Key Findings from 2022 Student Housing Tenant Demands Survey

Every building and its tenants are different. They come with varying characteristics, demands and needs. Continuously improving customer satisfaction is the core duty of all building operators, writes Ben Lampard of Spaceflow.

The 2022 Q4 tenant demands and needs survey and webinar by Spaceflow and Parcel Tracker, conducted with 306 UK-based PBSA tenants, the majority of whom range from 15-25 years old, brings valuable predictions regarding what trends will shape customer experience in student accommodation in 2023.

When asked the question “What factor is the most important for your living experience”, the tenants answered that the location & neighbourhood (75%) and the size of their apartment/room (68%) are their first choices.

When asked the question “What tech enabler is the most important for an easier & more enjoyable living”, the tenants answered that digital parcel services (72%) and online issue reporting are their first priorities (67%).

In a nutshell, the survey results highlight the following:

1 Location remains the single most important aspect for young tenants’ living experience. I remember that when I was a student, I wanted to be as close as possible to the university and close to where things are happening. Everyone who studied at the university can relate to that. You want to be well-connected to transit lines as well.

However, these days the character of the location changes fast, as the up-and-coming neighbourhood of the year is a constantly evolving notion, especially in cities like London, considering examples like Peckham or Brixton.

2 For more than 60% of tenants, the size of their apartment or room is important, while the interior design of the place is a second priority. “The asset type and age group play a role in this. A popular Gen Z trend is to be more into experiences than material things. Some of these tenants live in old properties, and some in new – but all of them are well-maintained. I believe that what they care more about is the general convenience or experience,” says Arthur Zargaryan, co-founder of Parcel Tracker.

3 The tenants are evenly distributed on the level of importance they attribute to the community in their buildings. “PBSA communities are a bit different from other residential communities. We observe that their communities flourish without the support of the building management. After the initial spark in the first week with a welcome event, they find their own communities or friend groups,” remarks Zargaryan.

4 For almost 75% of the tenants, parcel management and issue reporting are the priority tech add-ons. Online payments and smart access to the building are also valuable tech add-ons. It comes down to the fundamentals of how a building works. You can build the fanciest building in the world, but if you can’t deal with simple problems, you won’t make tenants happy. Issue reporting and parcel management are two of the fundamentals that you need to make right, simple, and easy. You stand a higher chance of keeping tenants satisfied if you let them know how a maintenance issue is being resolved.

• Ben Lampard is customer success manager at Spaceflow