The Experiential Collection from Realty Income - Triple-net retail real estate goes lifestyle

By Nora Whitfield, ad hoc news New Launch Desk. Reviewed June 30, 2026, 12:10 PM ET. Details in the imprint.

The Experiential Collection from Realty Income sounds abstract on paper, but it looks very real when you stand in a busy Topgolf parking lot on a warm Friday night, the smell of grilled food mixing with the thud of golf balls. This curated bundle of experiential and leisure properties is pitched as a structured way for the REIT to tap into tenants that live off in-person visits and discretionary spending. For U.S. income-focused investors, it is essentially a lifestyle-flavored sub-portfolio inside Realty Income’s triple-net universe.

How Realty Income packages “experiential”

Realty Income highlighted its “Experiential Collection” as a branded group of properties anchored by tenants such as Topgolf Callaway Brands, Dave & Buster’s and other entertainment operators in recent investor materials.¹ In practice, this is not a fund you can buy on its own, but an internally tracked product segment that Realty Income’s team uses to showcase its push into experience-led retail real estate. The idea is simple: bundle properties where the main draw is what people do on-site, not what they carry out in a shopping bag.

CEO Sumit Roy has repeatedly framed experiential assets as a growth plank for the REIT, arguing that consumers are willing to keep paying for live entertainment even as e-commerce reshapes traditional retail.² On recent calls, Roy and his team talked about golf entertainment, family eatertainment and health-and-fitness concepts as examples of experiential tenants that still draw traffic in an age of streaming and same-day delivery.³

What sits inside the Experiential Collection

The Experiential Collection groups properties leased to tenants that depend on on-site experiences as their main revenue engine. In Realty Income’s reporting, that covers golf entertainment like Topgolf, family entertainment centers such as Dave & Buster’s and similar concepts, plus some theater and fitness locations.? Realty Income classifies these as part of its broader “experiential” or “other retail” investments, which complement its large exposure to essential retail and industrial tenants.

In the latest supplemental, the company broke out roughly mid-single-digit percentage exposure to experiential tenants within its total annualized contractual rent, with Topgolf and other entertainment brands among the top contributors.? That number may look small, but for a REIT with billions of dollars in annualized rent, it still represents a meaningful rental stream linked to discretionary spending.

Triple-net leases meet Friday night fun

From a U.S. consumer’s vantage point, the Experiential Collection shows up as familiar brand signage on large freestanding buildings near highways and suburban shopping clusters. The triple-net lease structure means tenants handle property taxes, insurance and maintenance, while Realty Income collects base rent and contract escalators.? For investors, the key question is whether people keep showing up for those Friday night bowling games, arcade sessions and golf swings.

On site, that risk feels very concrete: parking lots fill up, sound systems spill music onto nearby streets and staff shout drink specials across crowded lanes. That “lived” demand is what Realty Income management, including Chief Investment Officer Neil Abraham, is effectively underwriting when they sign long-term deals with experiential operators.? The company typically seeks strong corporate parents and unit-level performance before acquiring properties into this product set.

Why Realty Income built this product

Strategically, the Experiential Collection reflects Realty Income’s belief that retail real estate tied to services and entertainment can be more resilient to e-commerce pressure than traditional soft-goods stores. People cannot stream a golf swing or bowling birthday party in quite the same way they might stream a movie. That helps differentiate the revenue risk profile versus pure apparel or big-box retail.

At the same time, experiential tenants can be more sensitive to economic cycles. During slower periods, discretionary visits may dip, which can weigh on tenant health. Realty Income’s risk team, led by executives such as Chief Financial Officer Christie Kelly, tends to counter that by focusing on tenants with large national footprints and concepts that have shown staying power across different regions.? The product’s diversification across multiple tenants and states also helps spread localized risk.

What U.S. investors should watch

For U.S. income investors, the Experiential Collection matters less as a standalone product and more as a driver of Realty Income’s overall rent growth and diversification. Analysts tracking the stock often point out that a mix of essential retail, industrial and experiential properties gives the REIT more levers in different macro scenarios.? Stable experiential tenants can support occupancy and contribute to the monthly dividend Realty Income is known for.

The flip side is concentration risk in any one concept. If a marquee experiential tenant stumbles, the impact on a curated product like this can be noticeable even if the REIT as a whole remains diversified. U.S. investors following Realty Income stock (NYSE: O) may want to skim the tenant list and rent contribution of entertainment, theater and leisure names in each quarterly supplemental to see how the Experiential Collection evolves over time.

Context for Realty Income stock

Realty Income positions the Experiential Collection as one piece of a much larger net lease portfolio spread across the U.S. and select international markets, anchored by tenants in convenience stores, grocery, home improvement, industrial and other sectors.¹? For many retail investors, the product serves as a reminder that behind the REIT’s monthly dividend are real-world places where people gather, eat, play and watch sports, not just racks of packaged goods.

Shares of Realty Income (NYSE: O, ISIN US75513E1010) trade in U.S. dollars on the New York Stock Exchange and are widely followed by income-focused investors, with the Experiential Collection representing a small but visible slice of the company’s rent base.

This article was AI-assisted and editorially reviewed. Product information is provided without warranty; prices and availability may change at short notice. Not investment advice and not a buy or sell recommendation. Securities trading carries risks up to total loss.