For tenants and workers at several of Hines’ office buildings, workplace experience will soon be in the palm of their hands. Come this fall, the Houston-based global real estate investor and developer will launch a new app that combines the technology behind all sorts of property operations, amenities, and services through a mobile pass accessible by smartphones and smartwatches. The digital platform centers on the enhancement of the workplace experience and will allow employees to orchestrate everything from reserving meeting spaces or even desks to ordering food to claiming a spot in an onsite fitness class. The app will also serve as a centralized source of information, not just for employees but for tenants as well, providing a dashboard featuring building performance details, occupancy data, ESG metrics, and other key building information that can ultimately result in long-term cost savings.
Using real-time data and the blending of back-end technology with front-end experiences, Hines’ new app will be a comprehensive digital offering from the well-known developer/operator of offices. Hines, ever cognizant of the importance of providing a prime workplace experience, plans to commence the rollout of the new technology at eight of its premier office towers in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Salt Lake City, and Toronto. While the national office sector continues to struggle with cripplingly high office vacancies, Hines is still hoping that Class A, digitally-connected office buildings will still find strong demand. It is interesting. It is notable that Hines has chosen to develop their own tenant experience app rather than use one of the number of options available off the shelf. This might be a case of white-labeling another company’s tech to retain the brand equity, or it could be that Hines sees their next iteration as a company that not only builds workspace but builds technology for it, too.