Some changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic are bound to be permanent. Businesses worldwide went all-in on remote work out of necessity, but the post-pandemic new normal won’t herald a return to the old status quo. Many businesses are moving away from large central offices and opening smaller satellite offices closer to where employees live, enabling them to work from home when they can and enjoy shorter commute times when they need to be in the office. Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL) is helping organizations make that transition all over the world.
The NXT Office Experience
Like real estate companies everywhere, JLL faced headwinds in 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was better prepared than most. This is because it had been using Matterport technology to enable clients to virtually tour properties anywhere in the world without having to visit in person.
JLL has taken its adoption of Matterport digital twin technology to the next level with NXT Office, a fully immersive experience where clients can view properties alongside critical data insights on five gigantic screens.
“NXT Office is a unique experience,” Product Director Rosendo Travieso says. “It’s so completely immersive that it can provide the physical and digital information required to make a decision on multiple properties, and we couldn’t do it without Matterport.”
NXT Office allows clients to select properties they want to view within the context of maps showing what’s nearby, such as restaurants, gyms, and other amenities that a company’s employees might be interested in. JLL also pulls data that is important to employers into NXT Office, such as nearby universities and the education level of residents. “Our clients can have conversations with brokers to narrow down what’s required, like layout, amenities, and transportation, as well as other details of specific interest, such as the use of solar panels and other improvements that make the office a more sustainable one,” Travieso says.
In addition to photorealistic 3D tours and 4K imagery, Matterport digital twins capture precise spatial data that enables clients to accurately measure spaces and furnishings. Unlike with still photography, clients can see how rooms connect to other rooms. And the tours are self-guided. Unlike with video, clients can choose where to “walk,” which direction to pan toward, and what to zoom in on.
“The pandemic was a challenge because we had to figure out ways to collaborate while staying home,” Travieso says. “But NXT Office has always been about collaboration and saving time. It’s a decision-making tool. From the beginning, the idea was to help clients view properties without having to go there in person. We work internationally, and NXT Office is the best possible way for our clients in London to view properties in Madrid, Paris, or Singapore without having to travel there.”
Zero-Touch Transactions, 85 Percent Faster
Instead of spending months touring and vetting office spaces, JLL clients can look at properties all over the world in a matter of days or even hours. Not only can they experience for themselves what a space feels like, they can verify property conditions. “If we tell them an office has open spaces and natural light,” Travieso says, “they can see those things for themselves.”
Clients can also learn much more quickly if a specific property is not going to work. They’re often able to see right away if a space will require too much remodeling, for instance, or if the floorplan isn’t a match. “It’s a huge time and money saver,” Travieso says, “which makes the entire experience better.”
And during the pandemic, for the first time ever, a number of clients signed contracts without ever setting foot on a property. “We’re leasing buildings now using what we call zero-touch,” Travieso says. “The visits and even the signatures are digital. We’d never been able to do that in the past.”
NXT Office is available in four European countries and Singapore, but since not every client lives near an office where it’s available, JLL also uses Matterport digital twins in its property listings so that people everywhere can enjoy a smaller version of the NXT Office experience on their own devices. Properties that include a Matterport digital twin also lease more quickly than those that do not.
By using NXT and Matterport together, JLL has reduced transactions by 85 percent since the introduction of the NXT product.
After transactions are finished, JLL asks clients to fill out customer satisfaction surveys. “Our average satisfaction score is 8.5, which is quite high,” Travieso says. “When we ask our customers what they think about the NXT Office experience, many say they’ve never seen anything like it, and they wonder how they managed so long without it.”
Expanding to Asia-Pacific Using Matterport Capture Services
JLL plans to roll out NXT Office across the Asia-Pacific region in 2022, with locations in Australia, China, and Hong Kong. As part of this initiative, JLL will use Matterport Capture Services, deploying highly skilled Matterport technicians to scan the properties, saving JLL the time and expense of having to send an employee.
So far, JLL has captured roughly 20 percent of its properties at a pace of more than 250 per month. “We’ll get to 100 percent,” Travieso says, “and Matterport Capture Services will help us get there even faster.”
ABOUT JLL
Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL) is a global commercial real estate services company with offices in 80 countries. JLL is an industry leader in property and facility management services, with a managed portfolio of approximately 5.4 billion square feet worldwide as of December 31, 2020. It’s ranked 186th on the Fortune 500 and is recognized as one of the world’s most ethical companies.
HEADQUARTERS
Chicago, Illinois
INDUSTRY
Real estate
EMPLOYEES
92,000
CHALLENGE
Enable commercial real estate clients to view properties remotely and make better decisions faster.
PRODUCTS
Matterport Capture Services
Matterport Pro2
Matterport Developer Tools
SOLUTION
JLL uses Matterport digital twins and spatial data insights to provide “theatrical” virtual property tours for commercial real estate clients.
Results
- 85 percent faster transaction times
- Zero-touch transactions
- Fewer physical visits translate into cost, time, and CO2 reductions
https://matterport.com/industries/case-studies/jll-reduces-real-estate-transaction-time-85-using-nxt-deliver-immersive