Christmas leads to material implications for real estate market players

One of the greatest assets for companies are its employees, with their productivity and loyalty influenced increasingly more by non-monetary factors. A people-centric approach is prevalent in the most successful organizations, therefore Christmas celebrations are one of the recurring highlights each year, for both landlords and tenants. The degree to which an office building owner would invest in promoting the holiday spirit depends on several variables, such as how demanding the tenants are or how a landlord wants to position the building for existing or potential tenants. 

„Some buildings in peripheral areas have no budget covered by the service charge for Christmas decorations in common areas, specifically the reception. Other buildings spend from several hundreds of euros to rent a Christmas tree – adding up to half a eurocent for the monthly service charge per square meter – to 4,000 euros for a building located in one of Bucharest’s fast-growing office submarkets (just under one eurocent as per month per square meter), which has quite a big reception area and will have a tree of at least 5-6 meters”, Silviu Pop, Head of Research at Colliers International Romania said.

Additionally, some landlords also try to organize gift fares for employees and visitors, photo corners, as well as special events (like shows for the employees’ children or opportunities to donate money, clothing and toys to needy children), which can run into the thousands of euros range. Overall, the costs that are pushed onto tenants seems quite low when looking at the impact on the service charge, but such events can make a world of difference for the people working in that building.

Furthermore, tenant companies also try to go for a Christmassy mood by decorating their rented space at their own expense. An ornate tree, some twinkle lights and other decorations are the most common approach. A special focus is usually geared towards the reception area, which can act as a business card for clients visiting the office. (source: Colliers International)