Summer Events to Host for Your Student Residents

By Danni White on May 28, 2017

Image via Marvin Meyer at Unsplash.com

Do you host events throughout the summer for your student resident community? If not, you’re missing out on a big opportunity to get to know some of your young adult tenants and to allow them to get to know you and feel welcome into the neighborhood.

Moving out of mom and dad’s home can be a big leap for many young people. For some, this is their first foray outside of the loving protectiveness of parents. Taking up the responsibility of a lease on a place that is all their own can be, to say the least, frightening. But bringing your neighborhood together is the foundation for good community relations and helps to cultivate a sense of closeness and a “home away from home.”

As student property managers, it is important to keep in mind that building connections and relationships among the student population are good ways to ensure consistency, possible renewal of lease agreements, and good recommendations; it also helps residents find values and support outside the four walls of the apartment.

Communities, in general, find that getting to know one’s neighbors, being willing to help each other out, a sense of security and safety, and appreciation from upper management makes for a thriving living environment. People want to belong and the neighborhood in which they live is one of the basic places in which friendship and a sense of belonging are developed. Students “belong” to their college, their fraternity or sorority, their high school friend group, their family, and they should be made to feel as though they belong to some small space in the world.

Hosting events throughout the summer that appeals to college students is just one of many ways that you can keep your property thriving and your young resident population happy. Engaging residents in community events and affairs helps to build togetherness and is good for gaining potential residents in the future.

Below are some ways you can consider hosting your student residents this summer.

Meet your neighbors day 

This event can be held on any weekend day when students are less likely to have classes and others are less likely to be called into work. This type of event can be super fun, creating the connection and friendships among residents and the property staff, management included, that sometimes last long after college.

Contact vendors and local businesses to donate games, drinks, finger foods, gifts, and prizes for the big day. Businesses may want to advertise their products or services, so allow them to do that. This way it is a win-win for everyone involved.

Movie night 

In the spring and fall, students don’t really have a whole lot of free time on their hands. Most of them feel like they don’t have a life outside of school for these months. When summer has arrived, however, it is time to let the hair down, close the textbooks for a while, and do something that doesn’t require as much thinking.

Movies don’t require us to think, do they? Almost everyone has a favorite movie. Host a movie night outside with a huge projector. Set up several rooms that show a variety of movies and let residents choose the one they want to watch. A good idea is to run a poll and let residents vote; that way, you won’t waste your time getting movies no one is going to watch. And be sure to have popcorn, drinks, and other snacks on hand for those hungry souls that just have to munch while they watch.

Potluck lunch or dinner

Celebrate the diversity of your residents by hosting a potluck lunch or dinner. Allow each resident to bring his or her favorite dish from their culture or family history. Provide the paper or plastic plates, bowls, cups, utensils, and any side dishes or drinks that you think are needed. Set this up in a large room on the premises or surprise your residents at a banquet hall or community center room.

Take this one step further and invite potential students and their parents who may have toured your property to come as well. This will give them an opportunity to meet some of the residents and may just seal the deal for you as the place they want to live.

Take a tour 

This may be a tad bit more expensive but equally as much fun. Think about the time you took a field trip with your elementary class or a tour of a college campus when you were about to graduate high school. Well, you’re like the parent or chaperone here.

Find a day and time when many student residents are available, rent a bus, and take them on a tour of the city or to a local museum, concert, or art fair. This can serve as a great time to learn about the interests, hobbies, and past lives of one another.

Hold a community garage or yard sale 

People have so much stuff nowadays and college students are no different. A community garage sale or yard sale can be an excellent way to get student residents out of their apartment and talking to their neighbors about common interests or things about which they have similar tastes.

All the 21 and older

You don’t want to encourage the wild party setting but you can consider hosting a wine tasting or happy hour event. Be sure to check IDs at the door, or better yet, go through the resident profiles that are already stashed away in your office and make sure everyone is at least 21.

Holding this type of event on the property can lessen DWIs and DUIs since most everyone can walk back to their place. They’ll also be less inclined to get carried away with it if they know you’ll be watching out for their well-being and your reputation.

Try hosting an event or two for your student residents over the summer and see how much they bond with each other and create a better living environment for themselves and you.

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