There are spaces—and then there are places. Lifestyle apps aim to help building owners convert functional commercial spaces into healthy, purposeful places where tenants and employees can look forward to living and working. That elevated experience with tangible benefits is what apps like Lulafit, JLL Jet, and New Stand aim to help landlords accomplish.
HEALTHY PLACES
Lulafit, a wellness company headquartered in Chicago, launched its virtual amenities service platform just ahead of the pandemic. The app focuses on delivering a holistic wellness approach to office workers. "The Lulafit digital solution can serve a population on its own but is most effective when paired with our onsite amenity experiences, says Colleen Werner, Lulafit founder and CEO. "Our mobile platform truly enhances the in-person experience to help landlords and companies build a culture of well-being. We have five key areas we focus on,” she says, “movement (fitness and ergonomics), nourishment (food), empowerment (personal and professional development), restoration (mindfulness and mental health), and connection (social health and events).”
Werner estimates that only about 20% to 25% of tenants typically use their building’s fitness center. Lulafit focuses on diverse and inclusive programming, such as live and on-demand fitness classes, meditation, and nutrition guidance, so 100% of a building's population can find something they love.
Lulafit users can also schedule customized wellness sessions with personal coaches who specialize in mental health coaching, personal training, and nutritional counseling. The company even curates social events, such as game nights and interactive experiences.
“For example,” Werner says, “we recently hosted an event called ‘Plant and Sip.’ Participants created living art through a hands-on experience with their building community. We provided all of the materials they needed to create a lovely plant display including air frame boxes, air plants, and preserved mosses. Tenants enjoyed cocktails while mingling and creating something that is not only fun to look at but good for their well-being.”
PURPOSEFUL PLACES
San Francisco–based JLL Technology, a division of real estate giant JLL, is focused on helping tenants of office spaces “create an environment where [employees] wake up and say, ‘Wow, I really want to work in a place like this,’” says Mihir Shah, co-CEO of JLL Technologies.
JLL Jet is a workplace mobile app that personalizes the employee experience in hybrid working environment, “simplifying everyday tasks like scheduling in-person collaboration, accessing corporate information, and submitting requests for services including IT and facilities,” says Scott Jones, vice president of marketing at JLL Technologies.
If workers want to schedule meetings, Jet’s artificial intelligence finds the right time and place based on participants’ availability and locations. If staff members want to book desks and rooms, Jet’s in-app floor plans help them navigate and reserve amenities in seconds. The same for broadcasting alerts and messages, registering and tracking guest registrations, or reserving dining options. Users can do that and more from Jet’s intuitive, mobile app.
INTERESTING PLACES
New York–based New Stand offers a smart take on the newsstand concept. The app points users to a rotating array of needs: from gourmet snacks to umbrellas to cell phone chargers. It also comes with access to playlists, local media, and amusing GIFs. And landlords can customize New Stand to feed their employees company news.
The app helps create a tenant community in which users can cash in on weekly deals and collect loyalty points to spend in store.
“What New Stand really is building,” co-founder and CEO Andrew Deitchman said in an interview with TechCrunch last year, “is a media and technology company, using convenience points as a means of accessing people’s lives and making their days a little bit better.”
With apps like Lulafit, JLL Jet, and New Stand, employers are promoting wellness and encouraging a safe return to the office, turning functional spaces into meaningful places where tenants and employees can thrive.
