Unforgettable Open House Ideas for Apartments

A high priority in apartment marketing and multifamily, in general, is to secure solid leads. Over the past decade, technology nuances such as social media and interactive websites have been revolutionary for generating leads quickly. 

However, creating and establishing relationships still remain one of the most important sales tactics of all. So, what may be the most effective way to create leads while establishing and fostering relationships with potential renters? An open house. 

Open houses remain one of the best tools for showing your properties and generating new leads. So, below we have crafted seven open house ideas for apartments that use technology for promotion and engagement, but are ultimately geared toward encouraging people to attend your open house. 

7 Open House Ideas for Apartments

To get the word out about an upcoming open house, head over to your social media to promote organically. Craft posts that will both excite and inform potential prospects specific to each social platform. After your audience engages with your post, be sure they obtain these three key points – when, where and why. 

When – The time and date of the open house. 

Where – The location of the open house.

Why – An appealing detail that will excite viewers to attend.

An important aspect of an open house that is often overlooked is scheduling the time and day of the event. When choosing a time and day, be strategic and focus on an opportune time that is accommodating to your potential renters. 

Here are some recommendations:

If on the weekend, consider earlier in the day (9-11 AM) or later in the day (3-5 PM), instead of the normal open house weekend hours (1-3 PM). Prospects are more likely to come during those hours because it’s not during the peak hours of their weekend. 

On weekdays, specialists suggest Thursdays from 6-8 PM generate peak foot traffic, especially during the summer. 

In the end, the choice is yours, so go with what’s best for you and your prospects!

After nailing down a time and date, a simple open house idea for apartments is to promote it via Facebook Events. 

Facebook Events is a calendar-based resource used to notify users of upcoming occasions. Events can be created by anyone and listed as public or private. Use this free event tool by announcing and promoting your open house as an event on your Facebook page. 

For more insight into ways to cultivate Facebook Events check out this blog post !

If you want to think outside the box, utilize live streaming as a platform for your open house via Facebook or Instagram! Streaming gives you the advantage of showing your open house to endless prospects. 

Potential renters who were not able to make the open house can still have the chance to attend remotely. To have the same effect as being physically present, confirm that someone oversees the live stream to answer any questions a live streamer may have. 

Once your open house is done and recorded, be sure to post the live stream onto your page to boost even more engagement. Additionally, post the link to your live stream as a Twitter post or Instagram story. This ensures all social channels support one another to gain optimal open house attendance.

What’s a good incentive everyone can get on board with? Free Food!

A personal favorite open house idea is partnering with a local restaurant within the surrounding community. Catering refreshments encourages attendees to not only come but to stay awhile to chat and eat.

Furthermore, partnering also gives the restaurant vendor an advertising platform, allowing them to promote their food at the open house. And, why not ask to throw in some restaurant coupons? The more the merrier for both you and the vendor!

Give your potential renters an unforgettable experience by hosting a themed open house. Keep it simple and host a barbecue or pool party, or go all out with a Hawaiian luau. You can even throw a seasonal themed open house, for instance, during the month of October host a “haunted” open house.

For more details on hosting a Halloween themed open house, check out this article !

All of these examples give your prospects an experience they can look back on. It will make your open house and apartment community memorable and more likely to get the leads you desire!

The last open house idea for apartments is an oldie but a goodie. A great way to create engagement is to hold a giveaway or raffle contest at your open house. You can promote the contest organically through your social media by explaining how to enter the giveaway and details on the prizes to be won. 

Make sure the items in the giveaway are things that will excite and entice your audience to attend the open house and enter the contest. Examples of these items are gift cards, kitchenware, or tech products such as AirPods. 

Although this idea can be used for engagement purposes, it can also be a motivating factor for visitors to leave their contact information. Whatever the reason, this apartment open house idea is sure to capture your audience’s attention! 

There you have it! Seven unforgettable open house ideas for apartments to put into action at your next open house. Use these ideas as building blocks, making sure to personalize it by keeping the open house unique to your property.