Why Event Spend Is the Most Underrated Line Item in Your Budget

When most operators think about budget impact, they look at payroll, maintenance, marketing, and concessions. But one of the lowest-cost, highest-return tools in the entire operating stack is usually tucked into the “miscellaneous” category — resident events.

The problem? Too many teams see events as a nice-to-have, instead of what they really are: a retention system with measurable ROI.

Turnover Is the Real Expense

Every move-out costs an average of $3,000 or more when you include vacancy, concessions, maintenance, and marketing. Events that build loyalty — that actually make people want to stay — can reduce that loss significantly. If one $600 event prevents just one resident from leaving, it’s already paid for itself five times over.

Now imagine that effect systemized across 12 months. That’s a retention plan — not just pizza nights.

Event Spend Is the Most Flexible Marketing You Have

Resident events are unique because they do more than one job:

• They drive renewals through loyalty and connection
• They create content that boosts your leasing visibility
• They generate organic social proof and referral activity

That’s a rare triple threat. And yet, many properties are stuck with event budgets of $100/month and no strategy — because no one’s reframed the value properly.

What the Top Operators Are Doing

High-performing property groups are starting to allocate event budgets more like marketing budgets — tied to results. They track engagement, resident satisfaction, renewal intent, and content usage. When events become part of the performance model, they stop getting cut first — and start delivering.

Operators that partner with PureStay don’t see events as one-offs. They see them as part of a full retention stack: consistent, branded, reportable, and executed professionally.

Invest Where It Counts

Resident experience is the only amenity your competitor can’t replicate overnight. And the cost of keeping a happy resident is far lower than replacing a frustrated one.

Want to see how your event spend could drive real retention? Let’s build a smarter plan together.