Holiday Events Done Right: Insights Into Planning and Inclusivity
How Sentral balances inclusivity, cultural awareness and logistical precision to create unforgettable experiences.
Hosting memorable holiday events takes more than just festive decorations and seasonal treats—it’s about fostering connection, celebrating community and tailoring experiences to the unique personality of each resident. Sentral—the Class A multifamily operator— has a uniquely successful approach of curating extraordinary events guided by creativity, inclusivity and a deep understanding of the neighborhoods where their properties thrive that drive loyalty, engagement and resident satisfaction.
Multi-Housing News reached out to Sentral’s Head of Creative Development Kū Nakanelua to share insights into the philosophies behind their programming, the role of technology in enhancing resident engagement and the meticulous planning that goes into every event—from intimate gatherings such as Turkish coffee meetups to grand celebrations such as live ice carving or New Year’s Eve rooftop parties.
Your events are far from ordinary. What philosophy or guiding principles shape your approach to curating events tailored to each community?
Nakanelua: Each full-service Sentral building has a dedicated lifestyle manager. That person is typically a “creative type” whose job is to plan, design and produce a year-round event calendar that authentically reflects each building’s surroundings, appeals to its unique mix of residents and gives insider access to the city and some of its most interesting creators.
We always aim to bring an artist’s sensibility into our spaces through our events, which typically fall into one of three main pillars: design, food and beverage, and health and wellness. There’s a lot of room for interpretation within each pillar and we encourage lifestyle managers to get creative.
Can you give some examples of holiday events?
Nakanelua: In the food and beverage pillar, for example, we might have a tea tasting hosted by a local expert, a Sazerac soiree with live jazz and beignets or a “garden to grill” event using crops from the property’s rooftop garden. A health and wellness event could be anything from a Monday morning run club to a 3×3 basketball tournament to a sound bath. One of our properties in San Francisco, Chorus, brings residents on luxury day trips to ski in Tahoe.
We aim for a mix of events from each of the three pillars throughout the year, but the specific activations depend on each property’s unique environment, vibe and resident feedback—plus, of course, the perspective of the lifestyle manager, who serves as the building’s “vibe keeper.” Part of my job is to hire the lifestyle manager at each new Sentral property. I often visit local bars and restaurants, looking for hospitality-minded creatives with a palpable love for their city.
Instead of experience working in multifamily, I look for passionate people who can connect residents with uniquely local experiences, perspectives and art forms. Once the lifestyle manager is in place, we work hard to keep them engaged and excited about their job. We pay competitively and offer benefits and stock options; we do everything we can to ensure our lifestyle team stays valued, motivated and creatively inspired.
How do you engage with residents to identify their unique needs and interests for events?
Nakanelua: We believe that recruiting the right lifestyle managers is the first and most important step in creating events that are truly special and impactful. We want our lifestyle managers to be genuinely excited about their jobs and their communities. That enthusiasm shines through and makes it easy for them to authentically connect with residents. We also believe that if we have the right people working in our spaces it creates a natural openness between team members and residents.
How do you leverage technology to enhance resident experiences and foster meaningful connections?
Nakanelua: Sentral is heavily committed to using technology as a tool for further human connection. Our proprietary SentralLife app lets residents learn about and RSVP to event programming and connect with on-site staff on their own terms. The app also helps Sentral staff track and organize details about each resident—everything from their favorite drink to their pet’s name.
It’s our responsibility to pay attention to every resident: Do they prefer to stop at the front desk, or go straight to their apartment? Where do they like to shop? What events did they express most interest in? What did they seem most excited about when they first toured the building? Then our technology helps us analyze and sort this information in a way that can inform future events.
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What metrics or feedback mechanisms do you use to measure the success of your events?
Nakanelua: We use the SentralLife app to track RSVPs and attendance of all events. And, of course, we measure resident feedback in a more unofficial, human-to-human way—both during and after each event. Lifestyle managers are visible and active at each event.
We also conduct a resident survey about every six months, which helps us better understand which events resonate more than others.
Can you walk us through the planning process for events like a Matcha masterclass or an ice-skating field trip?
Nakanelua: We really challenge ourselves to deliver greatness to our residents—to host events that are extraordinary and even unforgettable. So, we take planning seriously and approach the process much like an events team at a five-star hotel. Each activation has an “event order” similar to a banquet order that’d be placed for a group event at a hotel. The event order breaks down everything needed before, during and after—including maintenance touch-ups, F&B needs, run of show and design and decor.
Bigger picture, when we plan an event lineup for the next month or year, we always leverage learnings from our colleagues and past wins, and we learn from past misses. We think a lot about seasonality generally and also what seasonality means for a specific neighborhood. If there’s a farmers market nearby, we’ll likely try to incorporate it in F&B activations. If we know there will be a big, high-profile citywide event, we’ll plan as far ahead as we can to give residents a meaningful and special way to experience that event. In Seattle, for example, we celebrated Lunar New Year by bringing live music, a dragon dance and other traditional components right to our building.
We also work to accommodate the schedules of the experts and artists we pull in for events. If we want to book a local band for a rooftop session but they’re about to go on tour, we’ll of course need to plan around their needs as well.
How do you navigate the balance between creative ideas and logistical challenges, particularly for events requiring external venues or specialized supplies?
Nakanelua: The teams responsible for driving Sentral events have one chance to get it right, so we put in a lot of time and effort into the days, weeks and even months leading up to each event. Our lifestyle managers are incredible at what they do, and they’re experts at putting their own creative touches on even the most logistically challenging setups. I’m continually trying to “re-recruit” each lifestyle manager to make sure they feel empowered and able to tackle logistical challenges while also letting their own creativity and personality shine through.
The variety of events—like Diwali celebrations and Christmas Movie Mondays—shows great cultural awareness. Why are cultural awareness and inclusivity important things to consider when planning events for residents?
Nakanelua: Sentral operates buildings in some of the most diverse cities in the world, and the residents of our buildings are just as diverse. We try to reflect the diversity of our surroundings and we also take great care to build diverse teams. We want our spaces to feel inclusive and welcoming to all residents, guests, employees and visitors.
What strategies do you use to make seasonal or holiday events feel inclusive and respectful of different traditions?
Nakanelua: Once we have a diverse team hired, trained, and empowered to be their authentic selves, inclusiveness and respect come much more easily. Our lifestyle managers are exceptional at forging connections with artists, creators and humans of all types, and at bringing those diverse perspectives into our properties in a meaningful way.
And we love to tap the life experiences of all Sentral employees whenever appropriate. In Chicago, for example, the regional manager is from Turkey and he often hosts Turkish coffee meet and greets at Sentral Michigan Avenue. Our intention is to be respectful and inclusive 365 days a year, so hopefully that’s evident both during this holiday season and throughout the rest of the year, too.
What exciting events can residents look forward to during the upcoming holiday season?
Nakanelua: There are so many fun events happening at Sentral buildings across the country. Several properties have gift-wrapping stations where our lifestyle managers supply festive wrapping supplies. We’re also hosting gingerbread-making parties, toy drives and “neighborsgiving” celebrations. There’s a holiday-themed comedy show in San Francisco, an ornament-making class in Santa Monica, a live ice-carving event in Philadelphia, a cookie exchange in Pittsburgh and so much more. One of our properties in Seattle has an incredible view of the city’s New Years fireworks display, so residents love attending that party with a live DJ and upscale food & beverage.
