How 4 Senior Living Operators Changed Event Strategies To Attract More Prospects

Simply reaching prospects is half the battle for senior living sales teams. Sometimes, the hardest part is getting them to actually walk through the front door. High demand is leading to higher occupancy rates and longer waitlists alike.  

Senior living providers are taking steps to engage prospects by making event programming more targeted, social and laid-back. Their goal is to create popular, recurring events that showcase various elements of a community’s daily operations and staff to make a lasting first impression.

To reach older adults who are not already on a waitlist, some approaches that appear to be gaining traction include social hours and educational sessions. At some communities, prospects who have put down a deposit on a unit get access to special community events such as food tastings, speaking engagements and social events.

Leaders with Atria Senior Living, one of the largest operators in the country with 170 communities, centralized the company’s event planning and management at the corporate level to create a flexible template that all the operator’s communities can adapt to meet local market demand. Corporate leaders develop event concepts, marketing and collateral, including themes, flyers and social media promotion tips, for local leaders.

Over time, Atria refined its event framework around two monthly installments that communities use to attract prospects and secure waitlist deposits through its Social Series and Taste of Atria events. Events focus on creating genuine connections rather than formal presentations or sales pitches, according to Atria Chief Marketing Officer Sanela Graziose.

“We never want it to be a bunch of prospects coming together and presenting to them. We know they’re coming to an event, enjoying themselves and meeting people, and the social element is really important for us,” Graziose told Senior Housing News.

Sales teams invite a select handful of prospect families to the events and often pair them with residents or department leaders from a community. They may also combine a tour with a social event, depending on the urgency or buying stage of the prospect. Atria differentiates social events as lead-generation opportunities while using events such as educational seminars to nurture online leads and qualify interest.

Atria leaders tailor follow-up events to prospects’ concerns or questions leading up to move-in, Graziose said. The approach addresses concerns such as downsizing and selling a home in a way that aims to provide “uncommon hospitality” throughout the senior living sales process.

Atria Senior Living is just one operator making strides to tailor prospect and waitlist event management. Others, including Beztak, Judson Senior Living and Mather, are also transforming their outreach tactics to maintain strong attendance and create new prospect connections.

Evolving From Open Houses to Targeted Ways to Build Prospect Relationships

As occupancy continues to grow across the sector, senior living providers are reshaping their prospect and waitlist events from broad, lead-generating gatherings to more personalized engagement opportunities.

Operators are moving toward smaller, segmented and more curated experiences that help prospects make informed choices and keep waitlist members socially involved before their desired unit type becomes available.

While sales leaders still value the number of people attending an event, creating consistent monthly event programming also is a strong way to build familiarity and give prospects options as they consider senior living. Operators are pairing lifestyle and hospitality events that bring to life the engagement residents feel in the community but that may not be apparent to a prospect.

Evanston, Illinois-based nonprofit operator Mather has shifted its event programming to focus more on prospects whose urgency and needs align with a specific community within the organization’s network of life plan communities. For prospects joining a waitlist, Mather emphasizes decision-oriented programming around life care, financial structure, home options, services and dining, according to Mather Senior Vice President of Sales Gale Morgan. Once a prospect joins a waitlist, sales leaders shift the focus to maintaining social connections through events where future residents can meet those living in Mather communities.

“They do not want a heavy sales pitch. They value a direct, sophisticated and transparent presentation that respects their time and provides the information they need,” Morgan said.

To maintain attendance across outreach and prospect-focused events, Morgan said Mather uses personal invitations and sends event confirmations via text, email and phone calls to secure attendees. Mather then follows up with prospects after the event.

Judson Senior Living has moved away from broad, open-house-style events to create targeted gatherings that help waitlist members become part of the community before moving in. This approach brings together cultural, intellectual and culinary programming with resident ambassadors so prospects can experience a community’s lifestyle without a sales pitch, according to Judson Vice President of Sales and Marketing Dianna Huckestein. Judson limits events to 20 to 25 guests and changes formats from speaking engagements to coffee roundtables and creative workshops to help maintain interest and create urgency around moving into senior living.

“We always ask ourselves if people would buy a ticket to attend the event if it were held at a local university or cultural center,” Huckestein said. “When the answer is yes, we know we have found a winning idea.”

Beztak has changed its event management strategy to create experiences for prospects and waitlist members that keep them engaged, excited and informed, according to Vice President of Senior Living Jason Kohler. Beztak events often include financial advisers, residents and outside experts to give prospects credible guidance on what they could expect during a transition to senior living. Topics include payment options, levels of care and differences among senior living models.

For example, a popular event that drew nearly 100 people focused on “Demystifying Senior Living,” an event co-hosted with a financial advisory firm.

“We’ve got to load them up with value,” Kohler said. “We really do want to position ourselves as that trusted adviser.”

Segmentation of Events Replaces a One-Size-Fits-All Event Calendar

Event management today in senior living is focused on creating a defined audience at a specific stage in its journey and providing experiences that reflect the everyday life of a community. This has made event management a coordinated sales, marketing, hospitality and engagement strategy rolled into one. The approach is aimed at building trust and belonging while generating strong attendance.

Senior living providers are now organizing events around where an older adult is in the decision journey rather than mass-inviting every prospect or waitlist member to the same event.

At Mather, pre-deposit prospects are invited to informational sessions full of educational insights. For waitlist depositors, programming becomes more experiential, focusing on dining events, resident-led gatherings and social opportunities to create a sense of belonging for future residents, Morgan said.

“The stronger the personal relationship with the lead, the lower the risk of cancellation or no-show,” Morgan said. “Personal invitations are especially effective, as is communicating that space is limited and that there is a waitlist for the event.”

Judson takes a similar approach. Waitlist member invitations are geared toward community integration, lifestyle benefits, insider updates on ongoing renovations and access to cultural or lifestyle enrichment activities, Huckestein said. Prospects considering a move before joining a waitlist are often invited to culinary tastings, resident panels and workshops geared toward starting a senior living journey.

For example, Judson relies on its proximity to Cleveland’s University Circle cultural district. The operator hosts intimate lectures with museum curators, music recitals, author talks and culinary events with community executive chefs to generate interest.

“Older adults are drawn to opportunities where they can experience the intellectual and cultural vitality of the community first-hand,” Huckestein said.

Judson’s leaders seek to integrate prospects on the operator’s waitlists “into the social fabric” of a community before they actually move in. .

Both of Atria’s Social Series mixers and Taste of Atria food events are designed for existing residents, waitlist members and prospects, alike. Atria separates social lead-generation events from educational sessions, all of which comes down to the relationships community staff maintain with prospects.

Rather than emailing 500 people about a summer carnival, Atria’s sales teams build a short list of individuals and families and invite them personally, Graziose said. For example, they may invite someone who enjoys spending time outdoors to an event that uses outdoor space or invite someone known to be a music fan to an event featuring live music. That focus on curated guest lists and RSVPs helps staff prepare intentional pairings with resident ambassadors or department leaders so no prospect “gets lost in a sea of other people,” Graziose added.

For waitlist members, Beztak focuses on “high-touch, high-hospitality” experiences that mirror daily community life, Kohler said. Life enrichment teams and executive chefs create signature dining events, arts programming, lectures and hands-on experiences such as pottery in an on-site studio, Kohler said.

“We need to do things at a high level that include a high-touch, high-hospitality element that leaves people with a good first impression,” Kohler said.

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