Alternative Amenity Programming for Your Community
If your board is not yet ready or in the position to reactivate or reopen your community's amenity spaces, you may want to consider creating virtual and alternative amenity programs for your residents. Virtual programing and events are the best option to help keep residents engaged and extend access to community members. This easy and often low-cost alternative is also a useful tool for boards and owners to foster a sense of community within your association.
FirstService Residential works closely with LIVunLtd., a national leader in the design of amenity programming and concierge services, to help boards and owners identify programming and events that best suits their building.
Choose a Platform that Works for Your Community
If you’re new to virtual event platforms, don’t fret! Many of these technologies are free and easy to use on mobile, desktop and tablet devices. Depending on the number of residents who sign up for your event will quickly determine which platform will work for your building.Zoom is one of the most popular video conferencing tools with over 200 million active users. The free version of the platform is quite easy to set-up and is available on the greatest number of mobile, desktop and tablet devices. The free version also allows the organizer to host up to 100 attendees per meeting or event, enable screen sharing and control who has access to the event. At this tier, each meeting and event is limited to 40 minutes.
Teams, a Microsoft product, is a free video conferencing platforms available and allows up to 100 attendees to join your call at one time. Similar to Zoom, the host(s) are able to share their screens with the entire group and creating a new account for the service is extremely easy. As an added bonus, there is no time limit regarding the duration of your Teams event and the end-to-end encryption of your call is more secure compared to other platforms.
Now it’s time to figure out which virtual events will work best for your community.
Plan a Virtual Happy Hour
When the work day ends, many people enjoy winding down at happy hour with their friends or coworkers. Why not extend this opportunity to your fellow board members and residents from the comfort of your homes? Try offering your residents a platform to attend a virtual happy hour to hang out and imbibe with their neighbors. To make it even more fun, consider choosing a theme for the happy hour event. Creative ideas to liven up your virtual happy hour might include a specific decade (think 80’s night or Prohibition-era), a craft beer-only event, a wine and cheese night or maybe a margarita party.Oprah Magazine recently published an in-depth guide on how to host a virtual happy hour along with a variety of themes to keep it interesting. Click here to read the article.
Livestream a Fitness Class
As an alternative to your local gym or the fitness center in your community, your residents can lean into virtual fitness options. Posting suggested workouts for your residents to exercise at home is a start, but there are more engaging ways to keep residents healthy including livestreamed group fitness classes led by a certified instructor. With a livestreamed instructor, boards and owners can customize a program, or even a series of events, that best suit the demographic of the community, create a sense of community among participants and offer residents an extra sense of accountability with the oversight of an instructor.Try using these resources to find a personal trainer that’s right for your community:
Before hiring a personal trainer, be sure to do your research. Always ask which certifications they carry, how long they’ve been certified and which organization’s they’ve worked with in the past. You may even want to request a list of references from previous clients to ensure the safety of each participant and the quality of your virtual fitness class.
Click here for more tips from WebMD on finding a virtual fitness trainer.
Virtual fitness classes could provide a solution for multifamily buildings with a large number of residents looking to return to their gym. For communities that do not have a fitness center, virtual training sessions for your residents may be a long-term program to consider.
Host a Masterclasses or Expert Panel
Over the past few years, online masterclasses, expert panel discussions and fireside chats have become quite popular among residents looking for an intimate educational experience. The most popular topics often include finance, career coaching, health and medicine. For something more original, consider organizing an expert-led masterclass on starting a novel, launching a business, music production, wine pairing or mixology.Organize a Game Night
For something a little more fun, consider offering your residents a virtual game night. For a healthy dose of competition, consider a “Building Idol” singing competition among residents, a digital version of Scattergories, virtual trivia or bingo. The possibilities are endless!Plan Outdoor & Pop-Up Events
While the weather is still pleasant, your board may want to consider hosting an outdoor event or a temporary pop-up vendor. Both of these activations are fairly easy to coordinate and can be custom-tailored to fit the demographic of your community's available area.Summer-friendly ideas might include a popsicle stand or an ice cream truck at the building, grab-and-go arts and craft packages for children, a “Cinco de Septiembre” margarita bar, a food truck parade and more. To help best prepare for these events, consider having community residents sign up in advance. The board can also assign timeslots for each individual floor or unit to visit the pop-up to help mitigate the flow of attendees.