by Darcy Leach

Grace Hill, the innovator of talent and customer management solutions for commercial and multifamily real estate, covering policies, training, assessment and surveys, has expanded the Commercial Kingsley Excellence Awards, adding an Elite 5 and 100% Club to their awards line-up. These awards will recognize the efforts of commercial real estate owners and operators who excel in the area of tenant satisfaction. 

“We are thrilled to add these two new categories to the Commercial Kingsley Awards, bringing well-deserved recognition to those CRE companies that go above and beyond in tenant satisfaction,” said Kendall Pretzer, CEO of Grace Hill. “In today’s economic landscape, tenant retention is more crucial now than ever. These new awards give companies an avenue to showcase their dedication to current and prospective clients.”

Studies have shown a direct link between tenant satisfaction and retention. Members of the Elite 5 and The 100% Club can also serve as an example of outstanding success for other CRE companies across the industry.

Already recognizing multifamily’s Elite 5 category to the Kingsley Excellence Awards for 2023, Grace Hill elected to recognize the extraordinary efforts in commercial real estate. The Commercial Kingsley Excellence Awards will recognize the top five CRE companies with the highest overall tenant satisfaction ratings in four different sectors — office, retail, medical office and industrial.

To qualify for the Elite 5 category, companies must have at least 10 properties and completed their Kingsley surveys during 2022. Affinius Capital and BlackRock were the only two companies to achieve Elite 5 status in two different categories, both in retail and industrial. They join 18 other CRE companies in the inaugural Elite 5 class.

In addition to the Elite 5 category, Grace Hill has also introduced The 100% Club, which will offer special recognition to those organizations that provide outstanding service to their tenants year after year. Inclusion in The 100% Club requires companies to have a perfect 5.0 overall tenant satisfaction score for a minimum of two consecutive years.
The 2023 winners were selected based on scores from 2022 and 2021. The 100% Club is divided into the same four categories as the Elite 5. More than 250 properties were admitted to the inaugural 100% Club for 2023, with the majority being in the industrial category.