Resident events are worth it when they are planned around what residents actually want, run consistently, and measured. They are rarely worth it when they are squeezed into an overloaded site team’s week, promoted with a single flyer, and judged on gut feel. The real decision for most property managers is not “events or no events.” It is whether to keep events in-house, cut them back, or hand them to a partner who can run them well.
That question is not hypothetical. In November 2022, GlobeSt reported that Camden, a national apartment operator, ended its community resident events, citing “cost, effort, lack of interest” (GlobeSt, 2022). Other operators went the opposite direction, reworking their calendars around smaller, more useful events (Multi-Housing News, 2023). Both reactions come from the same problem: events that cost time and money without clear results.
This guide walks through how to decide what is right for your community.
Why the question keeps coming up
Most on-site teams were not hired to be event planners. A leasing team that is also handling tours, renewals, resident issues and reporting has limited room to source vendors, design flyers, set up tables and clean up afterward. When events are added on top of that workload, three things tend to happen:
- Events get scheduled when staff are available, not when residents are.
- Promotion is thin, so attendance is low.
- Low attendance makes the next event look like a waste, so it gets canceled or cut back.
That cycle is how communities end up concluding that “residents don’t come to events,” when the real issue may be how the events were planned.
The case for keeping resident events
There are good business reasons to invest in community, as long as you are honest about what the evidence shows.
Turnover is expensive. Estimates vary by source and year. The National Apartment Association has used a conservative figure of $1,800 per move-out based on its 2019 survey data (NAA). A 2023 report from Zego, summarized by Multifamily Dive, put average turnover costs at about $3,872 per unit, including marketing, repairs, concessions and lost rent (Multifamily Dive, 2023). Either way, keeping even a few more households each year matters.
Residents value feeling welcome and connected. In the NMHC and Grace Hill Renter Preferences Survey, which drew responses from 172,703 renters, 52% cited “feeling welcomed by the community staff” as a factor in a positive sense of community (Multifamily Dive, 2023).
Residents want to know what is happening. A 2025 SatisFacts study cited in a Multi-Housing News special report found that 45% of renters considered an online calendar of community social events useful (Multi-Housing News, Fall 2026).
What the evidence does not prove: we have not found strong public research showing that a specific number of events produces a specific renewal rate. Be wary of anyone who promises guaranteed retention gains from events alone. Events are one part of resident experience, alongside maintenance response, cleanliness and how staff treat people.
Three options for your community
Option 1: Keep events in-house
Works best when: you have a dedicated resident engagement or lifestyle role, a reasonable budget, and residents who already show up.
Watch for: event planning quietly falling back onto leasing staff, inconsistent calendars when people change roles, and no follow-up data.
Option 2: Cut back to fewer, better events
Works best when: attendance has been low across the board and your team needs to reset.
A smaller calendar is not the same as giving up. One well-promoted event a month can do more for a community than four rushed ones. Drop the formats residents ignore, keep the ones that draw a crowd, and test one new idea at a time.
Watch for: cutting so far that residents notice the loss, especially at luxury properties where programming is part of the brand promise, or at affordable properties where certain resident services may be required by regulatory agreements.
Option 3: Outsource to a resident experience partner
Works best when: your team lacks the hours, you manage multiple properties, you want consistency across a portfolio, or you need specialized programming such as wellness classes, educational workshops, concierge-style experiences or grand openings.
A full-service partner typically handles planning, vendor sourcing, on-site execution and reporting. Your team approves the plan and budget instead of running every detail.
Watch for: partners who only supply a calendar of ideas, or who cannot show you how they track attendance and feedback.
A simple decision framework
Answer these five questions honestly:
- How many staff hours did your last three events take, and who did the work? If it was your leasing or maintenance team, count the opportunity cost.
- What was attendance compared to the number of occupied homes? Track this consistently so you have a baseline.
- Do residents tell you they want more community? Check surveys, reviews and renewal conversations.
- Are any events required? Some affordable housing programs require specific resident services. For Texas tax credit communities, see our guide to TDHCA resident supportive services.
- What does your brand promise? If your marketing sells lifestyle and community, residents will expect to see it.
If your answers show high staff cost and weak attendance, the problem is usually execution, not the idea of community itself.
Questions to ask before hiring a resident events company
- Do you handle planning, vendors, on-site staffing and cleanup, or only part of that?
- How do you choose events for our specific residents?
- How do you promote events and drive attendance?
- What do you report after each event?
- Do you work with our property type (affordable, conventional, luxury, HOA or senior)?
- Do you serve our market?
- How is pricing structured, and what is included?
How to measure whether events are working
You do not need complex software to start. Track the same few numbers for every event:
- Attendance (unique households, not just total heads)
- Cost per attending household
- Resident feedback score from a one-question follow-up survey
- Staff hours spent by on-site team members
- Mentions of community in reviews and renewal conversations
Over six to twelve months, these numbers show which events earn their place on the calendar.
How Roseway fits
Roseway Resident Services works with property teams that want the benefits of community without adding the workload to their staff. Roseway plans, coordinates vendors for, staffs and reports on resident events, wellness programming, concierge-level experiences and grand and soft openings, across affordable, conventional, luxury, HOA and senior communities. You can also read more about how resident services support retention.
Frequently asked questions
Do resident events increase lease renewals?
Events can contribute to a stronger sense of community, which residents value, but public research does not show a guaranteed renewal lift from events alone. Track your own attendance, feedback and renewal data to see what works at your property.
How much should an apartment community spend on resident events?
There is no single industry standard. Budgets depend on property size, class, resident demographics and how often you program. Start with a set monthly amount, measure cost per attending household, and adjust based on results.
Why do residents not attend apartment events?
Common reasons include inconvenient timing, weak promotion, and events that do not match residents’ interests. Our guide on planning events residents actually attend covers how to fix each one.
Is it cheaper to outsource resident events?
It depends on how you count. Compare a partner’s fee against your direct event costs plus the staff hours your team currently spends planning and running events.
Talk through your options
If you are deciding whether to rebuild, scale back or outsource your resident programming, Roseway can help you look at what your community needs and what it would take to deliver it consistently. Start with the free Resident Experience Check, or contact Roseway to request a custom quote.