Real estate and hospitality: inseparable!

By Daniël Mutsaers, PT Finance, partner IADP

How often didn’t we say that “if we had been involved in the process at an earlier stage, things would have looked very differently”…

As the hospitality experts of The Innovation Area Development Partnership, we are often called upon to create added value to campuses and their buildings in such a way that campus and building residents feel optimally facilitated. And too often we find out that the power of hospitality in the design phase is constantly underestimated.

Of course there is always (usually…) sufficient attention paid to ensuring enough parkings, a proper heating/cooling system, clean toilets and a trendy interior with consultation areas, for example. However, we experience that people, when equipping specific facilities, reason too much from the logical real estate mindset instead of from a more sensitive hospitality approach.

What exactly is “Hospitality?” Another trendy catch-all term is “Experience.” What it is all about is that the daily campus resident and his/her guests should feel like a fish in water. Emphasizing the word ‘feel’. That is, of course, by definition a personal interpretation. And therefore, it is difficult to interpret. On the one hand, it is all about the very small details. However, is really good coffee a small detail? Did you know that 35% of organisations do not offer their guest any coffee at all?
It is also about the heartfelt smile of the entire hospitality team.  A welcoming entrance is important, but having a strong foundation in order is also essential. For one thing, it is important that the coffee corner is situated along the walking lines from the building’s entrance, but at the same time it should breathe the intimacy of a living room. And preferably in such a way that it also combines the reception of guests. Cost optimization!

For a campus environment, the foundation is a little bit more complex than that. For example, because of the mix of different types and international campus residents, because of access regimes, which make a warm welcome difficult, and, not least, the mixture of old and new buildings. Community building support hospitality, but that needs the investment of a lot of energy. Also, the consideration between security (“a feeling of safety”) and hospitality causes campus organisations to relapse into traditional constructional solutions, instead of thinking about solutions that integrate security and hospitality.

You may think we are stating the obvious… but we would like to show you around various campuses and buildings, where people, on a daily basis, still experience obstacles from the real-estate-driven choices made during the development phase.

And then, the business model. Real estate managers are becoming increasingly and rapidly convinced of the importance of hospitality when this involves a clear profit. The sum of a higher productivity, less absence and returning customers, is not very complicated. This is especially the case when combining various hospitality functions as much as possible from the process chain in the front office

But probably even more important: committing talent to you! By facilitating a top working environment. Things that Google and Facebook have been doing for several years for their offices. In our catering tenders, we more and more often see that employers are willing to invest again in an attractive lunch concept in combination with high standard fresh-bean coffee.

These are all things that optimize the real estate value. Happy employers, because of happy campus employees, and therefore happy residents who are willing to pay a higher price per m2. The rental value ladder shows this effect:

Our advice: involve specialists from the hospitality point of view, in a timely manner, as of the design phase. This prevents any unnecessary interventions afterwards to optimally facilitate your campus residents and guests. Substantiated by solid business cases which demonstrably pay off your investment.

Would you like more information about what IADP can add to your campus and buildings, with regard to hospitality, or would you really like us to show you around various reference buildings and projects? Please contact Paul Jansen (+31 6 535 763 99) or Daniël Mutsaers (+31 6 215 803 99), business partners at IADP.