Plaza offers smart urban housing solutions to students and starters, and guide tenants on their journey to find the place that suits the person. What are the benefits of Plaza Resident Services?
“Plaza is a hotel concept, but for tenants,” says Patrick Dillen, operational manager at Plaza Resident Services. ‘As a tenant you arrive with your suitcase – sometimes literally directly from the airport – in a fully furnished, luxuriously finished apartment. You can really start studying or working right away. We ensure an excellent living experience during the entire rental period, however short or long it may be.'
“The living comfort at Plaza is mainly due to the high level of finishing of both the apartments and the communal areas, the additional services that can be used as desired and the focus on connecting with other tenants. Each Plaza building has its own hospitality officer, who is responsible for these aspects of Plaza onsite.”
Sound pricey? 90% of the living spaces that Plaza offers are under the Dutch housing benefit limit of 762 euros per month. Also, the tenants get extra benefits.For example, the shared electric cars and shared bicycles can be used exclusively by the residents of the Pauwmolen via the Hely app. To encourage the use of cars and bicycles, all residents from Hely received a driving credit of €10.
Patrick Dillen: 'Of course tenants also pay service costs, but we do everything we can to keep them as low as possible. We want to guarantee the affordability of our housing solutions and always ensure that the costs remain proportionate.'
‘An important feature of Plaza are the additional services that we (want to) provide to tenants. This is like a modular offer: you pay according to use. You don't need it? You don't pay for it. Like the shared mobility we offer in collaboration with a supplier. We are still developing many other services in all kinds of partnerships. Think of a parcel service, laundry and dry cleaning services and coffee machines. We also look into the more commercial possibilities for each Plaza building, such as a collaboration with a supermarket, daycare center or restaurant. This way, we try to improve the services for our tenants and we help suppliers to get (regular) customers. Win win.'
Something that is not directly included in our additional services, but is receiving increasing attention, is the wish to connect with other tenants in the building. Community building ensures that tenants have less chance of loneliness, want to stay longer and take better care of the building. How this connection is established and who initiates it differs from building to building. All our hospitality officers give it their own interpretation. Think of cooking or yoga classes, movie nights in the shared cinema room, table tennis or table football tournaments and a second-hand equipment corner. Many tenants also take the initiative to do something together. Such as a FIFA tournament, studying together or cooking and eating together.” There is plenty of room for all these joint activities, because each building has large shared kitchens and living rooms.
“Our organisation is doing everything we can to stimulate that connection and those kind of initiatives. The hospitality officers put their ideas on paper and we investigate what we can facilitate and support. There is also the online customer portal for mutual contact. This way, we help tenants to reach their neighbors and share ideas.'
Patrick Dillen: 'Of course our hospitaly officers still fulfill their 'traditional' role, such as repairing a leaking tap or replacing broken lamps. But their role is much more. A hospitaly offer at Plaza is someone who helps tentants to get around in the Netherlands. For example, they help our tenants with registering with the municipality, applying for housing benefit and arranging insurance. That is – certainly for expats and other tenants from abroad – very valuable help. Also they help out if tentants want to organize an event or if you want to put a Christmas tree in the shared space in December.'
Depending on the location of the building, the hospitality officer also seeks a connection with the local environment. For example with the municipality or the nearby university. It is exactly this person and their initiatives who determines the character of the building and ensures that Plaza is so much more than a rental home.
“The upfront investment is not higher than with other concepts, but the return on that investment is better. This is largely due to the high tenant satisfaction. It is easier to find tenants who want to stay longer and take better care of their building. As a result, there are fewer problems, fewer repairs and less cleaning costs. There is also hardly any vacancy. Operating costs are low and revenues are higher.”
“We have a track record that shows we are good at this. The concept works. It is an investment that you don't have to worry about.'
You own a modern, multi-residential building, but don't have the right property manager to turn your building into a thriving community? Let us help, and together we will give people the home and freedom to live a vibrant city life.
Wondering how we would manage your property and even guarantee your rental flows? Please contact Patrick Dillen, Manager Property Management.
