Our residents make our world go ‘round. Last week, we celebrated Resident Appreciation Week at all of our P.B. Bell communities! We appreciate our residents every day of the year, but we decided it was only fitting to pull out all the stops during the very special Valentine’s week. We understand it can be difficult to schedule and plan activities to show residents just how much your management team cares, but it really helps you build relationships with those in your community and increases resident retention, so it’s a must!

Here are a few P.B. Bell certified tips for hosting the perfect Resident Appreciation Week:

Make It as Stress-Free as Possible

It’s so important to keep the events easy and stress-free, because if they appear overwhelming then the team onsite may not know where to begin. Try creating an event calendar to keep everyone organized and on the same page. Planning ahead will make the big day go much more smoothly. It doesn’t matter how big or small an event or gesture it is — people will notice and it will make an impact. It does not need to cost a ton of money or take a ton of time.

Another way to make these types of events stress-free is by having your communities create a resident event calendar for the year instead of planning last minute, so things will run smoother, be better, and actually happen. We offered our advice, recommendations, and a bank of ideas for our teams to choose from to make it easy. There are ideas for all budgets and apartment community sizes, with all different demographics!

Keep it Consistent 

Here at P.B. Bell, we have a marketing team that planned most of the Resident Appreciation Week so we could support our onsite teams who already have a lot on their plates. This also helps to achieve consistency across the company. Even though consistency is important, your marketing team won’t be the one executing the event, so the on-site team needs the freedom to add on to the plan and go all out for their residents should they wish to. Just make sure to keep a constant line of communication so that everyone stays on the same page to keep things running smoothly!

Communication Is Key

The events could be spot-on, but if the residents aren’t aware of them, then all of your hard work will have been for nothing! Send communication to your residents early and often so residents can save the date and then be reminded of that date as it gets closer. Emails, texts, and posters onsite are great ways to let your residents know about any events you want them to attend! Be sure to communicate and promote the events on the community’s social media platforms as well.

It’s All About The Timing

Not every single one of your residents has the same schedule. That’s why it is essential to keep the events going all day, if possible. If it isn’t realistic for your onsite team to keep the events going all day, then try to hold the events during a few different times. You never want any residents to feel that their schedule was an after-thought.

Below are a few event ideas that any community can easily implement. Since Resident Appreciation Week landed on the week of Valentine’s Day, it was more Valentine’s Day-focused. However, all of these ideas can be tailored depending on the time of the year. 

Muffins In The Office 

Any Monday can be made a little brighter with a muffin! To kick off the week on a positive note, some of our various onsite P.B. Bell teams provided delicious muffins (yes, including blueberry and chocolate chip) and set up a station in the office to distribute before the residents headed to work. We paired this fun event with the tagline, “Muffin to do, but appreciate you”!

Dessert Station

Brownies? Check. Cookies? Fresh out of the oven. Cupcakes? Perfectly frosted. One of our events during our Resident Appreciation Week included a dessert station, loaded with lots of sweet treats! We made sure to pair this fun day with a fun saying as well: “You are sweet. Please take a treat. Thank you for making our community complete!” How sweet is that?

Door Delivery 

No Valentine this year? No problem. Nothing screams Valentine’s Day like a surprise delivery outside your door! Our teams hand-picked the best candy and chocolates for goody bags that they hung on each door handle to greet our residents when they got home from work.

Monday-Friday: Candy Guessing Game 

Throughout the entire week, residents had the opportunity to win a $50 rent card! To win, they had to guess how many candy hearts were in a Mason jar. It’s harder than it looks. This was a great way to get residents in the door who may not have stopped in otherwise. Who doesn’t like free rent money?

We hope you enjoyed our tips as well as a few ideas of events that were successful for us from our recent Resident Appreciation Week at P.B. Bell. Any successful apartment community needs to build relationships with their residents. Hosting events and activities can bring people together to do just that. The event doesn’t need to cost a fortune or be a grand gesture of any sort (but it can be if you have the time and the budget). Even something small and simple that shows your residents that you care can make a big impact on your community. Time to get planning! We wish you the best of luck in planning your own Resident Appreciation Week.