The Ultimate Community Holiday Checklist

Helping You Wrap Residents in Security and Convenience this Holiday Season

You can never be too prepared or be too responsive to your residents – especially during the holiday season when expectations are high and time is tight. With the expected chaos and increased activity that occurs at this time of year, communicating effectively is key to making your residents’ holidays bright.

That’s why we’ve created this holiday readiness checklist to help you navigate the busy season with ease. By sharing these notices and reminders across multiple channels (both virtual and physical), you can keep the holiday season simple and sweet as well as increase resident engagement in your community.

Holiday Readiness Checklist

Office Hours & On-Site Service Availability

Routines can change during the holidays, both for residents and for the community itself. Be sure to post any changes in hours or availability as early as possible: the sooner residents know, the more easily they can make plans.

• If office hours will be changed or reduced, ensure the new hours are highly visible well ahead of time.
• If the use of any on-site services will be reduced and/or restricted, broadcast those changes early and often. Residents need to know when their pool, gym, and community gathering areas will be available.

Event Reminders

Events and gatherings are another important feature of holiday season. Be sure to let your community members know what’s happening in their area.

• If your community hosts holiday events or parties, share the dates and times with residents as widely as possible to make it easy for them to attend.
• While many residents will have individual plans, consider planning a special event for residents who will remain at home throughout the holiday season. A movie night, a food truck, a games day: give your community a chance to connect.

Package Deliveries

Although receiving parcels has become an everyday activity, package deliveries soar during the holiday season. Worldwide demand is forecast to reach 110 million parcels per day during peak season¹. Residents will likely receive more packages than usual, and they’ll need to know how package delivery will be handled during this intensely busy period.

• If your community offers in-office pick-up or an on-site concierge service, post all the relevant information your residents will need to remember: how long they have to retrieve their packages; where those packages are to be found; exactly what they need to bring with them (e.g. ID, order forms, etc.) in order to claim their parcels. Consider providing extended pick-up hours during the heaviest weeks.
• According to the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), 73% of residents view secure, 24/7 self-serve access to their packages as a key amenity at their property². If your community has on-site package management like lockers or package rooms, remind residents to register for the service to ensure they can use the amenity and have their packages be protected.

Safety Tips

In the speed and press of holiday events, it’s important to remind residents to keep an eye on basic safety.

• Fire safety is a heightened priority during the holiday season. Don’t hesitate to share fire protection tips relating to cooking and kitchen fire safety, lights and illuminated decorations, and even space heaters. Remind residents to turn off lighted decorations and extinguish all flames in grills, fireplaces, or any other spaces not supervised by community management.
• If your community experiences winter weather changes, advise residents about potential weather-related issues, like icy walkways, snow build-up, or flooding.

Best Practices for Common Spaces

Many communities have common areas that can be booked for private events. In the lead-up to the holidays, it’s important that residents are mindful of amenity use and access – particularly in shared spaces.

• Ensure all residents know how far in advance they need to reserve their slot for common areas.
• Encourage residents to be mindful of their neighbors when using common spaces, and clearly outline their responsibilities for cleaning and tidying spaces after each use.
• Guests are part of what make the holidays special. Remind residents about guest policies well in advance, so they know how long their guests can stay, where they can park, and what to do in case of an emergency.
• Reiterate security policies and procedures to keep all residents safe during the year’s busiest season.

With straightforward and transparent information, you can wrap your residents in security and convenience this holiday season. And when it comes to package security and convenience, Parcel Pending has your residents covered. Nearly 20% of renters say that secure, self-service package delivery will be a necessity when it comes to signing their next lease³.

Unlike costly or risk-heavy amenities like swimming pools or expensive gym makeovers, smart lockers are the gift that keeps on giving. Many residents use them almost every day. Set yourself and your community up for success with smart parcel lockers from Parcel Pending by Quadient.

Are you ready to give your residents the gift of 24/7 self-service parcel access? Contact a Parcel Pending by Quadient representative using the form below to lock in your smart locker solution today.

Sources:

1. Solomon, Mark. “Massive overcapacity expected to hit holiday parcel delivery market.” Modern Shipper. September 19, 2022. https://www.freightwaves.com/news/massive-overcapacity-expected-to-hit-holiday-parcel-delivery-marketnbsp
2. Fox, Haley. “NMHC Renter Preferences Survey Overview.” Swiftlane. January 26, 2022. https://www.swiftlane.com/blog/renter-preferences-survey-report-summary/
3. Ibid.