How Unico uses beehives across properties to keep tenants engaged
Unico operates a portfolio of Class A office assets across urban and suburban markets. Across seven properties, they’ve implemented Alvéole as part of their tenant engagement strategy.
What they were focused on
At Carter Creek Meadows, leasing wasn’t the main concern. The building was largely full.
The focus was retention. As Olivia Astrue, Property Coordinator, puts it:
"We’re pretty occupied at Carter Creek right now. So I definitely want to focus on retention and keeping people happy."
Suburban offices don't have built-in foot traffic or surrounding energy like downtown assets. Experience has to be more deliberate.
Unico already offered a fitness center, bike room, and seasonal events. But they wanted programming that felt different - something tenants would actually remember.
What they put in place
Unico introduced managed on-site beehives, paired with seasonal tenant events.
The beekeeper visits regularly, shares updates and photos, and hosts activations like:
- “Meet the Bees” events
- Honey tastings (showing seasonal differences)
- Earth Day workshops
The reaction was simple:
People love it. They love to learn about it.
At one event, tenants watched baby bees emerge from their cells. At another, they compared honey harvested in spring versus late fall and learned why the colors and flavors change.
“They really enjoy the honey tasting… It’s kind of nice for them to see it’s in their own neighborhood.”
Carter Creek sits alongside a creek with dense vegetation and wildlife activity. The hive feels aligned with the site - not decorative.
“Sustainability is really important to us… The beehive really just makes sense out there.”
Operationally, it doesn’t create extra work. The team receives visit notifications, photos, and ready-to-share content they can use in tenant communications. It fits into the existing rhythm of the property.
What changed
The hive became more than an event.
The honey itself turned into part of the building culture. Tenants ask for extra jars. One tenant shared that he puts the building’s honey in his girlfriend’s Christmas stocking every year - and now she expects it.
That’s not a marketing campaign. That’s attachment.
Across the portfolio, the program gives Unico:
- A visible sustainability initiative tenants can experience
- Recurring engagement moments throughout the year
- A consistent amenity that works in both urban and suburban assets
- A retention lever that doesn’t require heavy CapEx
It’s flexible enough to fit different buildings, but structured enough to scale across multiple properties.
Why this matters… because better tenant relationships lead to retention
RIn a stable, high-occupancy asset, the real question isn’t:
How do we fill space?
It’s: How do we keep tenants engaged enough to renew?
At Unico, the answer is straightforward:
Create something tenants care about.
Make sustainability tangible.
Give people a reason to talk about the building - and come back to the next event.
The strength of the program is simple: It fits the asset, runs smoothly, and gives the property team another lever for retention.
And across a portfolio, that consistency matters.
