Kingsley Associates: BOMA 360 buildings lead competition in tenant satisfaction

by Brianna Crandall — September 2, 2016 — According to new analysis by real estate business intelligence provider Kingsley Associates, buildings that have earned the BOMA 360 Performance Program designation have higher tenant satisfaction scores in 53 out of 57 rating areas as compared to commercial office buildings without the BOMA 360 designation.

These results continue a longstanding trend of BOMA 360 buildings outperforming those without the designation in the Kingsley Index. In fact, the benefits of the BOMA 360 program were especially clear in this year’s findings, as the gap between BOMA 360 buildings and non-designated buildings grew in many of the categories — such as overall satisfaction and value for amount paid — since last measured, points out BOMA.

BOMA 360 is a commercial real estate designation developed by the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International that recognizes all-around excellence in building operations and management. The program benchmarks building performance in six key areas: operations and management; security and safety; training and education; energy; environment and sustainability; and tenant relations. Since the program’s inception in 2009, more than 1,400 BOMA 360 designations have been conferred.

BOMA 360 buildings ratings graphic

According to Kingsley Associates, commercial office buildings that have earned the BOMA 360 Performance Program designation have higher tenant satisfaction scores in 53 out of 57 rating areas as compared to buildings without the designation.

BOMA International Chair Brian M. Harnetiaux, senior vice president of Asset Management at McCarthy Cook, commented:

These findings confirm what the property teams at BOMA 360 buildings already know — that the BOMA 360 designation leads to more satisfied tenants, which translates into higher tenant retention and greater market value. From the professionalism of the staff to sustainability efforts, BOMA 360 properties go above and beyond for tenants.

Kingsley Associates, a global leader in tenant satisfaction studies, measured tenant satisfaction in dozens of quantitative rating areas, including property management, leasing, maintenance, security and property features. Key highlights include:

  • Tenants in BOMA 360 buildings expressed high overall satisfaction with property management, scoring the properties an average of 4.56 out of 5 compared to 4.29 in non-designated buildings.
  • BOMA 360 tenants also were more likely to recommend their property to others — 4.46 versus 4.29 — and reported higher value for amount paid and stronger intention to renew than tenants in non-designated buildings. The gap between BOMA 360 buildings and others widened even further in each of these categories over last year.
  • BOMA 360 tenants gave high marks to property management teams for accessibility, accommodation of special requests, communication, problem resolution and responsiveness, with scores ranging from 4.51 to 4.62.
  • Tenants were particularly impressed with the professionalism and courtesy of the building staff in BOMA 360 buildings, scoring them 4.74 out of 5.
  • Buildings without the BOMA 360 designation were significantly outpaced by BOMA 360 buildings in cleanliness, BOMA 360 buildings scored 4.50 in overall cleaning of exterior building grounds and 4.48 of quality of cleaning in interior common areas, as compared to 4.42 and 4.37 respectively in non-designated buildings.
  • BOMA 360 tenants felt more secure, rating their overall sense of security 4.40 as compared to 4.27 in non-designated buildings. BOMA 360 buildings scored higher in quality of security personnel, security policies and procedures, after-hours security and security responsiveness.
  • Tenants rated BOMA 360 buildings much higher in overall satisfaction with the commitment to sustainable building operations. BOMA 360 buildings were rated 4.20 in this category as compared to only 3.83 in non-designated buildings.

These findings are based on an analysis of more than 5,584 tenants in more than 300 BOMA 360 buildings compared to the Kingsley Index, considered the largest and most comprehensive performance-benchmarking database for tenant satisfaction. For more information about the BOMA 360 Performance Program, visit the BOMA International Web site.