VTS CEO Nick Romito recently sat down with Judy Shaw on #NYSEFloorTalk to discuss the changing tenant demand, the future of work, and commercial real estate technology. Watch the video below or read a transcript below!
Judy:
So, Nick, tell me about VTS and the problem it solves within the commercial real estate industry.
Nick:
So VTS is a technology platform custom-built for the commercial real estate space. So that means people who own office buildings, retail stores, malls, or industrial buildings.
And so, historically, the space is very, very antiquated. I mean, there’s not been a lot of modern technology. And so our real focus is helping people operate those buildings better by using software and data, but also the occupants in those buildings giving them also technology to better modernize their experience within the building itself.
Judy:
Okay. So now, return to office is a hot topic in the real estate industry. So tell me, what have you been doing to help get people back into the office?
Nick:
Think about what happened over the past couple of years, even the past three. Let’s go back a bit further. Call it seven years. We’ve had all these different iterations of what the word workplace means and how we work.
We were in the office five days a week. Then the office itself changed with WeWork, which created a flex environment and a new kind of office. Then COVID changed everything. We went back home, and we didn’t go to the office.
And now we’re in between. And so we’re trying to help people adapt to what we believe the new workplace is, which is maybe a little bit of everything.
But to make that work, you need a bridge, a technology bridge that helps you better activate those workplaces. So the office itself is maybe a flexible space for the day, maybe a cafe you want to work out of. Having one single application that helps you operate within those spaces is necessary to make it work.
Judy:
So let’s talk about trends. What trends have you seen when it comes to the adoption of tech solutions in the real estate industry this year? And has it slowed, given the current economic situation?
Nick:
So our hypothesis, which I think is proving to be true, was that when the market slowed down, it would create a pretty big tailwind for technology in real estate. When things are good, people aren’t super excited to try new. Right? I’m making money. I don’t really care.
When things slow down and people want help, they are much more open to giving you time and learning more things. So we believe that this is creating a bit of almost like the golden age of PropTech, if you will, where we’re seeing so much engagement from folks that we’ve never seen before. Folks who have never wanted to talk to anyone about tech are now saying, hey, we know we need this. Come on and tell us what about tell us about it.
Judy:
Okay. So tell me, what do you think the future of the workplace will look like?
Nick:
It’s a really good question. If I knew the real answer, I’d be, you know, ringing that bell right now.
But I think it looks a lot more like it used to look. I think the buildings themselves are what changed. And so think about just what happens today. Right?
So most of the demand for office space, call it 85% today, is for Trophy or Class A buildings built after 2015. So what does that tell you? People do want to return to the office, but they want to go to a nice new modern office with amenities in different spaces they can work in. So I believe it looks more like it used to.
But the kinds of spaces within that building and how I interact with that building are a little bit different. I’m working flexibly or in a hybrid world within this same building or a campus of buildings in a surrounding area. That’s what I believe.
