The Oakwood Premier in Melbourne offers luxury accommodation for corporate travellers - a sophisticated place to stay, work and entertain. Guests can choose a room or serviced apartment, and use the co-working space, boardrooms, bars, lounges, 40th floor fine dining restaurant, and Technogym. The Oakwood Premier wants to be the preferred destination for business travellers looking for luxury and service.
access points
floors
Lift control
The Oakwood Premier wanted an access control system that fit the luxury aesthetic of the hotel, and enhanced the guest experience. They needed to combine great service with efficient operation, freeing up staff from routine tasks, so that they can focus on guests.
The Oakwood Premier knew that with the right system, they could deliver unparalleled guest services while also ensuring advanced security and access management. They wanted robust 24/7 security with seamless, convenient and safe access for guests, staff and visitors, from guest room to back-of-house.
Modernize The Oakwood Premie hotel operations and management and deliver unparalleled guest services by incorporating the most advanced security and access management system in the business, combining robust 24/7 security with seamless, convenient and safe access for guest, staf and visitors from Guest Room to Back-of-House.
What The Oakwood Premier installed the Salto Systems Hospitality Space solution, which is a smart electronic access control system consisting of electronic locks, which are opened with a programmable keycard, all controlled from a central point.
The hotel chose Salto’s elegant AElement Fusion and XS4 One locks to complement the hotel’s design ethos. The minimalist AElement Fusion locks are installed on guest room doors, whereas the XS4 One covers all other internal doors. There are 730 doors and access points across the 42 floors of the building, including rooms and apartments, lifts, meeting rooms, gym, and kitchen and office back of house areas.
Mathias Waas, General Manager of the Oakwood Premier, explains: “The Salto system really enhances the guest experience. Guests arrive in our beautiful, well-designed lobby to a warm welcome from our staff, and quickly and efficiently receive their personalised keycard.
“That single guest key card gives them access to the lift to their floor, their room or apartment, shared facilities like the gym and co-working space in the business area. When they use a bookable area, such as a boardroom, their card is programmed to give them access for the time they have booked.”
Richard Hadley, the hotel’s Security Manager, explains that Salto helps run the back of house too: “Staff each have their own keycard for access to only the areas they need. We can group them by role - so, for example, kitchen staff, but not office staff, can access the kitchen, and housekeeping can access rooms and apartments.”
Richard continues: “We manage everything from a central point – granting access for guests and staff, revoking access, creating zones within the building, and workgroups for staff. I can give contractors access to specific areas if work needs to be done, and revoke it instantly when the job is over.
“We can remotely lock and unlock doors, without a staff member having to be physically there. I have even remotely accessed the system from home when needed, saving travel time and cost, and making for a fast and efficient service for our guests and staff.”
“There’s also an audit function, which means that we can easily check when different areas were accessed, by staff or by guests. This is a big help in maintaining security, and can all be done from a single screen.”
The Salto system integrates with other hotel systems, so that, for example, when a guest books a meeting room, their keycard is automatically updated with the authorisation to access the room at the required time, or a card is instantly cancelled when a guest checks out.
The Salto system has saved time for operations, and fit in perfectly with the Oakwood Premier’s luxury appeal. Mathias concludes, “I would definitely recommend the Salto system in any hotel, because it’s so easy for guests to use, and it has such a beautiful design.”
- Guest experience – “We’ve had really positive feedback from guests”, says Mathias. “They love the modern, technological approach, and how it makes moving around the hotel so easy. But they also comment on how stylish it looks and how it adds to the luxury atmosphere of the building.”
- Staff morale – “The feedback from staff is very positive too, and the system helps make the hotel be seen as a great place to work”, says Mathias.
- Efficiency – “Coming from Germany”, smiles Mathias, “I love efficiency, and Salto certainly delivers. The system frees up staff time – they’re not having to go and lock and unlock doors, and can spend more time on customer value-adding activities.”
- Cost savings – “Remotely controlled access has definitely delivered cost savings”, says Richard. “So has not having to manage physical keys – physical keys and locks are expensive to replace. But keycards cost very little and can simply be replaced, without having to change locks too.”
- Integration – Salto works with other hotel systems, like reservations and the property management system (PMS). This allows processes, such as revoking access once a meeting room booking ends, to be automated and streamlined.
- Ease of use – a single keycard can be programmed for a range of doors or access points. “Our staff don’t have to manage bulky bunches of keys”, explains Richard. “Everyone has just the one, personalised, keycard. The system is easy to learn and manage too - it's a lot more friendly for the user than some of the other systems I’ve used.”
The Oakwood Premier in Melbourne offers luxury accommodation for corporate travellers - a sophisticated place to stay, work and entertain. Guests can choose a room or serviced apartment, and use the co-working space, boardrooms, bars, lounges, 40th floor fine dining restaurant, and Technogym.
