Do commercial tenants care about the bells and whistles?

When you have a commercial property to rent out, you may wonder how you can make the space as attractive to a prospective tenant as possible.

However, doing so is a balancing act: On the one hand, you want to make sure your property has enough amenities to ensure prospective tenants would be happy for years to come. On the other, you don’t want to break the bank installing all the bells and whistles you can think of in hopes of drawing more interest, as this can seriously hurt your chances for a strong return on investment.

The question, then, becomes what tenants consider a must-have amenity, and what falls into the category of nice-to-have.

Before you consider the space

The must-have amenities you might need to install will depend heavily on the space itself. Commercial spaces for restaurants obviously have many different needs than those for traditional business offices. However, there are some necessities for all businesses, such as power backup to ensure downtime is minimised in the event of a grid failure, or security features that help protect workers, patrons and equipment.

Depending on other conditions, your commercial space might also need options for adding more square metres to the floor plan as a business grows, or options to use “flex space” that can have multiple uses.

And in today’s global, round-the-clock work environment, it can also be a good idea to provide tenants with 24/7 access to the space, potentially made more feasible by having on-site security after hours.

Going beyond the usual offerings

Today, many commercial spaces also boast more impressive amenities that are nice to offer as a commercial property owner, but by no means a necessity that will make or break leasing agreements. For instance, more commercial buildings – especially those for more traditional office environments – are starting to come with an accessible, usable roof, which might include features such as gardens, dining areas or function space. These may not be necessary at all if your building has a ground-level outdoor space that can be used in a similar fashion.

In addition, if your property is big enough to accommodate multiple commercial tenants, co-working or lounge spaces that allow employees or visitors to get some work done, hold meetings and so on can be an exciting selling point, but by no means a necessity.

Finally, it’s wise to provide plenty of options for commuters. This includes not only parking, but potentially also bike racks for more eco- or fitness-conscious tenants and their employees or visitors.

The big consideration

Many of the above options range in cost for commercial property owners looking for a fruitful tenant situation. Installing a bike rack or security cameras probably won’t cost a lot, but they will potentially allow you to command slightly higher rents. Smaller businesses in particular may find these options both attractive and affordable.

But if you have a bigger space and want to land a tenant that will meet your asking price, it might be necessary to go a little more in-depth with the perks and add those outdoor or flex spaces to show that you’re on the cutting edge of not just meeting but exceeding tenant expectations.

Simply put, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to whether prospective clients will want a dazzling array of amenities when looking at your commercial property. It can be useful to look at the amenities offered for similar properties and see how yours stacks up. If you have any questions or concerns about maximising the value of your offerings, get in touch with the commercial property management team at Ray White Surfers Paradise today.