AZBigMedia
It’s not entirely clear when or where this competition started, but clues point to Silicon Valley as the origin of these highly-competitive office amenities games.
“I think we can all agree that the tech industry started this trend and continues to be the catalyst to sustain this trend,” said John Orsak, director of real estate for Lincoln Property Company. “The Googles of the world were creating campuses that gave an incentive for employees to stay at work longer.”
Office complexes began rolling out amenities for their tenants that were previously unheard of. Fitness centers with locker facilities, free or inexpensive meal options, dry cleaning and transportation options drew widespread attention when they began popping up on corporate campuses. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, tech companies were miles ahead of the competition, but new office facilities are catching up, and perhaps even passing those trendsetters. Building owners know that in order to keep pace or stay ahead of the competition, they must provide winning amenities, and the businesses that lease space in these buildings need those amenities as well.
