Week 30: How to Build a Data Strategy in 30 Days – The Operational Framework That Moves the Needle

In this weekly series, we explore how the commercial real estate industry is being transformed by data and digital infrastructure. Guided by the principles in Peak Property Performance, we unpack a new idea every week to help owners unlock value, reduce risk, and future-proof their portfolios. Learn more about OpticWise and Bill Douglas, the authors of this series.

Most CRE owners don’t need more dashboards—they need a strategy.

Too many portfolios have spent time and money collecting data, only to drown in it later. HVAC metrics over here. Energy usage over there. An access log in one app. A Wi-Fi portal in another. Every vendor offers a “platform,” but none offer a clear path to value.

A real data strategy turns noise into insight—and insight into action.

And the good news? You can build one in 30 days.

Why You Need a Data Strategy, Not Just Data

Let’s be blunt, data without direction is a liability. It clutters your systems, creates security risks, and frustrates your teams.

But a focused data strategy aligns with three key questions:

1. What decisions are we trying to improve?
   
   
2. What data do we need to support them?
   
   
3. How do we collect, control, and act on it?

When you approach data this way, it becomes an operational multiplier—not a tech distraction.

Week-by-Week: The 30-Day Data Strategy Sprint

Week 1: Define Your Priorities, start with your business outcomes, not your systems.

• Want to reduce insurance premiums?
  
  
• Improve tenant retention?
  
  
• Cut utility costs?

Pick one or two targets and let those guide your strategy, then ask:

• What insights would help us achieve that goal?
  
  
• What data sources do we already have?
  
  
• Who needs access to what? 

Week 2: Conduct a PPP Digital Infrastructure Review

Use the PPP Digital Infrastructure Review to evaluate the six domains of your current readiness:

1. Connectivity
   
   
2. Control systems
   
   
3. Sensor infrastructure
   
   
4. Access & security
   
   
5. Data aggregation
   
   
6. Governance & rights

This reveals blind spots, duplication, and opportunities for consolidation.

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Andrew Stanton CEO Proptech-PR

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ULI Europe launches proptech Accelerator programme

First cohort of eleven are bridging the innovation gap to advance the built environment’s big challenges

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) Europe, the world’s largest network of real estate and land-use professionals, has launched ULI Accelerator, a major new programme designed to connect real estate corporations with the innovative solutions offered by high impact PropTech scaleups to drive environmental and social impact.   

Following a rigorous selection process and receipt of more than 70 applications, the first cohort of forward thinking, impact focused PropTech startups were selected to participate in the inaugural ULI Accelerator. The cohort of 11 participants was announced at this week’s ULI C Change Summit in Paris, which is part of a ULI-led programme to mobilise the European industry to accelerate the decarbonisation of real estate. 

ULI Accelerator Cohort 1 comprises:

• blocksquare (Slovenia) – The tokenization infrastructure transforming real estate assets into digital, tradeable, and transparent investment opportunities.  https://blocksquare.io/
• Cambio AI (USA) – Cambio is the AI platform for real estate that turns decarbonisation into ROI for the world’s leading portfolios. https://www.cambio.ai/
• Gravity Co. (UK) – Gravity Co is a fast-growing European flex living brand partnering with real estate investors to design and manage community-focused residential and hotel buildings through a data-driven and technology-centred approach. https://gravityco.com
• Mobility46 (Sweden) – Mobility46 spearheads the transformation of smart parking and e-mobility through innovation, AI, and sustainability — paving the way for a fully automated e-mobility ecosystem. https://www.mobility46.com/
• Optiml (Switzerland) – Optiml is the award-winning global intelligence platform transforming how real estate investors and managers turn decarbonisation and compliance into profitable, data-driven growth. https://www.optiml.com/
• Placemaking AI (UK) – Placemaking AI helps real estate owners and developers increase asset value and profitability by using AI to understand people, places, and commercial performance. https://www.placemaking.ai/
• Planarific (UK) – Planarific transforms the built environment with spatial AI, delivering geometric, typological, and semantic insights at scale. www.planarific.com
• Symphony Energy (Ireland) – Reduction of Cost and Carbon in Commercial Buildings through Optimisation of HVAC systems. www.symphonyenergy.com
• Syte (Germany) – syte is the AI tool for the first mile of every real estate project – revealing all property data and potentials in real time to enable smarter, faster decisions. https://www.syte.ms/
• Vizcab (France) – Vizcab harnesses AI to automate and scale embodied carbon assessments, linking carbon and cost intelligence to unlock smarter, data-driven design and procurement decisions. https://vizcab.io/home-page/
• WasteTracker (Poland) – WasteTracker is the first waste intelligence platform for Commercial Real Estate.  https://www.wastetracker.pro/

All start-ups took part in top level presentations to senior real estate decision makers at the PropTech Innovation Exchange held during the C Change Summit.

PIMCO Prime Real Estate has joined the programme as a ULI Accelerator Corporate Partner. The programme is open to additional corporate partners, offering a unique opportunity to stay ahead of regulatory and market change while identifying practical PropTech solutions that drive environmental and social impact. ULI Accelerator participants will continue to work with senior decision-makers, gain targeted mentorship, and showcase ideas at major ULI Europe events including next year’s ULI Europe Conference (Berlin, 1-3 June 2026), to create meaningful change.​       

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Andrew Stanton CEO Proptech-PR

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Mövenpick to Launch in UK with landmark countryside resort in Hampshire

Accor, a world-leading hospitality group, today announces the signing of an agreement with Select Group, an award-winning real estate development and investment firm headquartered in Dubai, to introduce Mövenpick to the United Kingdom for the first time. Expected to open in late 2027 following an extensive renovation, the 194-room resort will bring the brand’s characterful, generous hospitality to the Old Thorns Estate.

Set across more than 300 acres in the Hampshire countryside, Mövenpick Hampshire – Old Thorns will offer a championship-level golf course, 2,500 sq.m. of conference and meeting space, four restaurants, a wellness centre with a new spa, and a ballroom accommodating over 500 event guests.

Founded in 1948, Mövenpick pioneered the Swiss restaurant scene and evolved into an international hotel brand with inventive culinary excellence at its heart. Today, that same generous and creative hospitality lives on in each of its 130+ hotels around the world, where cuisine serves as the cornerstone for fostering meaningful human connections and driving positive change. The signing marks another important step in the brand’s ongoing expansion across Europe, adding to other recent first entries in Poland, Greece and Italy, as well as more upcoming additions.

Graham Dodd, VP Development for UK & Ireland, Premium, Midscale & Economy brands at Accor said: ”Bringing Mövenpick to the UK marks an important step in strengthening our premium brand portfolio and reinforcing our growth commitment for this important market. Mövenpick is a world-renowned brand that is recognised for its culinary excellence and environmental responsibility, which align perfectly with the expectations of UK guests. The Old Thorns estate provides an exceptional backdrop to introduce the brand in this incredibly important destination for Accor.”

Mövenpick Hampshire – Old Thorns (Pictured) is a conversion of a well-known estate, which will be fully renovated over the next two years, championing Mövenpick’s spirit of creativity and characterful hospitality. The renovation will focus on the hotel’s guestrooms, expanding wellness and leisure offerings, and elevating dining concepts with the inventive culinary spirit synonymous with the Mövenpick brand, to strengthen the resort’s position as one of southern England’s most desired destinations. The new hotel will be managed and operated by Accor under an agreement with Select Group.

Israr Liaqat, Group CEO, Select Group, commented: “This property stands as a landmark of character and opportunity. Its celebrated history aligns seamlessly with Mövenpick’s commitment to authentic experiences and Swiss-inspired hospitality. Together with our trusted and established partner, Accor, we will elevate this iconic property into a world-class resort destination, blending heritage with the sophistication of the Mövenpick brand.”

Located just one hour from London, the property sits at the heart of the British countryside, close to the popular commuter hubs of Guildford and Petersfield. Nearby attractions include The South Downs, a national trust site that sees over 18 million visitors per year, as well as the Goodwood Estate, which hosts popular annual events like The Festival of Speed and the Cowdray Park Polo Club.

The new hotel will join Accor’s portfolio of more than 200 hotels in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and 5,700+ properties worldwide.

Select Group is based in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates,  is an award-winning real estate development and investment firm specialising in a selection of verticals, including real estate development, investments, hospitality, and retail.

Select Group’s development portfolio comprises over 20 million square feet of award-winning residential, commercial, hospitality and retail developments, delivering over 7,000 homes, with another 6,000 units in the pipeline, a combined Gross Development Value (GDV) of over AED 35.2 billion. 

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Andrew Stanton CEO Proptech-PR

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