In this episode of PlotLines, Britni sits down with Lauren Bergenholtz, Senior National Account Executive at WithMe, to examine how the multifamily amenity conversation has fundamentally shifted and what that means for operators trying to compete in today's market.
The amenity arms race that defined the early 2020s was built on a simple premise: renters wanted impressive. Rooftop lounges, golf simulators, developers delivered them all. But as Lauren puts it, nobody is singing karaoke every night. What renters are doing every day is making coffee, printing documents, and going through routines that practical, well-integrated amenities can either support or complicate.
That shift in priorities has accelerated alongside broader economic pressures. With compressed margins, softening rent growth in markets like Nashville, and an oversupply of Class A properties competing for the same renters with the same concessions, operators are scrutinizing their amenity spend more closely than ever. The question is no longer just "what do renters want?" but "what is the ROI on this, and can we actually maintain it with the staff we have?"
One of the more underappreciated challenges Lauren describes is how little visibility most operators actually have into how residents use their amenities. In most communities, unless there's an access control system or a resident app with tracking built in, usage data is essentially anecdotal.
WithMe approaches this differently. Rather than reporting how many cups of coffee were brewed, the platform shows what percentage of residents are actually using the amenity, giving asset managers a meaningful utilization number they can take to ownership. That kind of data changes the conversation from "we think people like it" to "here is the ROI, and here is why it stays."
For all the attention on amenities, Lauren argues that the biggest differentiator in today's leasing environment might not be physical at all. As AI-generated follow-up emails and templated outreach become the norm, the communities that actually pick up the phone, remember the details from a tour, and make a prospective resident feel like a person are the ones that stand out.
Looking ahead, Lauren sees the trend toward practical, high-utility amenities continuing. She's watching newer concepts as a sign of where things are heading: convenience-forward, frictionless, and genuinely useful.
Her headline for the industry says it clearly: less friction, more life.
