The laundry room of an apartment building is a key feature of the property. Maintain the space and equipment well, and residents are more likely to be satisfied not just with the amenity, but with the property overall.
Likewise, prospective residents always ask to see the laundry room when they’re shopping for a new place to live. So it should show well—it makes a difference!
How do you turn your laundry room into an amenity and maximize its potential as a profit center? Here are five ways to achieve the goal.
Make sure the equipment is working
If your equipment is frequently out of order, you’re losing money and disappointing your residents. With today’s technology, there’s no excuse not to know when equipment is down. You can monitor it remotely and call for service without delay. If your service team isn’t proficient and reliable, that’s another issue. Same if the equipment itself needs replacing. It may be time for modern commercial-grade equipment.
Make sure residents don’t wait
The standard rule is one washer and dryer for every 10 units—more if the units are larger and home to more people. If you don’t have enough equipment, residents will complain. Plus, you lose out on the opportunity to fully monetize the amenity if demand goes unmet because equipment is unavailable.
You can do even more: Add a larger capacity washer and dryer to the space if there’s room, so the equipment will accommodate larger loads, including pillows and bedding.
Your residents will be impressed. They’ll be able to clean more items on site versus going out to a laundromat and you’ll be able to monetize the premium equipment.
Let residents monitor loads from anywhere
New technology allows residents to monitor their laundry in real time so they know when a cycle is done and can get right back to the laundry room to move their clothes. Talk about efficiency. Your residents will love it.
To this end, install large, easy to read instructional signage on how to download the laundry app you choose and instructions on how to use it. You’ll benefit from increased adoption by residents.
Takes digital payment, not just coins
There’s nothing more frustrating than not having the proper change to do laundry. Plus, there’s a coin shortage now given the pandemic, so change is harder to come by.
Solve the problem by providing commercial-grade equipment that takes various forms of mobile payments, including credit and debit. The result: less-stressed residents and fewer coin-based issues.
Clean and modern laundry room
This is straightforward enough. Residents should not feel like the laundry room is a dungeon—even if it’s in the basement. A clean, well lit room with newer, well maintained equipment attracts loyal users who don’t mind paying a little extra for convenience, comfort and safety.
If you really want to impress, add wi-fi to the space, maybe some low-level music, a security camera, and make sure the room is nicely ventilated.
There are many upsides to turning your apartment building’s laundry room into an amenity and profit center.
Author Brad Steinberg, PWS–The Laundry Company
