One great way that builds the relationships in our office is CREATIVITY. The Retreat is a community that strives on resident events, social media and what's new in the apartment industry. Everytime we come up with something that is just so stinking cute, we feel the bond and it makes us strive even more to find the next best thing. With our community on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, we love to broadcast who we are about. As a Manager, I have a wall in our office devoted to inspirational leasing and team building quotes. Whether the quote is something that we have come up with as a staff or I have discovered online, its a quote to make us stop and think. My latest motivational piece is LEASING which stands for LISTEN, ENTHUSIASM, ATTITUDE, SERVICE, INTERACTION, NEEDS and of Course GLOSSY. Glossy is...

I think this would be loads of fun and would get lots of residents involved. I know when I go to a Karaoke Bar, I prefer NOT to sing but I love to go anyway! So this event works for both groups of people. Dress up and Karaoke just seem to go hand in hand. You can have two contests at once. One for the best costume and another for the best performance--I would really avoid a "bad singer" contest so as not to hurt anyone's feelings. The best thing about this is event is your ability to customize it just for your community. Here are some of my ideas: Tacky Christmas Sweater and Christmas Songs Best 50's Costume and Grease Songs Glove Decorating Contest (1 Glove) and Michael Jackson Songs Best Disco Outfit...

A Valentine Making Party! We went to the craft and dollar stores to get construction paper, stickers, glue, crayons, etc. Residents could come in and design a Valentine card for anyone. We took pictures and did prizes for the cutest card in several age categories. We also had snacks and door prizes.

Starting a book club can be fun and rewarding. Establish a meeting schedule for your book club and pass out flyers advertising those dates and times. A good place to start when choosing a book might be a book you have already read and really enjoyed. The best books can be read over and over again, so why not share them with the rest of your group? Many book clubs adapt themes in which they exclusively read books of a given genre or subject matter. Books that have been well received by other readers and critics will likely make good choices, so best seller lists and book reviews make excellent resources for book clubs in search of titles. The best places to turn for help with discussions are reading group guides. Many reading group guides are available online and can easily be found using the...

A Valentine Candy Gram is a great way to get to know your residents. Print and place a candy gram on each resident’s door before Valentine’s Day. On Valentine’s Day, place a large bowl of individually wrapped Valentine inspired candies and chocolates in the leasing office. Place it on table covered with a festive red or pink tablecloth adorned with some Valentine hearts. Set aside some time to be available to meet and greet residents as they come to the office to retrieve the sweet treat of their choice. This is a simple but effective way to connect with your residents.