brand-forward moments. As an example: if you design a space with the promise of Peace of Mind, you may include a Zen Garden on the roof. The garden becomes a focal point for your brand photography. It’s on your brochures. You may even name the building after the garden. In many ways, the garden becomes your brand – it just doesn’t pay to make the garden a huge space in lieu of including higher utility amenities.
A little flustered by all of this?
Don’t worry. The main idea here is to rethink your amenity spend to get closer to your customers’ day-to-day and further from the amenity arms race.
If you nail regular utility and on-brand design your spaces are going to be energized and your customers are going to keep coming back.
Design away.
Didn’t read Part 01? Check it out.
Missed our feature in The Brand Identity? Check it out now.
🚨 WHO IS NO WALLS STUDIO (AND WHAT DO WE DO)?
No Walls Studio is a design and brand consultancy that helps real estate developers create spaces that people love.
Our mission is to make sameness extinct in real estate, which means that everything we do comes with new ideas and unique angles — all, grounded in a deep understanding of culture and consumers.
We do three things for our clients (often, all in the same project):
Research & Insights
Brand Development
Spatial Experience Design
Want to work with us or learn more?
