BOMA New York: When buildings compete on experience - by Sharon Hart

The commercial real estate industry is undergoing a fundamental shift in how buildings compete for tenants. Location still matters, and class and quality remain important, but increasingly what separates a building that commands premium rents from one that struggles with vacancy is something less tangible and more difficult to replicate: the experience it delivers. 

This isn’t about adding a coffee bar and calling it hospitality. It’s about recognizing that today’s tenants evaluate buildings the way consumers evaluate hotels: on service, comfort, amenities, and the overall environment their employees will inhabit daily. Buildings that understand this are winning leases, while those that don’t, are leaving value on the table. BOMA New York is formalizing this recognition through two significant developments: the launch of our new Hospitality & Workplace Experience Committee and the addition of a Best Building Amenity category to our 2026 Pinnacle Awards. 

The office market has fundamentally changed since hybrid work models took hold. Employees now choose when to come in, which means buildings must give them compelling reasons to show up. Companies competing for talent want workspaces that reflect an investment in employee experience. At the same time, landlords need ways to differentiate beyond square footage and lease rates. Hospitality provides that differentiation through the concierge who knows tenants by name, the fitness center that rivals dedicated gyms, the conference facilities that eliminate the need for off-site meetings, and the food options that keep employees in the building. These aren’t luxuries, but competitive necessities that directly affect leasing velocity and tenant retention. 

Our new Hospitality & Workplace Experience Committee exists because this sector demands focused attention. As the first BOMA New York committee dedicated specifically to hospitality and premium amenities, we’re recognizing that workplace experience has evolved into a core operational priority that delivers measurable value to both landlords and tenants. This shift mirrors what’s happened in retail, where shopping has transformed from pure transaction to experience-based. Successful retail properties no longer just lease space - they curate environments where people want to spend time. The same principle applies to office buildings, where occupants are buying into an environment that supports their culture, attracts their talent, and enhances their daily operations. 

Buildings that excel at this create advantages that compound over time. Tenant retention improves because employees find both community and convenience at work, and they don’t want to leave. Leasing becomes easier because prospects immediately grasp the value proposition. And perhaps most importantly, these buildings command rent premiums that reflect the genuine incremental value they deliver. Our 2026 Pinnacle Awards now include a Best Building Amenity category specifically designed to recognize innovative amenities that measurably enhance tenant experience, reflecting the market reality that amenities are strategic investments that affect building performance and financial returns. 

The Pinnacle Awards have always recognized operational excellence across building management, engineering, sustainability, and security. Now we’re highlighting that hospitality and amenity strategy deserve the same level of recognition. Buildings competing for this new category must demonstrate not just that an amenity exists, but that it delivers tangible value through utilization of metrics, tenant feedback, and documented impact on leasing or retention. The broader Pinnacle Awards process continues to recognize excellence across building operations, engineering, sustainability, security, life safety and property management categories. Individual professional categories honor chief engineers, managers of the year, directors of security, security professionals, directors of fire/life safety, fire/life safety professionals, and janitorial professionals. 

For property managers and building operators, the rise of hospitality-driven competition creates both challenges and opportunities. It requires different skill sets, different budgets, and different ways of thinking about building operations where you’re not just maintaining physical systems but curating experiences and delivering service. This demands investment, certainly, but buildings that make these investments strategically see returns through higher occupancy, longer lease terms, and stronger rent growth. The key is ensuring amenities align with tenant needs rather than following trends indiscriminately. A fitness center makes sense if your tenant base will use it. A rooftop terrace creates value if climate and programming support regular utilization. Food and beverage options work when building population justifies quality operations. 

The Hospitality & Workplace Experience Committee will help members navigate these decisions by sharing best practices, benchmarking successful approaches, and connecting property teams implementing similar strategies. We’re building a knowledge base around what works, what doesn’t, and how to measure return on amenity investment. Buildings competing purely on price will continue losing ground to properties offering superior experience at comparable economics, and the gap between commodity office space and premium hospitality-driven buildings will widen as tenants increasingly factor workplace experience into location decisions. 

This creates pressure, but it also creates opportunity. Buildings willing to invest thoughtfully in hospitality and amenities position themselves for sustained competitive advantage. And through the Pinnacle Awards, we now have a formal mechanism for recognizing excellence in this increasingly critical dimension of building performance. As we launch this committee and introduce this new awards category, it sends the message that hospitality isn’t a trend; it’s the new baseline for buildings that want to compete successfully in today’s market. 

Sharon Hart, RPA, CPM, LEED AP, is chair of BOMA New York.