Many apartment communities currently offer WiFi to their residents while others are looking at how they can profit from adding WiFi as an amenity. There is of course the property wide wireless model where wireless connections are beamed into the individual apartment units for the residents to enjoy. The other option is a bit more cost efficient and it can make the community center into a real social center for the apartment community.
How has the modern day Hotspot affected companies like Starbucks? The quick and easy answer is increased brand loyalty. You may ask yourself how the Starbucks business model is comparable to managing an apartment community. In the property management's eye brand loyalty equates to resident retention. Many apartment communities have community centers with an attached pool, business center and a big flat screen TV with seating areas. And quite frankly, they are under utilized by the residents. A community center complete with a public WiFi hotspot can be leveraged to get resident's acting like they are at a modern social center like a Starbucks. All things being equal, people tend to stay put if they get to know and like their neighbors. In other words if you build it, they will come, and stay.
Some may think that they offer the equivalent of a Hotspot since they have a business center complete with computers. It's not the same for the simple fact that those computers are not loaded with the resident's files, media and other favorites. The apartment communities with a business center are often plagued by the computers becoming unusable due to malware downloads. This is not an issue with the Hotspot since the residents use their own iPad's, laptops and other devices. The idea of continued computer issues at the business center can quickly become a thing of the past.
And let's be clear on something; a wireless router is not a Hotspot. A Hotspot is a more managed and branded wireless experience. It helps connect the residents with information that you want them to see and it helps protect your business. It allows you to set up the terms of using the Hotspot service so you are showing due diligence to prevent potential liability and it can use content filters to keep things family friendly. It can also redirect residents to a property webpage so that you can promote move in specials to their fiends, or community activities.
An active community center with residents sipping coffee typing away on their laptops can be an appeasing site to the potential new resident who is coming by to check out the property. Being able to see other community members being social in a friendly inviting atmosphere makes people want to be a part of that community. The Starbucks Hotspot business model has earned the company the loyalty of it's customers by creating social centers for people to gather and enjoy the company of others. It is a low cost and easy process to duplicate at an apartment community. It just needs the right amenities and the right atmosphere.
