If you own or manage a multi-tenant commercial property, then one of your primary objectives is likely to improve tenant retention.
Losing tenants is very expensive. Not only will you lose rental income, but you’ll also have to spend money to attract new tenants and clean and renovate empty rentals.
In the long run, it costs way more to lose and find new tenants than it does to invest in ways to maintain tenants.
This involves a multi-pronged approach; however, one area that many building owners and managers fail to consider is their HVAC system. Let’s talk about why your HVAC matters.
Why do tenants care about the HVAC system?
There are a variety of reasons tenants would care about the HVAC system in place. The top 2 reasons, however, would involve comfortability and indoor air quality.
If your HVAC system isn’t capable of handling your tenants’ heating and cooling requirements, you can almost guarantee a regular stream of tenant complaints. And with the emergence of COVID-19, many tenants are also concerned about indoor air quality. If you’re not doing anything to properly ventilate and sanitize your building, tenants may start to question if your building is the right building for them.
Does any of this sound familiar? If so, keep reading.
How to improve your HVAC system for your tenants
At BMI Mechanical, we’ve spent the last several decades helping multi-tenant buildings improve and maintain their HVAC systems. As a result, we’ve also helped improve their overall tenant retention rates. Let’s address the 5 most effective ways we accomplish this.
- Automated Systems: We work with our clients to integrate modern technology into their buildings. While this sometimes involves a complete overhaul of their pre-existing HVAC system, many times it involves something as simple as programmable thermostats and a building controls upgrade. This gives everyone greater insight and control over the HVAC system.
- Minor Upgrades: Again, many of the ways we improve our clients’ HVAC systems involve minor upgrades to pre-existing equipment. These changes could include duct modifications or equipment add-ons.
- Regular Maintenance: Partnering with an HVAC partner for regular HVAC maintenance is probably the best (and easiest) change you can make. Regular maintenance will provide you with a slew of benefits, and you’ll be more capable of avoiding complete breakdowns.
- Improved Filtration: Not every system can handle the highest level filters; however, you can fight COVID-19, other viruses, and seasonal allergies with additional measures (like in-room air purifiers, UV, and NPBI). This added level of protection will keep your tenants healthier and give them more peace of mind.
- Inform Tenants: When you make improvements and even when your ongoing maintenance appointments roll around, make sure you let your tenants know what’s going on. If you don’t, then they may never realize that you’re taking steps to improve their experience. Print out memos and hang it around the building or send out an email blast to your tenants.
Interested in learning more?
If you’d like to learn more about how to improve your multi-tenant commercial building, we’d love to talk.
Give us a call or send us a message to learn more. Or, feel free to check out some of our additional resources below:
