By: K.C. Aquino, WithMe, Inc. Regional Sales Director

A package goes missing.

The coffee machine sputters out a murky liquid that barely passes for coffee.

Printing a shipping label means a chain of emails with the leasing office and a race to pick it up during business hours.

On their own, none of these inconveniences seem significant enough to motivate a move ​​— until a resident tours another property and sees a place designed to support their everyday life.

They’ll tell you they moved for the price, the location or the floor plan. But the decision started months earlier, on a Tuesday morning, when the Wi-Fi froze mid-meeting and nothing in the building felt dependable.

Renewals aren’t won with showpiece amenities that turn heads on a tour or stop a scroll online. They’re won with the ones residents quietly rely on, day after day — the services that make living there feel easy.

Life and work blurred — and so did expectations

Remote work has transformed what people expect from where they live.

Before 2020, apartments were recovery zones. Residents needed a parking space, streaming-quality Wi-Fi and maybe a gym.

Not anymore. Today, over one-third of residents work remotely full-time, and many more are hybrid. Home is now the office, the coffee shop and the Zoom background — all rolled into one.

And it starts before move-in. Apartment listings with dedicated coworking space earn 16% more saves and 23% more shares than those with outdated business centers. Remote workers need more than a table and chairs in a common space. They expect the comfort, reliability, and convenience they once got from corporate HQ — and they’ll choose the property that delivers it.

What the data says

While many communities continue heavily investing in trend-driven amenities — from pickleball courts to podcast studios — surveys show residents now place higher value on essential services that make everyday life easier.

• 90% of remote workers want reliable printers — yet in many buildings, outdated machines are still tucked away in business centers with limited hours.
• 25% of residents surveyed by WithMe, Inc. view their community’s coffee machine as the most valuable amenity — but when 87% of Americans consider themselves “coffee obsessed” a Keurig isn’t going to cut it.
• More than half of renters say package management affects leasing decisions. With online shopping growing 10% year over year, the chaos adds up quickly without an efficient processing system.

Today’s residents live in an on-demand world — and they expect their building to operate the same way. When they can print in seconds, grab a customized cup of coffee without waiting, or pick up a package the moment it arrives, the property becomes part of that instant gratification loop. Remove the wait, remove the hassle — and you remove a major reason to look elsewhere.

Everyday wins that drive retention

Turnover costs can now exceed $4,000 per unit — so keeping even a handful of residents delivers meaningful ROI. Sometimes, it’s the simplest everyday upgrades that have the biggest impact on whether residents choose to stay.

Take printing. In most buildings, it’s an afterthought — clunky, unreliable, staff-dependent. PrintWithMe flips the script. Residents can quickly and securely upload documents from any personal device, release their print job with a secure release code, and walk away with what they need in minutes.

At The Standard, an ORA Top 1% property in Scottsdale. PrintWithMe has become a key part of creating an accessible, community-centric living experience. Property Manager Glenn Schoeneck calls it “a valuable amenity that is worth paying for.”

Coffee tells a similar story. For 66% of Americans, it’s a daily ritual they can’t function without, but most properties still rely on weak Keurig pods or bland drip machines. SipWithMe can instantly transform any common space into a bean-to-cup, coffee shop experience, delivering barista-quality drinks in under a minute — and for a fraction of the price. Over a third of surveyed residents say SipWithMe saves them at least $20 on coffee every month, and nearly one in five reclaim 15+ minutes during every coffee break, since they no longer have to leave the property. Plus, it can save properties up to 60% in OpEx.

Beyond a great cup of coffee, SipWithMe also helps create connection. The Standard paired PrintWithMe with SipWithMe, and the combination has had a transformative impact on resident satisfaction, community engagement and overall property value. “SipWithMe gives me a chance to meet with people around the coffee maker,” Schoeneck says. “If they think positively a few days a week about where they live or their home experience, they’re probably going to stay longer.” One recent 5-star review for the property even called out coffee as one of the best perks of being a resident.

These everyday wins build trust, create daily touchpoints, and give residents more reasons to stay.

The retention advantage of digital convenience

Renewals aren’t earned with over-the-top amenities that residents use a few times a year. They’re won quietly, through dependable, tech-forward services that elevate the everyday.

When printing works effortlessly, when the free coffee feels like a daily treat, when packages arrive securely and can be picked up without delay — life gets better in ways residents remember.

Properties that deliver this kind of convenience gain a retention edge that grows over time, one seamless interaction at a time.