Starting in 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, many senior living communities and nursing care centers were forced to stop allowing visitors onsite. During pandemic lockdowns, seniors who were still living at home also were more likely than ever to become isolated and lonely, especially if widowed or living alone. The U.S. Surgeon General even released a report in May 2023 about “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation,” noting that loneliness has led to an increase in depression, anxiety, and premature deaths.
Now that vaccines and boosters are widely available, and with senior living communities following important safety protocols, live events are being conducted again by many communities across the U.S. In fact, for many seniors who were extremely isolated and lonely while living in their own homes during the initial COVID-19 lockdowns, events at a senior living community where they can gather with their peers can feel like a true Godsend!
Social and educational events have always been an important part of generating in-house sales traffic for senior living communities. The Roche Associates’ research has consistently found that 35% to 40% of residents residing in our clients’ senior living communities had attended at least one marketing event as part of their purchasing journey.
Over the past 42+ years, The Roche Associates has successfully tested many program topics that appear to be of the greatest interest to potential residents. We have helped generate a turnout of more than 250,000 seniors to our clients’ senior living communities over the past four decades, resulting in more than 25,000 sales for our clients!
Click here to download our free guide on Best Practices for Scheduling Events At Your Senior Living Community.
Also, stay tuned for more tips that can help boost revenue and sales at your community in the next blog post in this series about Key Tactics to Achieve Occupancy Goals & Boost Revenue.
