The pandemic gave us the opportunity to capitalise on our expertise

In Belgium, as in all countries around the world, the Covid-19 crisis presented a twofold challenge: How can we guarantee people's safety while supporting the economy and enabling business to continue? When the pandemic led to the partial or complete closure of buildings, this was a crucial issue for our customers. In fact, Property Management became the primary rallying point for investors, tenants and owners.

Throughout the lockdown, some tenants wanted more flexibility in terms of their rental conditions. This has had the effect of putting Property Managers in a central position facing tenants and investors, prompting us to provide the necessary answers and take on a role that is able to support the different parties involved.

During this period, the BNP Paribas Real Estate Property Management teams were able to draw on the expertise and knowledge acquired over the years to learn how to deal with new challenges. We learned how to be even more responsive, produce weekly reports and develop interactive conversations with our customers. This intensified level of communication, along with the expertise we were able to bring, enabled us to consolidate a central position within the real estate industry. In part thanks to the new experiences we had, we were able to identify the areas we need to focus on and thus provide the best possible service for the future.

At the heart of the pandemic, Property Management had the opportunity to re-evaluate the essential needs of industry players, especially by monitoring the gradual return to work closely. This was undertaken not only to support our customers, with recommendations allowing them to return to the office, but also to be better prepared for future crises. Digitalisation, collaboration and communication will be vital in the future if we want to be able to address the different scenarios.  Working with other players in the industry will enable us to be more efficient and demonstrate the value of Property Management within the real estate ecosystem. By working in this way, we are coming out of the crisis hand-in-hand with investors and users.