Residents are always down for a good party, and the fresh summer air is already calling! Events keep the resident engagement vibes flowing and allow everyone to meet the property management crew too. A full calendar of events doesn’t have to be costly or time consuming. Better yet, you can shuffle some of the costs from resident retention to marketing when you get your prospects involved. Prospective residents love to get a sneak preview into the feeling around their new community. Here’s our juicy list of summer resident event ideas that you can invite your prospects to!
Pool Party
Whether it’s a big, sparkling-with-the-palm-trees resort pool or the sleek, downtown rooftop plunge variety, pool season starts ASAP and runs all summer. Pool parties are easy invites because it’s already the place everyone wants to be. Hire a DJ, or have your team create a playlist. Cater some appetizers and light eats so it’s easy enough to eat while mingling. Tropical cocktails are best served in plastic to stick to the pool rules. An evening party may require a few extra lights or floating candles for sparkle effect.
Poolside BBQ
Pools and grills just go together. Set aside an afternoon and reserve all the grills for the event. Have your team man the grills to take your service up a notch. Burgers, hotdogs, chicken, pulled pork…. all easy enough menu varieties to please a crowd. Have a local brewery bring in some kegs of beer. Large pitchers of iced tea and lemonades also fit the bill. Cater some easy sides like creamy potato salad, mac and cheese or cornbread. Set it all up on a red and white checkered tablescape with picnicware and you’re done!
Snow Cones by the Pool
A summer treat for every age. Snag a snow cone machine from a local party rental store. You can serve the whole rainbow of colors or trim it down to just your community’s branded color scheme. Invite a whole group of prospects to tour at party time, and end the tour with a snow cone. They’ll be happy to stay at this summer resident event!
Ice Cream Social
Retro treats from the ice cream truck are a hit. Arrange an afternoon where the ice cream truck shows up with all of the frosted goodies. If you’d rather make the delivery extra special, swing door-to-door with your ice cream push cart. When prospects see all of your residents enjoying poolside ice cream, they’ll be sure to envision themselves moving in!
Food Truck Block Party
Block off a big area in front of the clubhouse, or take over some parking spots to host an epic Food Truck Block party. Schedule 3 or 4 food trucks to show up for an afternoon at your property. The food trucks will love to turn your residents into customers. If they are food trucks with a big social following, even better, it will help drive extra traffic to your property. You’ll want to invite your prospects and show off how much buzz you have at your property. Tour the prospects and then treat them to lunch while they fill out the application!
Catered Taco Tuesday & Margaritas
Sure, we can all go out now…. but it’s even better when the food comes to you! Find the most authentic restaurant in town, and invite them to host a night in your lobby or clubhouse. Tuesdays are better with tacos. Extend your leasing hours that night, and invite prospects for a late-night tour & taco. A summer resident event with tacos and margaritas is sure to draw crowds!
Fourth of July Festival
When we’re lucky enough to have this holiday fall on a weekend (like 2021), extend the festivities and make it a whole weekend-long affair. Food trucks, BBQ or cookouts are all festive options to consider. Book a band to perform poolside. If a prospect rents over the holiday weekend, give them 4 pool guest passes as their move-in promo. It’s a summer resident event turned prospect marketing promotion!
Picnic on the Lawn
No need to stress with furniture rentals. Set up a cute Picnic Party on the lawn. You could do an afternoon event or host just before sunset. Residents can BYO-Blanket. Wine and cheese are nice picnic offerings. Plenty of restaurants will make sandwich/lunch box options to offer a variety to your residents. Hire a jazz band or string quartet to up the ambiance. Let your residents invite a guest or two and remind them of your current resident referral offer. This will expand the eyes on your property and show off the amazing natural environment you have to offer.
Outdoor Movie Night
Keep those picnic blankets handy, pair them with a projector and you’ve got an outdoor movie night. Rent a popcorn machine, or assemble some grab and go popcorn beforehand. Poll your residents a few weeks ahead to see what type of movie they’d be most interested in seeing. Movies in the courtyard, on the lawn or pool deck is a fun way to offer a summer resident event at night!
Dog Park Playdate
Doggie events are so fun to host. The dogs will enjoy fancy treats from a bakery, and the pet parents will appreciate early morning coffee and donuts. Create easy treat bags for residents, and include your branded swag for the prospect versions. Go through your guest cards and invite the leads with dogs. They’ll be impressed that you reached out to them on something so personalized. Maybe they’ll even meet a new friend at the event!
Beach, Hike, or Local Park Day Meetup
After a year of being inside, residents are dying to get out! Arrange for a meetup where residents can get to know one another in a smaller setting. You can break up the group into a few time slots or days. Send them off with branded water bottles and a picnic lunch – a perfect summer resident event to foster relationships.
Bicycle Ride to a Brewery Meetup
Biking is better with a destination…. like a brewery! Reward yourself with a beer and residents can meet a few new faces. Find a few groups of 10 people who want to head out at staggered times. Send them with a $100 gift card to the brewery, or call ahead to arrange to cover the first round of drinks. Prospects will love the chance to meet a few current residents and see some of the local activities.
Yoga on the Lawn or Rooftop Deck
Hire a yogi to do a summer resident event series. Sunrise or sunset are unique offerings. When you have a prospect on the fence about leasing, you can invite them to clear their head and find their focus (and next apt) during your yoga session.
Donut 5K Run
Coffee at the starting line and donuts at the finish. Hydrate accordingly! If your property is big enough, map a course throughout the parking, amenities and wooded areas. Residents can do a few laps. You’ll want prizes for the top runners. Challenge your residents to come out for charity. If you get 100 runners, donate a certain amount to a charity that fits your property’s mission.
Last Day of School
Kids are counting down the days to the end of school. Meet them at the bus stop or front gate with popsicles to kick off their summer. Moms will definitely appreciate the snack and tell other families how great their community is! It’s little touches like this that keep your residents happy and renewing their leases.
Field Day
You can set this one up for just the kiddos or get all ages involved. Residents could sign up as a team or be paired up on the day of. Have each team wear a certain color. Set up games like a sack race, cornhole and water balloons. With games, food and prizes, this is a summer resident event you can’t miss.
How to Promote Your Summer Resident Event
The first step is to ensure your residents are in the loop and coming! Email blasts, social media posts with graphics and text reminders all help set the stage. Send save the date and reminder emails so they can’t miss the date. RSVP’s help if you reeeeeally need the exact count but residents often miss that step. Don’t make it a barrier to your attendance.
Now to get the prospects included! Take a look at your resident calendar and see how you can twist the events to make them prospect friendly as well. If you’ve noticed touring prospects tend to respond positively to your fitness center, for example, invite them to the hike meetup or yoga session. Dog owners will be happy to swing by for a pet-friendly event. Touring prospective residents during resident events always makes a bigger impression. Since you’re still wooing these prospects, it’s all about the personalization. Do some personal outreach calls to leads in your pipeline to let them know you’d love to see them at the event. Once you’ve sent resident eblasts to your property, forward the email to a prospect and personalize it for them and invite them to be your guest at the next event. This will help boost your follow up and give them a good reason to come back. Post pictures of all of your fabulous events on your socials and invite prospects to follow you there for an insider’s view.
Your community works hard to pull off events that your residents will love. By blending in the prospect component, you’ll be taking the events even further and setting your prospective residents up for a smooth transition into your community….all by attending a fabulous summer resident event!