‘Clients need to be guided through the process’

Tenants’ expectations have changed and most landlords are aware that ticking the traditional boxes is no longer enough. They used to be rent collectors, but now find themselves being service providers. Technology can help in delivering better service, Jan Jilek, Co-Founder, Spaceflow, told The Real Estate Day.

Tenant Experience Keynote: Jan Jilek, Co Founder & Head of Business Development, Spaceflow
Filmed at the Proptech Investment Briefing, London, November 2019 by Real Asset Media

‘Our app connects buildings with their users and empowers landlords to create the best experience for their tenants,’ he said. ‘Real estate now is no longer B2B but it has become B2C, space is a service not a product and what matters is not ownership but access in real time’.

The building or the physical space is less relevant, because what matters is the technology within the space that makes them work. ‘You need great tech, great data and great humans,’ he said. ‘Two out of three is not enough’.

Landlords cannot control market conditions, location, the urbanisation trend or tenants’ expectations, but they be proactive. They can control operating costs through effective energy management, the property price through refurbishment, innovation and branding and generate additional revenue by streamlining payments and seeing space as a service opportunity, working with data and curating how the building is perceived.

‘Technology is the first step, it opens up new opportunities by connecting every building with its users,’ said Jilek. ‘Seamless communication leads to a collaborative environment and the integration of all smart building features makes the building more efficient’.

The Spaceflow app is a ‘remote control for space and services’ which creates a community that is connected in real time.

‘Once you have built the ecosystem and established the connection then you can use the datra to customise the experience for each tenant,’ he said. ‘What is connected gets measured and what gets measured gets managed’.

Getting new technologies implemented can be a learning curve for both sides. ‘At first we gave our clients our app and left them to get on with it,’ he said. ‘Now we have learnt that we need to guide them through the process’.

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