Zonda’s Elevate Conference returns to Miami, December 8–10 at the Kimpton EPIC Hotel, convening the industry’s leading voices at the intersection of design, development, and investment. Now in its third year, Elevate continues to chart the evolution of luxury living—where architecture meets technology, brand storytelling drives value, and experience defines demand. Through in-depth conversations with this year’s speakers, we explore how the next generation of residential and mixed-use projects are transforming not just skylines, but the way we live.
Among them is Whitney Arcaro, Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer, Residential at RXR, where she leads revenue strategy across the firm’s extensive U.S. residential portfolio, integrating operations, development, marketing, sales, and portfolio management to enhance brand value and performance.
Since joining RXR in 2017, she has overseen marketing and retail leasing for millions of square feet of assets and helped shape the design and branding of thousands of multifamily units. Previously, she held senior roles at SHVO and Vornado Realty Trust, driving multibillion-dollar development pipelines and award-winning marketing programs. A former commercial broker and recognized as one of New York’s Real Estate Power Women since 2018, Arcaro also serves on the American Lung Association’s Leadership Committee and has produced acclaimed films featured at SXSW and Sundance.
In conversation with ARCHITECT, Arcaro discusses how evolving demographics, hospitality-driven service models, and emotionally intelligent design are transforming multifamily living—and why the future of luxury living hinges on personalization, authenticity, and experience.
ARCHITECT: Luxury residential demand is shifting rapidly. From your vantage point, what do you see as the biggest drivers of revenue and value creation in high-end living today—design, amenities, branding, or something else?
Whitney Acaro: One of the biggest disruptors we’re seeing right now is the demographic shift within luxury multifamily living. There’s a growing number of “pre-nesters”—couples in their 30s who may be starting families—and empty nesters who are choosing to live in multifamily rental communities instead of traditional homeownership. Both groups are drawn to the sense of community, the efficiency of living, and the convenience of having amenities and services right at their fingertips. They are willing to pay a premium for design, convenience, and connection. These are renters by choice.
You’re also seeing some disruptions now in the otherwise traditional unit mix of ones and twos, in particular with luxury and ultra luxury rental product, where there is a bifurcation of spaces, e.g., increases in large two bedrooms, two bedrooms with dens, one bedrooms with home offices, flex second bedroom, and just more flexible layouts that accommodate a work-from-home lifestyle. Some of this could be a result of the pandemic.
The more diverse mix tends to be common in high-rise buildings in dense urban cores, but what’s interesting is that now we’re seeing this trend expand into suburban areas that previously leaned more toward single-family homes.
ARCHITECT: RXR is known for creating brand premium in its assets. How do you translate concepts like exclusivity and lifestyle into tangible revenue strategies for residential developments?
Whitney Acaro: Our “secret sauce” is really our RXO Hospitality and Digital Hospitality Platform. We capture, analyze, and leverage resident data in strategic ways to curate the programming, experiences, and service levels to be commensurate with who’s occupying the building at a given time. When you are in a rental product, the needs and rhythms of a building shift over time—one year there may be more residents using coworking spaces; another, a surge in pet ownership.
We adjust our operational priorities to better serve those who utilize the spaces. And then we’ll think through programming to be personalized to those occupants. We are always creating high-touch experiences that foster connection and loyalty. Sometimes it’s as small as remembering a resident’s birthday and their dog’s name—but those thoughtful touches drive positive reviews, correlate to higher ratings and overall resident stickiness. It’s a hospitality mindset applied to real estate, and it has a measurable impact on residential retention.
ARCHITECT: You’ve overseen commercial, retail, and residential portfolios. How is luxury residential different from other sectors when it comes to consumer expectations and positioning?
Whitney Acaro: Luxury residential is fundamentally about instant gratification. While the product is real estate, the future of luxury living is still a consumer-facing product and brand. The decision-making process is emotional and experiential—closer to buying a luxury car or designer fashion than signing a long-term office lease. Consumers expect immediacy, relevance, and personalization.
Commercial is doing things on 5, 10, and 15-year lease draws. Residential does things on one to two-year lease terms. In some cases, now you can even do six or nine months if it’s a heavy student laden area. You get instant feedback from the market. You know very quickly if your product or positioning resonates—and if not, you have to pivot fast. That’s why we design our amenity spaces and in-unit experiences to be highly adaptable. If coworking becomes more important and dining lounges less so, we can evolve the space to match shifting behavior and maintain long-term relevance.
ARCHITECT: With digital marketing and experiential sales centers becoming the norm, what innovations in tech or branding do you think will define the next generation of luxury residential sales?
Whitney Acaro: I think the future of luxury living is defined by transparency, personalization, and emotional resonance. Renters today are far more discerning and aspirational—they’re not just choosing a place to live; they’re aligning with a brand that reflects their identity and values.
Technology enables that relationship. Digital tools now allow residents to research who the developer is, what the operating standards are, and what kind of community they’re joining. Social proof—reviews, ratings, social media engagement—has enormous influence on conversions. And while it can create a lot of efficiency in the process, it can also create potential challenges if one is not performing up to snuff.
AI will continue to accelerate this shift, not just by streamlining leasing or information access, but by deepening how we understand and anticipate consumer needs. The emotional connection—why people want to live somewhere—is now even more powerful as the functional reasons. It’s less and less about the utilitarian. It’s more about where do I want to live and why; it’s a want, an emotional choice versus a pragmatic choice.
ARCHITECT: You’ve emphasized integrating marketing, operations, and development. How important is the architectural and design narrative in selling a high-end residential product versus traditional amenities like gyms and concierge services?
Whitney Acaro: Design is absolutely fundamental. At the end of the day, we’re stewards of the built environment, and the physical structure—the architecture—defines the building’s legacy.
And the architectural intent: The sense of arrival, the sense of the lobby and how you experience welcoming people into your home, even if it’s a multifamily building shared with lots of other residents.
When you invest hundreds of millions into creating something special, every design choice needs to be intentional. The lobby experience, the flow of natural light, the proportion of space—these are what make a building memorable. And then there’s the in-unit experience. Is it spacious? Is it efficiently laid out? Do the closet spaces make sense? Sometimes you have to work within the building envelope that you’re zoned for. If there’s a trade out in what the defining feature of the space is going to be, you want to make sure that’s strategic and thought through.
Kitchens and bathrooms are always critical and sometimes making a very strong bold design choice versus a vanilla or safe upscale choice becomes an accelerator or differentiator because the product’s memorable and it stands out.
As for choosing architects, we’ve been strategic. Sometimes a star architect is the right fit, but exceptional location, well laid out spaces, curated amenities and hospitality services (logical for the demographic we are seeking) can be just as powerful. The goal is always alignment between aesthetic, function, and audience—not just a name on a marquee.
I think that “Starchitects” tends to be something that is geared more towards branded hotels, service residences, and ultra luxury condos.That said, I’d love to see more high profile names attached to multifamily rentals more readily!
ARCHITECT: You’ve worked across some of the most powerful real estate firms in New York—Vornado, SHVO, RXR. What lessons from those experiences most inform your thinking about the future of luxury living?
Whitney Acaro: Luxury is nuanced—it can’t be manufactured. It’s defined by authenticity and by how people feel when they experience your product. A building succeeds when it has a distinct personality and spirit that residents connect to.
At RXR, we take pride in fostering that sense of community through our RXO Hospitality Program and our partnership with AVE. It’s not just about beautiful spaces—it’s about engagement, giving back to the local neighborhood, and creating genuine interaction among residents. That’s what builds long-term loyalty and what I believe will define the next era of luxury living.
