Contributor weighting depending on individual use, necessity or consumption. These individuals also don’t want to take everybody that comes to see them to their apartment, so a meeting facility is a must these days.
ACCOMMODATION TODAY IS CHANGING
Today’s residential apartments and complexes no longer just provide the accepted swimming pool and gym. Long gone are the days when good tenants could be encouraged by simplicity and basic services. Developers have quickly adapted to changing needs, realising that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Many of them now proffer a wide range of “bolt-on” services in apartment/residential complexes, all carefully thought out and designed to save residents time and effort – providing maximum comfort and ease of access.
Hareesh Nair, Property Manager, Royal Ambassador, considers how time-poor millennials and professionals require outstanding, “value-added” services in their apartment blocks. A gym and swimming pool are no longer sufficient – developers and building owners today need to offer a diverse range of services to attract the best residents
Bold residential building owners are thriving now for having invested shrewdly in their buildings and providing the right calibre and class of residents – residents that they need and want – to make their lives easier, saving time, money and effort. When it comes to choosing somewhere to live, think “value-added living” and choose wisely.
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n Bahrain, the GCC and, in fact, across the globe, whether you are a “millennial”, a professional or just a hard-working specialist or manager – the one thing you are always short of is time. One of the most frequently used phrases heard today is, “I simply don’t have the time”. And that’s a good thing – what it means is that you value the time you have and prioritise what you do. After all, “Proper planning prevents poor performance”.
Where is time wasted? Some of the biggest time thieves include driving in traffic (and being delayed in traffic); waiting in queues, for appointments and people who are late; dealing with bureaucracy; and waiting or holding on the telephone. Getting to vital performance-sustainment resources can be arduous tasks – multiply this exponentially when having a partner and further by adding family and children into the mix. Smart people are seeking shortcuts to these arduous tasks by adopting a principle of “value-added living” when selecting their residences. They make sure that developers, and the apartment buildings they provide, have as many “value-added services” located within the shortest possible distance from their apartment or residence as practically possible, with each service having its own 52 AH FEBRUARY 2018
Photographs courtesy of Royal Ambassador
IF YOU CAN’T MEASURE IT, YOU CAN’T MANAGE IT
ALL PICTURES Shrewd landlords and developers are attracting high-quality residents with facilities like those shown here, from Fontana Gardens, which has a business centre (opposite) and Turkish bath (main picture)
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Contributor
WHICH SERVICES ADD VALUE? ●
High-speed broadband wireless internet
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Satellite TV offering
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Drinking water on demand
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Dry cleaning and laundry point
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24-hour 7/11-type supermarket
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Coffee and light snack shop with meeting / seating facilities
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Business centre with printing, scanning and fax facilities and probably a small office
24-hour maintenance call out for minor issues
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List of local “agreed” delivery restaurants
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On-call taxi, driver and car services
WHICH FACILITIES ADD VALUE? ●
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“OFTEN IN THE REAL WORLD, IT’S NOT THE SMART WHO GET AHEAD, BUT THE BOLD” Robert T. Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money – That The Poor And Middle Class Do Not!
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Indoor sports halls for squash, cricket, basketball, soccer, netball, mini golf and even tennis Party Hall, possibly with pool tables, air hockey or chess area
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Indoor theatre and digital games room/area
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Photographs courtesy of Royal Ambassador
ALL PICTURES Value-added services include (from left) mini golf, luxurious outdoor swimming pools, gymnasiums with equipment and squash courts
Dedicated outdoor walking track, perhaps around the building recreation area
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Small children’s indoor and outdoor play areas with rubber soft floor and appropriate play apparatus Barbecues (one barbecue facility in a building of more than 20 residents is never enough in the summer) Gyms with modern equipment and fully equipped facilities, steam and changing rooms with calisthenics equipment and perhaps judo/mixed martial arts and especially BBJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) equipment
Swimming pools with appropriate equipment (not just a few life-saving tubes), tables, chairs and loungers. Open areas need to have calm, piped (elevator) music or guests end up competing with their own music and Bluetooth wireless speakers
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Appropriate meeting and lounge area
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Immaculately laid out and designed roof or indoor gardens
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