Spin Cycle Creates New Laundry Experience for Apartment-Building Tenants

Commercial Real Estate Roots Drive Company to Take an Apartment Building Staple to a New Level

EAST HANOVER, N.J., Dec. 15, 2010 – It has been said, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Need within the multi-family housing sector is exactly what inspired Alan Gebroe, who conceived a new generation of on-site apartment-building laundry facilities throughout New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

“When we set up a laundry facility, we do it as we would for ourselves or our families and friends,” said Gebroe. “Laundry can be a chore, but building in convenience and ease not only makes that chore easier, it also increases usage of the facility. Simply put, more people will stay on the premises and use the facility, which in turn makes the property owners happy. It's a win-win proposition for everyone.”

The name Gebroe, of course, is a staple within New Jersey commercial real estate. Gebroe’s father, Mel, co-founded and serves as director and president of Gebroe-Hammer Associates, the region’s dominant commercial real estate brokerage firm specializing in the sale of multi-family, commercial and retail properties. Based on his own 25-year career in real estate, including ownership and management of numerous apartment buildings, Alan Gebroe set out 15 years ago to put his entrepreneurial skills to work by forming Spin Cycle, an innovative provider of comprehensive laundry equipment and services.

“During my real estate career, I saw so many properties with inadequate on-site laundry facilities that were not being serviced or maintained properly,” Gebroe recalled. “This enduring challenge was the foundation for Spin Cycle, which has put a new spin on laundry with a business model designed to benefit everyone, from tenants to building owners and managers.

“And what I learned from my real estate sales career is that the best way – the only way – to do business is to focus on customer satisfaction,” he said. “For Spin Cycle, that starts with the residents and ends with the building owner.”

The East Hanover, N.J.-based Spin Cycle uses state-of-the-art washers and dryers at each of its more than 400 multi-family locations in suburban and rural garden apartment complexes as well as urban mid- and hi-rise properties. “Our guiding principal is to address AND complete repairs, which are inevitable, promptly,” he explained. “We strive to resolve the issue or issues in one visit. Our track-record for success surpasses the 95th percentile in terms of repairs.”

To complement Spin Cycle’s unrivaled technology and repair response service, each site undergoes a retrofit of fresh paint, bright lighting, comfortable seating and large tables for folding clothes. “We strongly encourage and solicit feedback because we want to maintain and improve each environment for the comfort and convenience of all end-users, from individual tenants to those with families,” said Gebroe.

Passionate about efficiency, Gebroe has implemented a state-of-the-art computer system that addresses every aspect of the business, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. “Our system tracks an unlimited number of sites, equipment and owner/tenant use,” he said. “This enables us to generate comprehensive, up-to-the-minute reports, track receipts, provide refunds and prevent any discrepancies, including thefts.”

One key operational element of this process is Spin Cycle’s innovative Laundry Card system. Tenant customers are issued a “smart card” to use in lieu of the traditional coin-operated payment method.

Personally familiar with the concerns of property owners and management, Gebroe provides them with a plain language agreement that is free of cycle retention or automatic renewal language. He always tells clients, “Don’t worry, you won’t need a team of lawyers to interpret our contract.”

The result of Spin Cycle’s open business policy has been steady growth and a new model for this once-modest apartment building amenity. And as a value-add for owners, Spin Cycle laundry facilities help with tenant attraction and retention and property value.

“We wanted to be different in this most basic service,” Gebroe explained. “Our goal from the outset was to make the task of doing laundry less of a chore and more of an experience for everyone. We believe that Spin Cycle has indeed set a new benchmark, but we are always looking for ways to make it better.”