This article is sponsored by TSOLife. As senior living operators look for new ways to improve quality of life and maximize length of stay, the link between resident engagement and revenue is becoming impossible to ignore. TSOLife’s data reveals that most residents participate in fewer than one meaningful activity per day—a gap that can lead to shorter stays and diminished well-being. But with each one-point increase in quality of life translating to 85 additional days of occupancy, the financial upside is clear. In this Voices interview, Senior Housing News sits down with Eric Kim, Vice President of Insights at TSOLife, to explore how Resident Intelligence is helping communities personalize engagement, boost satisfaction, and convert everyday activities into powerful financial outcomes.
Senior Housing News: What life and career experiences have most shaped your approach to your work today?
Eric Kim: I bring over 20 years of experience in analytics, machine learning, and AI, with expertise in building predictive models and delivering strategic insights. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, graduating Magna Cum Laude with Economic Honors from UC San Diego and an MBA with a concentration in Statistics from USC Marshall, where I taught MBA statistics courses.
Throughout my career at Fox and Clorox, and across technology and consulting sectors, I’ve consistently proven that sophisticated data science translates directly into revenue impact—whether that’s optimizing multimillion-dollar marketing budgets or building predictive models that increase ROI.
What these experiences taught me is that data isn’t just descriptive—it’s about causal inference and predictive power. When you can rigorously prove that X drives Y, you can affect outcomes.
Senior living presents a unique opportunity. An industry with untapped data potential. The residents, their activities, their health outcomes—it’s all data we can analyze to improve resident experiences and wellness. Despite being new to the industry, I believe I’m prepared for this role because I have the quantitative and technical expertise, along with a strategic mindset to convert data into actionable intelligence for operators. I understand how data insights can drive occupancy, length of stay, and ultimately, the bottom line. That’s what excites me about TSOLife, the opportunity to leverage data in an industry that is ready for innovation.
How does resident engagement directly impact quality of life and length of stay in senior living communities?
Resident engagement has a huge impact on quality of life, which, in turn, has a huge impact on length of stay. Our data shows that for every one-point increase in quality of life, we see an additional 85 days in average length of stay. That’s a significant lift, and it’s backed by a comprehensive, longitudinal dataset that includes more than 175,000 residents across 1,500 communities in 48 states. We’ve collected this data over the past seven years, covering stays as short as one day to as long as 25 years.
We ran a regression analysis to test the correlation between quality of life and length of stay, and the results were statistically significant. The p-value was less than 0.00001, which strongly supports the relationship. To put it in perspective: if a resident moves from a “poor” to a “good” quality of life rating, which is a two-point increase, that translates to roughly 169 extra days. A three-point jump, say from “very poor” to “good,” equals about 254 days. The math speaks for itself: improving engagement and quality of life delivers real value for both residents and operators.
What is the measurable tipping point for resident participation that leads to improved quality of life?
The measurable tipping point is one event per day. That’s the threshold where we start to see a clear shift in outcomes. When I first reviewed the data, I noticed a natural decline in quality of life over time. That makes sense when residents are aging, and maintaining energy and health becomes more difficult. But what stood out was how engagement can interrupt that pattern. As we dug deeper into the data, the results became clear.
Residents who participate in fewer than one activity per day tend to experience a net decline in quality of life. But once a resident hits one or more events daily, we begin to see a measurable improvement. At one event per day, there’s a 1.5% net increase in residents with improving quality of life. At 1.5 events per day, that jumps to 4.4%. And for highly engaged residents participating in two or more activities daily, the increase hits 15.1%.
I validated all of this statistically using chi-square tests, and the results were significant. So we’re not just seeing a trend, we’re seeing a proven relationship. As engagement increases, so does quality of life. This gives operators a concrete benchmark to aim for, not only to improve outcomes but also to drive real business value through longer stays and stronger resident satisfaction.
How can Resident Intelligence turn engagement from a cost center into a revenue driver for operators?
If you can identify your under-engaged residents and take proactive steps to get them involved in activities, you can measurably improve their quality of life. And when that improves, so does length of stay.
Let’s say an operator has a portfolio of 2,500 residents. Across that population, about 72% have a quality-of-life score of “good” or lower, so there’s room for improvement. If each of those roughly 1,800 residents improves by just one point on the scale, that comes out to an additional 85 days of length of stay per resident. That’s 2.8 months each, totaling 5,040 additional resident-months across the portfolio.
Now multiply that by the industry average revenue per resident of about $5,500 per month, and you’re looking at an opportunity worth $27 to $28 million in additional revenue. And that’s without building new rooms, raising rates, or hiring more staff. It’s a direct bottom-line impact, just by being more strategic about how you engage residents.
What makes TSOLife’s closed-loop system different from traditional activity calendars or surveys?
What really sets us apart is our data—specifically, our longitudinal data. Like I mentioned earlier, we’ve built a comprehensive dataset that allows us to extract deep insights. We’re not just a digital calendar or a passive content hub where residents watch videos on an iPad to pass the time.
Our platform starts with assessments. We gather information about each resident’s interests, hobbies, and background to really understand who they are. We then layer in their quality-of-life assessments, tracking whether their well-being is improving or declining. On top of that, we analyze what engagement events they’re actually participating in, and how those activities correlate with changes in their quality of life.
By triangulating personal preferences, participation data, and outcomes, we can take a personalized, data-driven approach to engagement. That means recommending calendar items or programs that are more likely to resonate with each individual resident and actually improve their well-being.
So I’d say what makes us different is not just the breadth of our data, but the way we connect and leverage it. We’re focused on helping operators get the most value possible while also delivering the best health and wellness outcomes for their residents.
How can senior living operators implement personalized engagement strategies that both improve resident outcomes and unlock hidden revenue potential?
I think the first step is identifying who your unengaged residents are. One way to visualize this is with a four-quadrant matrix. For example, you’ll have residents with low engagement and low quality of life, who are your highest-risk individuals, and they should be a top priority for intervention. But you’ll also find residents with good or even high quality of life who are still unengaged. They may be naturally more upbeat or healthier, but there’s still room to elevate their experience, and for operators, that translates into additional revenue potential.
Our platform helps pinpoint those residents, allowing operators to take a more targeted approach. That precision means you can intervene effectively, keep residents active, and focus your resources where they’ll make the biggest difference.
From a data strategy standpoint, we have a recommendation engine like what Amazon or Netflix uses. For example, if we know that a resident regularly attends morning walks, participates in afternoon exercise, and joins spiritual group sessions in the evening, then we can identify similar residents and suggest those same activities. It’s collaborative filtering applied to engagement.
The challenge, of course, is that every community tracks events differently. We’ve seen 20 different versions of “bingo” just based on spelling or formatting alone. So we built a taxonomy that standardizes and categorizes events from top-level themes like “games” down to specific types like “board games” or “table games.” We also map those events back to interview data, like when a resident says they love bingo or spiritual quiet time. Ironically, the algorithm for the machine learning layer is the easy part. It’s standardizing the foundation that takes time.
But with our leadership’s buy-in and a clear product vision, we’re steadily building a scalable solution that empowers operators to deliver more personalized experiences and unlock real revenue growth in the process.
In 2026, the senior living industry will be shaped by…
In 2026, I think the senior living industry will be shaped by data, without question. There’s such a huge need and hunger for it. When I first joined TSOLife and David shared his vision, it was clear that uncovering insights from the data would be key to making that vision real. Once we started surfacing those correlations and sharing them with operators, the excitement and feedback were immediate.
Up to this point, much of this data just hasn’t been available to communities. So being able to surface those insights for quality improvement, engagement strategy, or operational planning has been a game-changer. I believe that’s where the biggest opportunity lies.
Beyond insights alone, it’s also about what that data enables: smarter programs, more strategic approaches to care, and real innovation through machine learning and AI. With data as the foundation, the possibilities are wide open.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
TSOLife is a resident insight and experience platform, designed to empower senior living operators with actionable insights that facilitate real-time data-driven decisions and a complete redefinition of senior living operations. To learn more, visit tsolife.com.
The Voices Series is a sponsored content program featuring leading executives discussing trends, topics and more shaping their industry in a question-and-answer format. For more information on Voices, please contact [email protected].
