Most tenants do not yet know how to navigate hybrid work. Many risk drifting into a hybrid model in which they get neither the benefit of having everyone in person nor the benefit of full flexibility. Tenants need owner/operators to come forward with solutions rather than sit as foes across the negotiation table. Owner/operators will have to evolve their leasing approach to become more consultative. Leading owner/operators are already taking steps; for example, many are considering sensor technologies or analytics that use badge data to track occupancy and space usage for their tenants.
The most proactive owner/operators are going even further, building (or partnering with digital companies to build) tools that directly address their tenants’ needs for physical space—for example, understanding desk and conference-room usage patterns. Their aim is to deliver compelling value propositions that go beyond a mere “four walls” to solutions that create convenient experiences, measure in-space factors, and generate insights about what happens within those spaces. These owner/operators offer a digitally powered experience within a set of walls, fundamentally transforming the tenant relationship and the factors that drive leasing and renewal decisions.