TLDR:
- The modern commercial real estate landscape has shifted so that tenant experience now determines retention and long-term asset value more than just location or price.
- A major industry disconnect exists between the daily lived experience of tenants and the high-level data seen by leadership, often leading to unresolved dissatisfaction.
- Proactive experience management allows landlords to detect early warning signs of churn by turning tenant feedback and service signals into measurable risk indicators.
- Centralizing tenant communications and feedback helps build trust and ensures a consistent, high-quality experience across diverse property portfolios.
- Integrating experience data with traditional operational metrics enables property managers to move from reactive fixes to a proactive, tenant-centric service model.
Commercial real estate is under pressure from multiple directions at once. Rising vacancies, cost inflation, changing tenant expectations, and fragmented operations have made retention harder than ever. While location and price still matter, experience increasingly determines whether tenants stay, downgrade, or leave altogether.
This blog breaks down the biggest challenges facing commercial real estate today and how to improve tenant experience. Fixing issues early stabilises occupancy and long-term value.
What Is the Biggest Problem in Commercial Real Estate?
The biggest problem in commercial real estate is tenant instability:
- Demand patterns have shifted
- Operating costs have risen, and
- Many portfolios struggle to maintain consistent experiences across buildings and locations.
Retention is no longer guaranteed by long leases alone.
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What are the challenges of commercial real estate in 2026?
Commercial property owners are navigating a mix of structural and operational challenges, including:
- Higher vacancy rates in office and retail segments
- Shorter lease commitments and increased churn
- Rising service and maintenance costs
- Increased tenant expectations shaped by experiences outside real estate
These pressures make it harder to rely on reactive property management models.
What is the biggest challenge in the real estate industry?
The biggest challenge is the disconnect between what tenants experience daily and what leadership sees at a portfolio level. When feedback, maintenance data, and communication live in silos, issues surface too late, often at renewal time.
Platforms that streamline tenant signals help close this gap by turning experience data into early risk indicators.
What Are the Biggest Financial Pain Points in Commercial Real Estate Leasing?
Financial strain in commercial real estate rarely comes from one large failure. It usually builds through unresolved issues, and preventable churn.
Strategies for reducing commercial property operating costs
Cost reduction often depends on visibility. Property owners who gain clarity into tenant pain points can prioritise fixes that prevent repeat issues and reactive spending.
Common focus areas include:
- Reducing repeat maintenance requests
- Preventing service-related disputes
- Improving vendor accountability
How can I reduce operational costs in a commercial office building?
Operational costs fall when problems are detected early. Linking tenant feedback with operational data allows teams to address friction before it becomes expensive.
Experience management platforms support this by:
- Flagging recurring issues by asset or location
- Highlighting service gaps affecting multiple tenants
- Creating accountability for resolution timelines
This is where customer experience data becomes a cost-control tool.
Solutions for Improving Tenant Retention in Multi-Tenant Commercial Buildings
Tenant retention improves when experience is managed proactively rather than reactively. The goal is to detect dissatisfaction early and act before renewal discussions begin.
Which software tools help manage tenant communications in commercial real estate?
Effective communication tools centralise tenant interactions so nothing gets lost across emails, calls, or spreadsheets. Strong platforms allow teams to:
- Track tenant issues across the lease lifecycle
- Assign ownership for follow-up
- Maintain consistency across properties
This reduces friction and improves trust, especially in multi-tenant environments.
Best platforms for commercial lease administration
Lease administration platforms manage contracts and compliance, but they often miss the experience layer. Integrating lease data with tenant feedback creates a fuller picture of retention risk.
A CXM platform complements lease systems by tracking how tenants actually experience the relationship over time.
Best solutions for tracking commercial real estate maintenance requests?
While maintenance requests are good indicators of tenant satisfaction, they shouldn’t be tracked on their own. Analyzing them alongside feedback allows for the identification of meaningful patterns.
Experience platforms help teams:
- Identify repeat failures
- Prioritise high-impact fixes
- Understand how maintenance affects renewal intent
What Services Offer Comprehensive Property Management for Retail Commercial Spaces?
Comprehensive property management goes beyond just operations. It ensures service consistency, brand alignment, and reliable communication across the portfolio.
Modern property management services increasingly rely on experience programs to:
- Monitor tenant satisfaction across locations
- Standardise service delivery
- Protect landlord and tenant brand reputation
Experience management platforms support this by providing a shared view of performance across assets.
Software to Analyse Commercial Real Estate Market Trends
Traditional market analysis focuses on supply, demand, and pricing. Experience data adds another layer, showing how tenants actually respond to conditions on the ground.
Linking tenant experience signals with occupancy and churn data helps leaders:
- Forecast renewal risk
- Compare asset performance beyond financials
- Identify locations needing intervention
Commercial real estate use cases for CXM platform
In commercial real estate, CXM platforms are used to:
- Detect early signs of tenant dissatisfaction
- Benchmark experience across buildings
- Improve communication between agents, managers and tenants
These are easy steps to close the gap between frontline issues and leadership decisions.
Conclusion
The biggest problem in commercial real estate isn’t just vacancy or cost pressure; it’s the lack of visibility into tenant experience before it’s too late. Retention improves when landlords treat experience as a measurable, manageable system.
By combining operational data with tenant feedback, commercial real estate leaders can move from reactive property management to proactive portfolio performance.
Want to see how a CXM platform can help you identify tenant churn risk before renewal conversations begin? Book a session with us today.
