Density recently attended CoreNet Global Summit 2019, the largest annual corporate real estate event featuring more than 3,000 real estate and workplace professionals. During the two-day event, our team had hundreds of conversations with current customers and other real estate executives. 

Here are four key takeaways from the event:

1. From expense to experience

CoreNet Global was hosted blocks away from Disneyland in Anaheim, California. So, it was fitting that Duncan Wardle, Disney’s former Head of Innovation and Creativity, kicked off the opening session.

“Where do you get your best, most creative ideas?” he asked the audience. Tellingly, no one answered “while at work.” With this in mind, Wardle urged the audience to rethink the workday experience by putting people first. 

Other speakers shared a similar message: workplaces are not simply a cost center but a competitive advantage for recruiting and retaining talent. The CoreNet attendees agreed. In a real-time survey, they showed the range of metrics needed to manage an effective portfolio:  

What Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) do you currently use?

• Cost: 62%
• Utilization/Occupancy Rates: 59%
• Density: 43%
• Employee workplace experience: 36%
• Other: 14%
• We don’t use any KPIs: 11%

2. Coworking ≠ WeWork

In light of recent WeWork news, coworking was a hot topic at CoreNet Global Summit 2019. The message from competitors was clear: Even if WeWork fails, flexible office solutions are here to stay. 

Chris Kelly, founder of Convene, urged the audience to focus on the broader trendline of coworking, not the headlines. Other flexible office solutions had a similar message.  Knotel, a flexible office provider, showcased its new line of furniture subscriptions as a way to differentiate offerings. Brokers that specialize in coworking downplayed WeWork as one of many solutions on the market. 

The overall message: Coworking has become a clear part of corporate real estate strategy and the ecosystem of options is larger than ever.

3. Security matters

Security was a key theme throughout the event that carried into a range of presentations, including those focused on emergency preparedness, cybersecurity and physical security. Ann Hardy, Chief Security Officer at Join Digital, offered some practical tips in her session including, “Be secure by design,” “Authenticate, authorize, mentor” and “Assume breach mentality.” 

After her talk, Hardy spoke to us about her session: “I was asked a lot of questions including: ‘How do you secure [data] on cloud?’ ‘How do you secure financial transactions?’ ‘How can you use blockchain?’ ‘How do you respect privacy with IoT devices?’ Security was clearly top of mind.”

4. Make A.I. actionable

In previous years, corporate real estate executives were just beginning to understand what the buzzword of artificial intelligence might mean for the future of the industry. This year, real estate and workplace teams seemed to be more open to exploring how to use A.I. to solve real-world problems within space planning, physical security and facilities management. 

We spoke to a number of workplace teams that were eager to use data from sensors to answer questions like: “How much food should I prepare for my employees?” “How can I prevent a physical security breach?” “How do I cut down on costs without negatively impacting experience?” 

These conversations taught us an important lesson: A.I. is no longer just a buzzword if it becomes a tool for constant improvement and data-driven decisions.

Job one in the hospitality business is to create an experience that exceeds expectations and keeps people coming back.

That’s no easy feat for brands like Marriott, which serves millions of guests every year across nearly 7,000 locations. To build loyalty, each hotel must meet brand standards no matter how busy it gets.

One Marriott location, just minutes away from Marriott’s HQ in Maryland, has been using people count technology to ensure service never slips.

It has been tremendously helpful in the fitness center and “M Club Lounge,” two popular amenities that require restocking and additional staff attention when traffic gets heavy.

This Bethesda North Marriott location — which has 441 rooms and a 56,000 square-foot conference center — had previously relied on staff members regularly checking each.

But after installing Density’s sensors above the entrances, they no longer have to rely on guesswork. Staff members now receive an alert when the fitness center reaches a certain number of visits, instantly letting everyone know when the gym needs extra service. This means that every guest — whether they are the first to arrive at 5:00 am or the 50th person starting a workout that day — will walk into a clean space that keeps them wanting to come back.

Density tells me where people are and when they’re there… and it helps me to understand which resources I need to deploy and at what time.

– Mike Wilson, Director of Operations at Bethesda North Marriott

“Density tells me where people are and when they’re there,” says Mike Wilson, Director of Operations at Bethesda North Marriott. “And it helps me to understand which resources I need to deploy and at what time.”

The lounge presents an even bigger challenge.

This is an area reserved for elite Marriott members. So the service needs to be impeccable — above and beyond even the company’s high standards for “hosting brilliantly.”

Yes, this is a spot to relax. But it’s so much more. For Marriott, it is a place where the core principles of the brand — quality, comfort, and luxury — must always be on display for the most important guests.

The staff can’t afford to let anything slip. There always has to be hot coffee and healthy snacks on hand. Someone must always be available to answer any questions and fulfill every request. Everything has to be right.

Because whenever there is a problem, somebody will let you know. But, really, at that point, it’s too late. You’ve already let the guest down.

As both the fitness center and the lounge highlight, there are two big reasons that Wilson loves people count technology.

The first is the surface-level, practical factor. Density’s people count technology improves staff efficiency and helps Bethesda North deploy its resources better. Now, they never run out of clean towels or coffee. His staff knows where to spend their time and prevents service shortfalls.

But the second benefit is even greater. This technology helps Marriott protect and showcase its brand.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to elevating the guest experience. And Density is giving Bethesda North the data it needs — in real-time — to do it better than ever.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to elevating the guest experience.

For Wilson, any technology that helps avert problems before they materialize is a godsend. It allows him to stop worrying about the little things and set his sights on the big picture. It keeps his guests coming back and spending more, which is what matters most for any hospitality business.

“Density gives us an anticipation of what’s going to happen in the next 15 minutes,” says Wilson. “So we’re not just on time, we’re actually early … Imagine if your building could talk to you and tell you what it needs. Density does that.”