Tenant engagement is not an app. It is a habit you build with your property.
Most landlords today have some form of tenant app or portal. Yet when you ask building managers how many people actually use it, the answers are usually the same: sign ups were decent at launch, then activity faded.

The problem is not that tenants do not care. It is that most engagement tools sit on top of the experience instead of inside the day to day journey of people who work and live in the building.

In this article we look at the three big challenges owners are facing with tenant engagement today, and how a Thinking Workplace approach helps turn engagement into a predictable lever for adoption, monetization and retention.


What landlords are struggling with now

1. Adoption: another app that never became a habit

Tenants and employees already live in a crowded app world. When your building app only sends announcements or occasional offers, it is the first thing
that gets ignored.

Common symptoms:

  • High number of downloads, low number of weekly active users.
  • Engagement spikes only when there is a lucky draw or one big event.
  • Tenants still email or call the helpdesk for basic requests.

2. Monetization: engagement that does not move ROI

Most owners launched tenant apps to improve experience. Over time, the question shifted to revenue.

How does this platform help me:

  • High number of downloads, low number of weekly active users.
  • Engagement spikes only when there is a lucky draw or one big event.
  • Tenants still email or call the helpdesk for basic requests.

Without a clear path from engagement activities to income and savings, the platform turns into a cost line instead of a growth lever.

3. Attrition: no early warning when tenants are at risk

By the time a tenant tells you they are downsizing or moving out, the decision has usually been made months earlier.

Yet the signals often existed:

  • Drop in access counts and bookings.
  • Less use of services and amenities.
  • More complaints and slower response times.

The data sits in different systems, so no one sees the full picture until it is too late.


What good tenant engagement looks like today

For modern mixed use, office and business park assets, effective tenant engagement has four traits.

1. It uses AI to understand what tenants need before they say it

AI can surface patterns that humans often miss — such as declining amenity use, quieter floors, or tenants who no longer participate in building activities.
It helps predict what tenants might value next, so engagement becomes proactive rather than reactive.

Instead of waiting for feedback or complaints, AI highlights:

  • Where to focus attention.
  • When to activate spaces.
  • Which groups are drifting.
This moves tenant engagement from guesswork to guided action.

2. It is embedded in daily routines

The platform should be how people:

  • Book parking, desks, meeting rooms and shared amenities.
  • Register visitors and get into the building.
  • Receive updates about lifts, maintenance or events.
If it makes daily life easier, adoption is no longer a campaign. It has become a habit.

3. It connects experience to revenue

Engagement is not only about satisfaction scores. It should help you:

  • Extend dwell time in your asset.
  • Increase spending with on site partners.
  • Improve the story you tell at renewal time.

4. It provides an early warning system

Usage, sentiment and service history should feed into a single view so asset managers can see:

  • Which tenants are thriving and might expand.
  • Which tenants are disengaging and need attention.
  • Where amenities are underused and can be repurposed.

How a Thinking Workplace approach helps landlords
Instead of relying on siloed tools, a Thinking Workplace weaves engagement into every part of the tenant journey — bookings, access, feedback,
services and community. It uses real usage patterns, not assumptions, to help owners make better decisions about what to activate, when to intervene,
and where to improve daily touchpoints. The goal is not to add more technology, but to create a building that feels intuitive to use and responsive to its people.

How to get started without overwhelming tenants

You do not need to launch every feature on day one. A simple approach that works well:

Step 1: Start with essential, high frequency journeys

Launch the app with three things tenants care about most. For example:

  • Building access and visitor management.
  • Booking of shared meeting rooms and amenities.
  • Simple issue reporting and notifications.

Step 2: Add campaigns tied to real life moments

Once adoption is steady, layer in:

  • Events that match your asset's identity, such as wellness, learning, or networking.
  • Food and retail offers tied to paydays, holidays or large meetings.
  • Gamified challenges that bring different tenants together, such as step counts or sustainability goals.

Step 3: Use data to refine and expand

Review what is working and what is not:

  • Which buildings or tenant types engage most.
  • Which services drive repeat activity.
  • Where friction remains in daily journeys.

Use these insights to decide where Agentic AI should recommend or automate next.


The opportunity for landlords
Tenants have more choices than ever. They can move to a newer building, a more flexible operator, or a different city. In this environment, rent and
fit out are only part of the story. The daily experience, community and convenience around your asset matter just as much.

A Thinking Workplace platform for tenant engagement gives landlords three advantages:


  • A living relationship with people in the building, not just a lease with the company.
  • New ways to grow income through services, partners and better use of space.
  • Earlier, data backed conversations when a tenant is drifting, instead of late surprises.

If you are exploring how to lift adoption of your current tenant app, or you are planning the first digital layer for a new asset, we would be happy to
show you how SpaceOnAi with Agentic AI supports landlords and operators.

Schedule a walkthrough of our tenant engagement platform today:

https://smartenspaces.com/home/index.html#contactForm