The month of May has a ton of holidays. You don’t have to keep up with them all, but highlighting a few can be a rewarding way to engage residents. Here are a few May holiday ideas that can help to build loyalty and boost resident retention. May 6, National Nurses Day May 8, National Teachers Day Cool Idea: Have resident nurses and teachers stop by the leasing office for a grab n’ go breakfast. Since both work long hours, foods that slowly release carbohydrates will be a huge win for them. Consider oatmeal, fresh fruit, green smoothie shots, and nut-based breakfast bars. Above and Beyond: Nurses and teachers are on their feet all day. Offer relief by teaming up with a neighborhood spa to offer foot-friendly, sample-sized products with their morning goodie bags. Be sure to include business cards for the spa. The owner gets free marketing and you get to pamper your residents (read: build loyalty). May 13, International Fair Trade Day Cool Idea: Fair Trade products reinforce the importance of livable wages for workers. In your upcoming newsletter, include a list of local shops and restaurants that prioritize Fair Trade products. Everything from coffee to clothing and home décor can be sourced Fair Trade. Above and Beyond: Make your list interactive! Throughout the month, set a table near a high-traffic area in the leasing office. Invite the Fair Trade-friendly businesses to contribute a product for sale or free samples. Circulate the products every few days so that multiple brands are represented. This approach draws residents to the leasing office to get the know the staff members—rather than only seeing them when there is a problem. May 15, International Day of Families Cool Idea: Consider hosting a raffle at your family-friendly property....

Throughout multifamily housing, managers struggle with resident package logistics. The problem spikes in student housing communities. Student properties receive 10-15 percent more packages than conventional multi-family properties. A Growing Problem The convenience of (often free) delivery appeals to busy students. Additionally, companies like Amazon target the student population with incentives. Amazon Prime offers six months of free service and 50 percent off of students’ subscription rate for the remainder of their student status. As a result, student housing staff gets swamped with packages. Leasing office staff juggle a myriad of responsibilities. Pausing potential sales or residents interactions to handle package delivery is not a viable option. Maneuvering guests around recently delivered armoires and mattresses is even less of an option. “We’ve seen communities spend up to 4 hours a day simply dealing with packages,” says Melody Akhtari, Director of Marketing & Communications at Luxer One. “Package delivery causes not only a problem of constant interruptions and wasted time, but it also causes space management issues.” Simple Solutions Luxer One provides storage solutions to address the growing needs of student housing managers. Luxer One’s storage solutions are designed to accept every package automatically and store them securely, without the need for management staff to intervene. This type of automation eliminates interruptions from parcel carriers and gives back time and energy to dedicate to the art of community management. Luxer Lockers are installed on the premises. The courier delivers the package to the locker and scans it. Residents get a mobile notification with a one-time-use access to retrieve their package on their own schedule. Leasing office staff can continue their workflows and other resident interactions without interruption. Locker sizes vary, permitting the storage of a range of packages. “Almost half of all packages delivered go into our small...