Elevate your property with the SALTO KS and Rise Buildings Integration
Anyone who has ever operated an office property or a residential building knows the importance of utilizing that building’s full potential. Whether that means optimizing their tenants’ experience with amenities or ensuring the building’s profitability, every owner and operator has their priorities when it comes to managing the building’s resources.
However, what if we told you that you do not need to pick and choose your priorities and that you can maximize your building’s full potential in every sense?
Enter Rise Buildings, a property management platform devoted to ensuring operational efficiency while providing an optimal occupant experience. Rise Buildings has been a KS Connect Partner since the start of the year and has helped SALTO KS provide seamless solutions to end-users.
In order to properly introduce Rise Buildings to you, we asked the team a few questions about who they are, what they stand for, and which solutions they have to offer.
Read on to find out everything you need to know about Rise Buildings:
Could you please introduce your company to our readers?
Rise Buildings is a robust occupant experience and property operations platform that consolidates multiple software and hardware solutions into one, fully-integrated platform. As a result, we are able to deliver savings from reduced technology spend and greater operational efficiency. Our platform also drives higher retention and enables ancillary revenue opportunities through amenity bookings and concierge services.
Further, our data analytics engine allows owners and operators to see and understand critical information about what's going on in their buildings and proactively capitalize on this intelligence. We do this while delivering an on-brand, seamless product, with the possibility of white-labelling, that drives both high adoption and high utilization across the building population, including occupants, staff, and management.
Rise is currently used in over 200 buildings, including some of the top, state-of-the-art multi-family and commercial office properties around the world.
Which features do Rise Buildings offer its users?
The Rise Buildings platform is a full-featured property operations and occupant experience platform that encompasses over 45 features. This includes visitor management, package management, the amenity booking system of record, payments, work orders and preventive maintenance, a full-suite communications module, and much more.
Rise was built and designed by a team with decades of experience as developers, owners, and operators in the real estate industry. Our product was built with the goal of providing a single platform for property managers and staff for everything they do in their property on a day-to-day basis. It also provides the corresponding features that occupants need to interact with the property in one place. By providing this level of functionality, Rise delivers a world-class experience to end-users, achieving this through multiple points of engagement ranging from providing the property’s social feed, enabling the purchase of third party goods and services, a peer-to-peer marketplace, the ability to post and RSVP for events, and so much more.
You recently published an article on your blog about the benefits of fully integrated property platforms. Could you please explain those to our readers?
The importance of a fully integrated platform can be distilled into three main benefits, all of which are interrelated:
- Exceeding occupants’ expectations for a high-quality experience in their building. The clearest manifestation of this is the goal of having one place for every occupant's needs.
- Increasing property management and staff operational efficiency through valuable tools and automation to reduce double-data entry, multiple logins, overhead from multiple vendors, and more.
- Increasing the NOI (net operating income) for owners with the end goal of making the building more profitable. Two ways to achieve that are through increased revenue (happier occupants who stay longer) and lower costs (less turnover, lower overhead/inefficiency).
Ultimately, our platform creates a win-win-win. It provides a better experience for occupants, better tools for staff and management, and better financial performance for owners.
How does the integration of Rise Buildings with SALTO KS benefit the end-users?
Rise’s integration with SALTO KS is a perfect example of our goal of being the one place that occupants and property teams need to go to do everything in their building. SALTO KS’ smart lock technology complements Rise’s complete, end-to-end access and visitor management tool for end-users, which also integrates with the building’s property management and access control systems. With Rise + SALTO KS, end users can use their mobile devices to open entry points, common area doors, and elevators throughout the property based on their credentials as well as individual unit doors equipped with SALTO locks. Further, this integration enables occupants to remotely open access points throughout the property when expecting visitors.
Together, Rise and SALTO KS provide a seamless, end-to-end mobile-based solution for end-users to easily move about their building safely and securely.
In your blog “What Most Of The PropTech Industry Gets Wrong About Tenant Experience”, you mention the importance of functional technology as opposed to technology for technology’s sake. Could you elaborate on that?
The key point is that if you want people to adopt and utilize a technology platform in a building with the end-goals of achieving a great experience, increased efficiency, and higher profitability, you have to provide features that deliver value that users cannot readily get elsewhere. If a building technology’s primary goal is to enable users to order coffee from downstairs, the technology isn’t delivering unique value; that’s something they can do with their Starbucks app. As a result, it’s unlikely that occupants will switch to that platform for coffee ordering, or anything else for that matter.
If, however, the platform’s primary focus is on unique capabilities that people can’t do elsewhere, such as unlocking a door using the Rise + SALTO KS integration, people will adopt and utilize the platform because, after all, they cannot go to the Starbucks app to open their door.
“It is only after you get people to download and use a platform that you can suggest they do things on that platform that they might do elsewhere.”
How do you see the Real Estate industry progressing in the future, especially in regards to property technology? Are there any features you would like to see?
First and foremost, we expect to see an acceleration in buildings adopting more technology. While this was already a trend, it was moving more slowly prior to the pandemic. COVID-19 is proving to be a catalyst for technology implementation in the real estate industry. That said, we are still in the very early stages of both the adoption curve and the innovation curve for real estate. Much of the technology currently offered in real estate is table stakes in other industries. Sometimes this manifests as technology providers trying to push for technologies that are “cool’ over technologies that are actually needed. Before real estate starts implementing the really advanced stuff, we have to start with getting the basics right. And to be clear, doing the basics right is not easy. Implementing good, functional technology is complex if you want to do it the right way.
Thank you, Rise Buildings, for giving our readers an in-depth understanding of your solutions, products, and services, as well as your view on the future of technology in the real estate industry. We look forward to seeing this unfold, and are equally excited for the future of our partnership.
For more on Rise Buildings, you can visit their website here, request a demo, or email the Rise team at info@risebuildings.com. You can also follow us on LinkedIn.
If you want to learn more about our KS Connect partners, explore our integration page. To read more about SALTO KS, click here or follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn for the latest product features, team updates and news from the industry.
SALTO KS provides a flexible access control management system that requires no software installation or the added expense of a fully-wired electronic product. Modern cloud-based, wireless access control systems are easy and simple to use for businesses including Coworking Spaces, Coliving Buildings, Purpose Built Student Accommodation, Retail, Multi-Tenant Housing, Gyms and many more. Our best in class wireless access control solution and smart locks guarantee the efficiency for your business. Integrate smart locks, start easily managing wireless access control now!
Spatial Experience on their rebranding, partnership with SALTO KS and future
At this time last year, we introduced you to our Think Tank Partner, SPX Agency; the experience-driven real estate agency with a mission to create and develop brands which connect to the hearts of their customers.
Now a year later, this mission has progressed into reality and SPX is evolving into Spatial Experience. While the former focused on branding and digital marketing, Spatial Experience drives the agency even further to an experience-driven hub shaping future living.
To learn more about this new chapter, we caught up with the Spatial Experience team to learn more about their evolution, their Think Tank Partnership with SALTO KS and upcoming plans for the future.
Read ahead to learn more.
Before we begin, could you please briefly introduce Spatial Experience to our readers?
Spatial Experience is an innovation hub working in the intersection of design, technology and research to shape the future of living. Spatial Experience brings creativity and innovation to emerging real estate sectors with one goal in mind: designing purposeful spaces that enable human-to-human interactions, both online and offline.
We have gone through an extensive rebranding process, leaving SPX Agency (SPX) behind to evolve into Spatial Experience. We are expanding our offer and reach, creating more opportunities for our clients and partners, enabling connections and strengthening current partnerships, such as our Think Tank Partner SALTO KS.
When did the rebranding process take place and when was it finalized?
In general, we had this in mind for a very long time. We first evolved into a creative agency and later became an ecosystem with three pillars: SPX Agency, SPX Lab and SPX Studio.
Years of research and development finally turned into concrete planning at the beginning of 2019, and in March 2020 the first activities behind the scenes took place. The message we wanted to send to the world is our enhanced positioning into an innovation hub.
“We work in the intersection of design, technology and research, and each of these aspects is very important to our business as we cannot do what we do without these three pillars.”
We have been strong in design as well as branding & marketing since the beginning and we are strengthening our expertise in technology and research continuously.
While working on SPX Lab we realised that there is a pressing need to bring product and business development into perspective, so we realised this needed to be externalised with a refreshment of the brand, that is where Spatial Experience comes from. Spatial Experience in general stands for experiencing the space, driven by different factors such as interior design, sensorial elements, interactions, among others.
“Our role is to help emerging real estate concepts in the creation of inclusive, memorable, experience-driven spaces, supporting them in digital transformation and bridging the real & digital world.”
For the last half a year we have been focused on discussions and planning of the new brand positioning, what is our role in the industry, how can we drive greater impact, connect to partners and other stakeholders in the industry to influence the way shared living is shaped. We made the decision to rebrand because we know that the real estate industry will face a need to evolve and we want our business to be capable of supporting all challenges of future living. In order to be empowered to do that, we have created an ecosystem where research & development, agency solutions and support to emerging real estate startups can coexist and fuel each other. We evolved to become a strong partner that business can turn to for great ideas, to help them materialise their goals.
“It should be noted that our approach to rebrand Spatial Experience follows a growth-driven design and design thinking methodology: we believe a brand is a living entity, it is a journey, not a destination.”
What is the significance of the Think Tank Partnership between Spatial Experience and SALTO?
Our Think Tank Partnership with SALTO resulted from a number of genuine discussions between Bart Sasim, CEO & Founder of Spatial Experience, and Christian Schmitz, Coliving Business Development & Sales Manager at SALTO Systems, during different industry events. For years we have been advancing ideas, trying to be inspiring partners for each other, and at some point, we realised our organisations would mutually benefit from a partnership. We do not foster only our intercompany relationship, we also get involved in other organisations. We are both members and partners of Co-Liv and of The Class of 2020, we are working together on Coliving Insights and we are hoping to keep working together in the future, aligning our vision for the industry.
Think tanks share ideas, concepts, perspectives and assumptions on how things will move forward, how we can answer today’s problems with future-proof solutions. As we are both stakeholders of the same industries and segments, intersections of technology, design and marketing can provide a greater value. For us, this partnership is a great chance to understand SALTO’s perspective and share ours.
You mentioned that there was an “extensive rebranding process” involved in the transition to Spatial Experience. Could you describe what this transition involved and how it took place?
This transition required strategic thinking, planning and a seamless promotion of the new identity and brand. On an internal level, it involved an alignment of our vision and mission and of our long term involvement in the industry, as well as the reinforcement of the belief that we can drive more impact through other tools. Bound to the success of this major transition was also an alignment of our team culture. To accomplish the rebranding in the terms of what we envisioned, it was crucial that every member of our team understood the implications of the expansion of our horizon. A number of novel ideas, technological advancement, digital solutions and a whole new ecosystem would be now embedded into their DNA as well. In that sense, regarding team culture, we feel we have matured a great deal during the transition process. Certainly, one of the biggest milestones of Spatial Experience was to have built a culture that enables our team to support the industry on multiple fronts.
On an external level, this transition required us to better communicate in a more holistic yet simple way what we do and what we stand for, as well as what our work, services and products can bring to our stakeholders eg. clients and partners, among others. A well-defined message from Spatial Experience had to be translated into our offering as well.
What is in store for Spatial Experience and SALTO’s partnership and the upcoming future?
One of the main reasons we started a Think Tank Partnership with SALTO is that we are aware of how important smart technology is and how it helps drive sustainability, efficiency and value creation. With this in mind, we are developing a new venture named Digital Estate, that will connect multiple PropTech solutions among other Tech Tools in one single platform, linking real estate businesses with products and services in an easy, integrated, seamless experience.
Digital Estate will be an enterprise dedicated to help real estate businesses in sustainable digital transformation and to reach their highest potential, allowing users to browse, select, combine and book services & products.
Thank you very much for sharing your experience, plans and perspectives with us. If you would like to find out more about Spatial Experience, visit their website, blog, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Stay tuned for a special second part to this interview, where we dive further into experience design and the future of living with Spatial Experience.
If you want to learn more about our Think Tank Partners, explore our coliving page. To read more about SALTO KS, click here or follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn for the latest product features, team updates and news from the industry.
SALTO KS provides a flexible access control management system that requires no software installation or the added expense of a fully-wired electronic product. Modern cloud-based, wireless access control systems are easy and simple to use for businesses including Coworking Spaces, Coliving Buildings, Purpose Built Student Accommodation, Retail, Multi-Tenant Housing, Gyms and many more. Our best in class wireless access control solution and smart locks guarantee the efficiency for your business. Integrate smart locks, start easily managing wireless access control now!
Explore the new SALTO KS app release (iOS version 6.0.0 & Android version 6.0.0)
Piece by piece, we are bringing the SALTO KS Web App functionalities to our iOS and Android apps and the following blog post will walk you through how we aim to do this.
We at SALTO KS value your feedback and continuously strive to improve your experience with our solution. This is why we have been working on new features to enhance your user experience ranging from Site Admins having greater flexibility in managing access to improvements on the People page where you are able to keep a clear overview of your Site's users and their permissions.
Our goal is to allow our Site Admins to be able to execute their daily operations with ease, including changing the profile details of a user, inviting and editing users to their Site, and creating and managing access groups easily from their mobile devices.
This week, the new versions of the SALTO KS Mobile App will be available in stores for both iOS and Android versions.
Below you can find an overview of improvements and fixes within the iOS and Android apps respectively:
1. Profile page
Within your SALTO KS web portal, you are able to navigate to the page that’s called ‘People’. Here you will find all users in your system. Each user has its own tile which states all the information you need at one glance. Here you may edit the rights of a user or gain more information by searching for the user.
The People page which provides you with these details will now provide Mobile App users with the same features available on the Web App. This means you will be able to see more details like user role, alias, Tag, and email.
In addition, editing profile information on the People Page through your smartphone device now allows you to have all the same abilities as on the Web App. This includes the options: change User Role, delete user, send reminder emails in case the user is pending registrations, and of course when necessary, blocking or even deleting a user.
1. Digital Key Settings
A Digital Key is the virtual equivalent of a Tag, enabling your phone to unlock a SALTO lock. With the new app release, you can now see all the Digital Keys of a user and block or manage Offline access per Digital Key.
3. Tag Settings
Although a smartphone is often used to open the SALTO locks, a Tag can also be used. It is a mechanical fob/tag that can be attached to one’s keychain and is pressed against the SALTO lock to open the door.
With the new app release, you can manage Offline access and/or block the Tag of a user. Furthermore, you can assign them a new Tag or unassign the current one.
4. PIN Settings
The SALTO KS PIN locks make Tags and mechanical keys obsolete. By simply entering the PIN code on the keypad, you’re able to unlock your door. Site admins can also generate and assign a secure and authentic single-use code to grant guests temporary access. This keyless entry provides a high level of enhanced security as well as convenience.
Now, from your Mobile App in your PIN Settings, you can assign a code for PIN locks and share it in any way you want with the user. It is also possible to block and unblock the PIN as displayed below.
5. Lock Options
With the multiple types of lock options available in SALTO KS, great security and flexibility can be offered for any Site. The lock options which are implemented in Office Mode(s) include Remote Opening, Manual Office Mode (MOM), Easy Office Mode (EOM), and Override Privacy Mode. It is now possible to use your Mobile App to turn these options On or Off.
Summary of what’s new in iOS version 6.0.0
Features & Improvements
Features & Improvements
Bug-fixes
Bug-fixes
Summary of what’s new in Android version 6.0.0
Features & Improvements
Features & Improvements
Bug-fixes
Bug-fixes
We value your opinion. Contact us if you have any concerns or suggestions regarding the above updates or visit this page for FAQs; we are happy to help!
To find more about SALTO KS, click here or follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn for the latest product features, team updates and news from the industry.
SALTO KS provides a flexible access control management system that requires no software installation or the added expense of a fully-wired electronic product. Modern cloud-based, wireless access control systems are easy and simple to use for businesses including Coworking Spaces, Coliving Buildings, Purpose Built Student Accommodation, Retail, Multi-Tenant Housing, Gyms and many more. Our best in class wireless access control solution and smart locks guarantee the efficiency for your business. Integrate smart locks, start easily managing wireless access control now!
How to optimise student housing in the new year
Over the past year, many industries have seen changes in their infrastructure and practices, finding new inventive ways of keeping up with the times. One of the largest and often overlooked sectors is that of student housing.
In 2020, student housing facilities have had to change their operations and conditions to suit the worldwide pandemic climate. Moreover, housing a certain age demographic makes for an even trickier situation wherein the lack of control and supervision can lead to an even more challenging strategy.
Student housing facilities around the world have adopted new measures. They have implemented new technologies which can enable them to provide their students with as much ‘normal’ a student experience as possible. Student housing is, after all, an integral part of student life.
In this blog post, we look at how student housing units can optimise their spaces for the year ahead, to ensure as much normalcy as possible.
Quarantine-friendly dorms
The most prominent hurdle in running student housing units safely is arguably the struggle to ensure quarantine spaces. For students who live together and share communal facilities, this is especially hard and sometimes impossible. Rather than eliminating common areas and shared kitchens or bathrooms, a simple redesign or roster system could be highly effective. These spaces are proven to be a core value for higher education and contributing to student life. According to BDC, even well-executed socially distancing signage can go a long way and be adjusted depending on the regular updating of regulations.
“The furniture itself may adjust with high partitions that give an added layer of virus protection, social separation, and acoustic privacy.” - BDC.
Flexible and safe access
In keeping with changing regulations, students often opt to go back home or even alternate between living in their previous homes and dorms. Granting students flexible access is a vital step in giving students the freedom and allowing them to feel comfortable and in control of their own living space. Implementing the right access control system will enable students to use a Tag or their smartphone to access their rooms or apartments. This was the case in The Student Housing Company, which uses SALTO KS to manage all their properties in real-time centrally. For instance, students at University Square in Melbourne can remotely open doors that also support after-hours services. Since COVID-19, this has been used for opening the main doors for parcel deliveries and housing doors for when students are locked out. It has kept the students and staff safe by limiting human contact while still providing the same level of service and ease of access.
Touchless and hygienic environments
The key to gaining students’ confidence and allowing them to be comfortable is to create an environment of minimal contamination. While the transmission of COVID-19 through surfaces is yet to be confirmed, the virus can also spread through droplets released from sneezing or coughing. If other people inhale this or come in to contact with the droplets in their mouth, nose or eyes, or hands, they could become infected with the virus. This is why minimising contact and preventing the need to open door handles can go a long way in protecting students. Tags, automatic front door openers during certain times of the day, elevator cards, and touchless access can make all the difference. The cost of installation might deter people from implementing these systems. However, their impact lasts long enough to reap the benefits of the investment.
Lastly, cutting edge technologies such as BioCote antimicrobial coated technology effectively reduce a broad spectrum of microbes by up to 99.9%. Since 2011, SALTO Systems has incorporated the antimicrobial silver ion technology in its smart electronic lock range, electronic cylinders, locker locks, and supporting devices like wall readers. This provides integrated and lasting hygienic protection that helps regular cleaning regimes and hand hygiene.
Other ways to optimise student housing for 2021 include single-occupancy housing, air filters, and room dividers, among other new tools and innovations. At-risk students can be extended even further support, offering them prior access to single rooms and contact with support and well-being services. CNBC even recommended local governments to consider initiatives similar to the Duet Program in Boston that gives students who are earning their college degrees online, the physical space to work, a computer, internet access and local mentors, to make sure that lower-income students are given all the tools they need to ensure academic success.
To find more about SALTO KS, click here or follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn for the latest product features, team updates and news from the industry.
SALTO KS provides a flexible access control management system that requires no software installation or the added expense of a fully-wired electronic product. Modern cloud-based, wireless access control systems are easy and straightforward to use for businesses including Coworking Spaces, Coliving Buildings, Purpose Built Student Accommodation, Retail, Multi-Tenant Housing, Gyms and many more. Our best in class wireless access control solution and smart locks guarantee the efficiency for your business. Integrate smart locks, start easily managing wireless access control now!
Three smart lock solutions to go on your Christmas wishlist
It’s that time of the year again! While Christmas is upon us, it’s never too late to fill up your wishlist. In fact, the beauty of this wishlist is that it doesn’t expire and is an investment that can be claimed at any time you would like it to be.
We have put together a list of the solutions we think will be the key to filling your life with efficiency, security, and reliable management of your space. Whether you run a coliving space or manage a store; If you are looking for ways in which to do so that are optimized and smart, this list will give you some inspiration on the possibilities that await you.
Without further ado, here is our Christmas wishlist of three smart lock solutions:
Pod
What if we told you there was a way to let your tenants manage their own space? In a way that is controlled and secure, of course. This can be made a reality with Pod. This addition to the SALTO KS and the KS Connect API enables building managers (Site admins) to create a small independent group of members named 'Pod'. Through this functionality, building managers get the chance to outsource access control management to their tenants. The feature helps keep an overview of their buildings' operations and save a lot of time and energy for building management.
On the other hand, tenants have the unique experience of managing access to their own space: A Pod can be a floor within a building such as an apartment or an office that’s managed by its Pod members (tenants). These tenants have access to the Pod at all times and can even invite guests to the Pod for specific timeframes.
In this way, you can transfer responsibilities and powers to tenants who can be in charge of their own space in a centralized manner that works in favour of all parties.
Streaming API
KS Connect Streaming API is a service that allows KS Connect Partners and their users to see ‘Entries’ and ‘Incidents’ in real-time, by providing the ability to subscribe to each Site that is being managed by the integration. By allowing entries and incidents endpoints to be accessed in real-time, the Streaming API optimizes communication between your server and our API.
"The KS Connect Streaming API allows partners to fetch data real-time from the Connect API, allowing for direct insights into property and door usage. We’re proud to deliver this feature to our partner network" - Alexander Rosdorff, KS Connect Partner Manager at SALTO KS.
With this feature, you can have the opportunity to gain advanced access to data in real-time, making your operations seamless.
The service is tied to KS Connect & KS Core and is able to serve only partners that have access to our API(s). Visit this page to find out more about our Integration Partners, or how you can become one.
BioCote
All over the world, practising social distancing and upholding hygiene levels are being prioritized more than ever before. The surface area exposure we encounter from the mundane task of opening a door can be the factor which puts us at risk. This is why the final addition we recommend for your smart lock solution wishlist, is - BioCote® antimicrobial coated technology. Through effectively reducing a broad spectrum of microbes by up to 99.9%, BioCote® antimicrobial technology provides integrated and lasting hygienic protection that supports regular cleaning regimes and hand hygiene.
Since 2011, SALTO Systems, in partnership with BioCote® – the market-leading antimicrobial technology supplier – has incorporated antimicrobial silver ion technology in its smart electronic lock range, electronic cylinders, locker locks, and supporting devices like wall readers.
The addition of BioCote’s antimicrobial technology helps reduce microbes on product surfaces and improves hygienic building environments, ultimately creating a cleaner environment for both users and visitors.
“The more hygienic the environment, the less chance of cross-contamination. This helps to reduce the spread of microbes around a building as microbes are not transferred from door to door and surface to surface” - Aznar Sethna, CSMO SALTO Systems.
We hope this list inspires you to expand your solution base and discover new technologies which can change your world of operations, management and security. What’s more, is that the user, tenant or guest is benefitted just as much as you are!
Not sure which access control system is suitable for your business? Contact us! We are happy to guide you on your way to the access control solution that is perfectly tailored to your business needs.
Before we let you go, we would like to wish you a happy holiday season!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our readers wherever in the world you may be. We hope all your wishlist dreams come true!
If you want to learn more about our solutions can benefit your business, explore our Solutions Page. To read more about SALTO KS, click here or follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn for the latest product features, team updates and news from the industry.
SALTO KS provides a flexible access control management system that requires no software installation or the added expense of a fully-wired electronic product. Modern cloud-based, wireless access control systems are easy and simple to use for businesses including Coworking Spaces, Coliving Buildings, Purpose Built Student Accommodation, Retail, Multi-Tenant Housing, Gyms and many more. Our best in class wireless access control solution and smart locks guarantee the efficiency for your business. Integrate smart locks, start easily managing wireless access control now!
Experience design according to our Think Tank Partner Spatial Experience
A few weeks ago, we reintroduced you to our Think Tank Partner Spatial Experience, formerly known as SPX Agency. The team behind Spatial Experience collectively form an innovation hub working in the intersection of design, technology and research to shape the future of living. They strive to bring creativity and innovation to emerging real estate sectors with one goal in mind: designing purposeful spaces that enable human-to-human interactions, both online and offline. The first part of our conversation with the team focused on their extensive rebranding process and their upcoming future.
Now, we dive into the topics of their expertise which we have been waiting patiently to discuss with them, and the KS Blog provides the perfect platform to do so.
Read ahead to learn more about the team’s views on experience design and its implications on the technology, solutions and strategies behind experience design.
How is experience design used in the real estate industry?
At Spatial Experience, we go beyond the B2C (business-to-customer) experience. Most often, we are involved in the early stages of the project and we start with designing an experience for Investors. We believe Investor Experience (IX), Partner Experience (PX) as well as Employee Experience (EX) is crucial at the pre-launch stage when you need to get the full alignment of a cross-disciplinary team to understand the vision, mission as well as objectives of the project. Only after that, we may fully focus on Customer Experience (CX).
Experience design works on different levels. When looking at, for example, the journey of a typical hotel guest, there is the pre-booking phase, the arrival, the whole experience of the hotel stay and the post-visit memory-driven phase as well by experience. Experience design is really about understanding the user journey and the different elements that influence it on a service, design, marketing, operational level and beyond. Essentially, it is about how guests are being treated when they come to a specific location. The experience happens on multiple dimensions divided between a physical and an intangible aspect. For example, one may have an experience when you physically enter a space and also an experience when using an application or digital platform. Space intersects both in the real and digital world. So when designing experiences, we are continuously broadening the perception of space, a topic very close to our hearts.
You previously said on behalf of Spatial Experience, “By enhancing the spatial experience and providing solutions for urban spaces, we want to make people feel more connected, included and noticed.” What is the importance of human-to-human interactions for Spatial Experience?
The reason why we work at the intersection of the shared economy and real estate is because we want to stimulate human interactions. We work with shared living concepts, such as student housing and Coliving, where the actual human to human interaction is at the core.
“Real Estate is not necessarily only about the space itself, it is about how you utilise it, what kind of value can you bring, how can you commercialise it in a way to be perceived as a good product or service for the end customer.”
In times of social distancing, we are invested in finding solutions for sustaining human connection. When a new building opens its doors to a thousand residents, but people are not allowed to interact in the common areas, what do you do? You create an interactive and stimulating environment online. We have been introducing strategies and tools to communicate, encourage conversations, and strengthen the community. Moreover, we are continuously optimising processes for operations and the community management team so they can focus on what really matters: fostering human connections.
Do you think collaborations within different stakeholders in the industry is important? How do collaborative events and publications, such as Coliving Insights, affect the industry?
In answering this question, we encourage everybody to read more on our new venture, that places collaborations at its core: SPX Studio. Through the startup studio, we are opening doors to partners and clients to drive more impact in the industry through joint ventures. Coliving Ventures, our first venture, has successfully launched Coliving Insights and will be launching its first awards ceremony next year: Coliving Awards.
Regarding the Coliving Insights publications, we received very positive feedback from all of our stakeholders. We understand how valuable this feedback is and use it as a primary stimulus to keep going. We noticed that from the first edition of Coliving Insights to the latest, we have been able to involve higher stakeholders from the industry. By expanding stakeholder involvement, we help with the consolidation and professionalisation of the industry in general, also in establishing Coliving as a promising asset class that can drive more investment and impact on a global scale. This aligns with our mission & vision of pushing industry growth and fostering innovative solutions for future living. Our most recent edition of Coliving Insights is available for download now. Coliving Insights No.4: ‘Invest, Develop, Operate & Scale’, explores the coliving lifecycle through 160+ pages of original content from more than 25 expert contributors.
The next joint venture to be launched by SPX Studio will be Digital Estate. Through this enterprise we will be enabling innovation in real estate by gathering multiple vetted PropTech solutions and Tech Tools in one integrated environment, connecting businesses with products and services that suit their tailored needs.
Your rebranding press release coined the acronym VUCA, to describe recent events in the world and an environment that is ‘Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous.’ Could you expand on how you see the VUCA world and how it is relevant for experience design?
The acronym reflects the reality we live in: nothing is certain, the world is complex and ambiguous, change is constant and we need to adapt faster than initially anticipated. A profound understanding of this allows us to take a strategic approach as an organisation to provide services and products that answer to the market's needs and are flexible enough to stay relevant in “VUCA” times.
“When designing experiences while working together with our clients and partners we take into consideration that the world is a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment.”
This way we are able to see challenges from a broader and long-term perspective - not as one-time problems that need to be solved but as an action-reaction chain that leads to specific consequences in the future. That is why we take time at the beginning of every project to get a better grasp of the target audience and the environment they operate in.
By understanding the context (the VUCA world), we are able to design solutions that truly make people's lives better, reducing uncertainty, helping them quickly adapt to change and thus, add value to their future living.
What role does smart technology play in the “cities of tomorrow” and Spatial Experiences’ next steps?
SALTO, as one of the leaders in smart technology in its field, is a great sparring partner that helps us understand the perspective of technology enablers and juxtapose it with the end customer needs. We are humbled about our achievements in technology as these were, a majority of the time, tailor-made for our clients & partners, and we are looking for a way forward to scale some of our concepts to drive more impact.
We have a genuine desire to democratise access to technologies that can push the industry forward. However, this requires a broad understanding in regards to the current state of PropTech, what it actually does and how it can be used in the most sustainable way to drive impact within our industry.
To read the first part to this interview, where we explore the innovative rebranding process of SPX Agency into Spatial Experience, click here.
We’d like to extend our gratitude to the entire Spatial Experience team for sharing their knowledge, plans and perspectives with us; not once but twice! If you would like to find out more about Spatial Experience, visit their website, blog, Instagram and LinkedIn.
If you want to learn more about our Think Tank Partners, explore our Coliving page. To read more about SALTO KS, click here or follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn for the latest product features, team updates and news from the industry.
SALTO KS provides a flexible access control management system that requires no software installation or the added expense of a fully-wired electronic product. Modern cloud-based, wireless access control systems are easy and simple to use for businesses including Coworking Spaces, Coliving Buildings, Purpose Built Student Accommodation, Retail, Multi-Tenant Housing, Gyms and many more. Our best in class wireless access control solution and smart locks guarantee the efficiency for your business. Integrate smart locks, start easily managing wireless access control now!
Introducing Access Group Insights
Today we are welcoming a new functionality within the KS web application: Access Group Insights. This brand new functionality allows admins to have a clear overview of all the Access Groups a user belongs to. This information can be found on the People page.
What does this mean?
As a SALTO KS admin, you are in charge of the users. Which designated spaces they have access to and which they don’t. To make your lives easier, the new functionality allows you to quickly see in which Access Groups a user is added to. Additionally, you can add the user to more or other Access Groups or remove them from certain Access Groups.
What is an Access Group?
A little reminder: an Access Group is a group of users who have access to specific spaces. This feature comes in handy when you, for instance, want to block a whole group in one go, set up a particular timeframe (maybe you only wish for the cleaners to come in between 6:00 and 8:00 PM) or remove them entirely.
Where to find these insights?
The Access Group Insights, where you can view in which Access Group a user sits, can be found on the user detail page (the designated profile page of the user).
How to navigate
On the side menu on the left of your screen, you can see the ‘Access Groups’ tab at the bottom. When you click the ‘Access Groups’ tab, you can view the name of the Access Group the user is in. Details of that Access Group, such as how many users (hover over for the users’ names) are in the group, how many Locks the group holds and which timeframe the group has been given are also visible.
Additionally, you can remove the user from the Access Group by clicking the red ‘Remove’ link next to the Access Groups timeframe on the right. When you want to add the user to another Access Group, simply press the blue +ACCESS GROUP link. The user will be added to the group, which will be visible on this page when you refresh.
The team behind the SALTO KS app is working around the clock to make our products as user friendly as possible. We hope that we are one step closer to an even better user experience with this new functionality.
If you still have questions, we would like to refer you to our support pages where we have stored Frequently Asked Questions. Feel free to provide feedback while you’re there.
Don’t want to miss a thing? Sign up for our monthly newsletter on our homepage (look out for the blue banner on top), or follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn.
We would love to welcome you there.
SALTO KS provides a flexible access control management system that requires no software installation or the added expense of a fully-wired electronic product. Modern cloud-based, wireless access control system is easy and simple to use for businesses including Coworking Spaces, Coliving Buildings, Purpose Built Student Accommodation, Retail, Multi-Tenant Housing, Gyms and many more. Our best in class wireless access control solution and smart locks guarantee the efficiency for your business. Integrate smart locks, start easily managing wireless access control now!
How Coworking enables Digital Nomads to work from anywhere
The number of people working remotely is said to have grown by 44% in the last five years, with 7 million people working remotely in the USA before the arrival of COVID-19.
As we speak, about 42% of the U.S. labour force is now working from home full-time, mostly forced by the COVID-19 regulations. The global trend is similar, with most countries having adopted teleworking. But work from home doesn’t necessarily mean work from a room in the eyes of some people.
The whole remote working trend (telecommuting) is not something new. “Digital Nomads” have been amongst us for a while. They are location-independent people who use information and communications technology to perform their job. You might have seen them in coffee shops or the tech hubs in Bali with their MacBook and portable hard drives.
To investigate this subject further, we offer up our platform to Andrew Williams, Founder of Remote Tribelife, an online magazine for Digital Nomads and remote working. Read on for his views on how coworking enables Digital Nomads to do their jobs from anywhere.
A lot of Digital Nomads, who are freelancers, are regular customers of coworking spaces around the world. They make up the majority of people working in these spaces and are usually under the age of 40 years old, typically from the Millennial generation. They mainly work in the IT industry, followed by PR, marketing, and remote sales teams. Overall, freelancing is probably the largest occupation you will find in the coworking space according to Ergonomic Trends.
Looking closer, working from a shared office space makes sense for sole entrepreneurs and freelancers. The individuals working from coworking spaces have been found to feel less isolated and lonely. Moreover, they also have been reported to expand their professional network since joining a coworking space.
The rise of flexible office space and remote working
The flexible workplace evolution continued to pick up speed until 2019 and slow down in 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis. The coworking space market has seen a boom in the last 6 years; Between 2014-2018 there has been an increase of +205% in the number of workspaces globally.
The industry’s rise was driven by a combination of factors like the flexible structure of employment, the rise of the tech and gig economy, shifts in corporate culture on how they work and use space which all led to a direction of further growth. Increasingly, millennials and graduates view companies’ offering ‘well-designed/cool’ flexible space options as very desirable companies to work for.
In the race for talent, flexible workspace options could be a deciding factor. Also, the evolving Millennial workforce likes change, and many expect to move jobs within a 2-3 year timeframe or have more than one job in an increasingly collaborative world.
“The demand for flexibility, cool design and space on demand has enabled companies to develop this entire ecosystem for freelancers and digital nomads.”
How can Coworking and Digital Nomads blend together?
The answer is quite easy: it’s where flexibility and community belonging meets the eternal travelling generation.
Digital Nomads are usually millennials, aged between 25 and 35, who love travelling but are also no stranger to loneliness. They are very digitally savvy, entrepreneurial-minded and oriented towards exploration and experiences.
Most of the Digital Nomads are freelancing or own a small business online so they still need good working conditions (and stable internet) to be productive.
Travelling represents a big benefit of this lifestyle, but it can also be a curse. Changing countries, working in weird time zones and being away from the family are just a few of the disadvantages of this dreamy way of living.
Because of these challenges, Digital Nomads crave for a sense of belonging to a community and for some short term stability when it comes to the work environment and accommodation.
“In general, the working conditions are paramount due to the nature of how they earn their bread: reliable internet and productive environments.”
And this is exactly where digital nomads and coworking meet each other and form a symbiosis. Some of these remote entrepreneurs prefer to rent a shared desk in a coworking space that can offer good working conditions, but mostly one that has a network of support and a vibrant community.
And the fight for hosting them is bigger than ever. According to Forbes, more than half of the entire workforce in the US could be made of freelancers by 2027. A good chunk of them will be millennials eager to be mobile and travel around.
For example, the coworking marketplace Coworker now offers a Global Pass, which allows people to access thousands of coworking spaces in more than 100 countries. No wonder the coworking space industry and the number of Digital Nomads are growing so much lately.
Moreover, there has been an explosion of Coliving companies in the past 2 years or so which try to offer the best of both worlds: living premises as well as coworking offices under the same roof. Coliving networks have grown quite a bit in the last 2 years by offering this successful model to Digital Nomads.
The COVID-19 crisis has been a major disruptor in the workforce by pushing people out of the big corporate offices located in city centres to either work from home, or just from anywhere. In megacities like New York and London, flexible workspaces outside the city are seeing all-time highs in demand. It is estimated that the majority of businesses that have most of their employees commuting into the city are exploring flexible workspace options in the suburbs. This could be another nail in the coffin of cubical working, but also a bright new chapter for the coworking industry’s future as it could see more clients in the rural areas and hence expansion.
Ultimately, for Digital Nomads, the world truly is your oyster. Despite the ups and downs, today the distance between countries appears smaller and differences between time-zones appear shorter, allowing for a flexible and global workforce.
Thank you, Andrew, for taking the time to give us your insights into the life of a Digital Nomad and walking us through the significance of modern Coworking. If you are curious for more of Andrew’s insights, visit Remote Tribelife.
Looking for more? Click here to find out if your skills are up to date for the future of work and click here to learn more about how 2020 has changed remote working forever, and finally stop by here for our top 5 picks for new trends in Coworking.
Don’t want to miss a thing? Sign up for our monthly newsletter on our homepage (look out for the blue banner on top), or follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn. We love to welcome you there.
SALTO KS provides a flexible access control management system that requires no software installation or the added expense of a fully-wired electronic product. Modern cloud-based, wireless access control system is easy and simple to use for businesses including Coworking Spaces, Coliving Buildings, Purpose Built Student Accommodation, Retail, Multi-Tenant Housing, Gyms and many more. Our best in class wireless access control solution and smart locks guarantee the efficiency for your business. Integrate smart locks, start easily managing wireless access control now!
Discover 'Around The World in 250 Coworking Spaces’ by Coworkies
If you follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn, then you might have come across our post announcing a new feature we are a part of which we’re particularly proud of. This is the brand new coffee table book project: ‘Around The World in 250 Coworking Spaces’ by Coworkies.
What makes it special? The unique book project about coworking, community & design, represents Coworking in all its capacity on a global scale; showcasing a personal journey around the world of modern workspaces. With a purpose to “inspire the curious, give knowledge to the seekers and encourage the indecisive”, the book is carefully curated with stories of people, spaces and products that are actively transforming the workspaces of today.
Our readers know of our admiration for Coworking and the community who stands for its values. 'Around The World in 250 Coworking Spaces’ offers a comprehensive understanding of the diverse coworking world. A guide of how people build new work environments through collaboration, interior design and community activities.
Read on to find out more about the book, its conception and makers, and our involvement in the project.
Why make a book about coworking spaces
For Dimitar Inchev and Pauline Roussel, Co-founders of Coworkies, travelling and visiting coworking spaces has become a way of life. A journey sparked from pure curiosity in 2015, led to a movement and collective that would redefine the significance of coworking and all it has to offer.
From Milan to Barcelona, London and then onto the next (eventually reaching a total of 82 cities), it became clear that Coworking looked different across the map, each with its own culture and reasoning in the respective city. This led to a saying they often use now to describe this:
“Coworking is the same dish that everyone cooks differently”
As of today Dimitar and Pauline have visited more than 250 coworking spaces in 82 cities around the globe.
After accumulating in-depth findings, statistics and surveys of their experiences, and contributing to a variety of leading publications, the pair were often told the phrase: “You should write a book!”.
The rest is history and has resulted in the book project which we crossed paths with.
“The main reason was to welcome people to join us in the journey of meeting the coworking people of the world and hear the stories of their spaces.” - Dimitar Inchev and Pauline Roussel
Ultimately, the purpose is to inspire the general public to learn more about these innovative spaces, for coworking professionals to inspire each other, and to offer readers a valuable, collectable book with information that cannot just be googled.
Where SALTO and our technology comes in
'Around The World in 250 Coworking Spaces’ has 350 pages of inspiration, interiors and stories of people who started and grew coworking, coliving, makerspaces and flexible workspaces, allowing communities to thrive at work in different corners of the world.
Among these pages, was a platform offered to us to contribute our findings as a technology provider and thought leader: Designing an experience around access control systems in Coworking spaces.
This can be done by simplifying operations, connecting to existing management tools and growing coworking communities together, thereby creating a unique journey for a visitor, owner, or manager of a coworking space.
Access control systems are not typically the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Coworking, yet they are also a constant variable when it comes to these spaces.
In the book, we unravel our motto: “Old ways won’t open new doors”. Put simply, access can be smartly managed and controlled. This is explained by Sales & Business Development Manager of Coworking at SALTO Systems, Christian Schmitz who says in a small excerpt taken from the book:
“The new way of living and working has changed based on the decision-making level and has turned into rethinking concepts. Coworking spaces are based on a really customer-centric approach. What does it mean for us and for access control systems? Being able to provide data which allows applications to improve the customer experience.” - Christian Schmitz, Sales & Business Development Manager of Coworking at SALTO Systems
Where you can find the book and bring it to your coffee table
As of a week ago, the book was launched by Coworkies and is available for pre-order via a Kickstarter campaign that has nearly reached its goal!
Have a look at the campaign to discover how you can back the project and get involved!
For more information, don’t miss the Instagram Live interview below hosted by Pauline, interviewing Christian on SALTO to learn more about access control systems and how they can transform the overall experience in a coworking space for operators and for members.
Thank you, Pauline and Dimitar for sharing your knowledge with the rest of us in this passion project which reflects the world of Coworking in all its forms. We are honoured to play a small part in this project with huge significance.
Looking for more on Coworking? Click here to find out if your skills are up to date for the future of work and click here to learn more about how 2020 has changed remote working forever, and finally stop by here for our top 5 picks for new trends in Coworking.
Don’t want to miss a thing? Sign up for our monthly newsletter on our homepage (look out for the blue banner on top), or follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn. We love to welcome you there.
SALTO KS provides a flexible access control management system that requires no software installation or the added expense of a fully-wired electronic product. Modern cloud-based, wireless access control system is easy and simple to use for businesses including Coworking Spaces, Coliving Buildings, Purpose Built Student Accommodation, Retail, Multi-Tenant Housing, Gyms and many more. Our best in class wireless access control solution and smart locks guarantee the efficiency for your business. Integrate smart locks, start easily managing wireless access control now!
Transform tenant experience with the SALTO KS and Spaceflow Integration
Spaceflow: making smarter buildings
Seamless access and movement between buildings where you may live or work are key in curating the best possible tenant experience. Spaceflow, is the integral puzzle piece who can make this happen, delivering software and community engagement services to landlords and building operators across the globe.
How do they achieve this? By combining the physical and digital in order to elevate the experience for occupants; connecting local services, smart building features, and community life in offices and residential buildings, all in a single app. This includes offerings from any local service, like restaurants or wellness providers, booking meeting rooms, receiving news about the building and local events, and of course using the right access control system. This is where SALTO KS steps in.
We spoke with Head of Marketing at Spaceflow, Petr Boruta who has been with the company for more than 3 years. He says, “It has truly been great to see the progress from the very beginning and our first implementation to where we are now with 100+ buildings launched. Our product, the team and the company as a whole have since developed tremendously.” In this blog post, Petr discusses all things Spaceflow and gives us insight into the integration with SALTO KS.
The team behind Spaceflow
Spaceflow app: how it works
Read on to find out everything you need to know about Spaceflow:
Could you please introduce your company to our readers?
Spaceflow’s mission is to empower landlords to create the best tenant experience possible across their portfolios on a global scale.
Spaceflow was created to make buildings smarter and more community-oriented. Through our mobile app and community engagement program, we offer a single link connecting building services, amenities, smart building features, and community, all in one place.
Today, landlords‘ top priority is to minimize vacant space whilst increasing asset value. We solve this problem by boosting tenant loyalty with customized programming and enhanced tenant experiences, effectively increasing tenant satisfaction and retention.
Spaceflow can be summed up as “Your building in one app”. How does the app achieve this?
Spaceflow connects local services, smart building features, and community life in offices and residential buildings which improves integration, collaboration and simplifies daily life.
The app itself has four core modules: smart technology, such as touchless access systems that we integrate from partners like SALTO KS, communication from the landlord and building management via the newsfeed, ticketing and messaging, access to services, amenities and bookings, and finally the possibility to get to know your community better– via events (even virtual!), news from other occupants and neighbours and community sharing.
Simply put, Spaceflow fills that missing gap between you and the building you work or live in.
The Spaceflow engagement program
Community engagement seems to be a vital component of Spaceflow’s offering. Could you share more about the Spaceflow Engagement Program and efforts to drive tenant experience?
We always strive to build communities in which tenants can thrive, by integrating an effective engagement program with the help of our experienced community team. In order for landlords to meet the surging demand for smart solutions and community, we craft experiences for tenants in various shapes and sizes, both on and offline. This means working side by side with clients during the adoption process, organizing regular success meetings, and in-depth training, followed by a tailored marketing strategy and campaign to raise awareness, engagement, and adoption prior to launch.
Once Spaceflow is live, our community team can help with anything from organizing launch events, pop/ups, finding local offers and perks, and tailoring timely, relevant, and engaging content for your community.
The Spaceflow mobile and web app
“We recognize that in a time of increased disconnectedness and loneliness in society at large, it is now more important than ever before to utilize technology as a way to build bridges between people, emphasizing the great need for a community-oriented approach to life in order to motivate optimal tenant health and well-being.” - Petr Boruta, Head of Marketing at Spaceflow
Buildings' digital layer
What is the role of Spaceflow with respect to building management and tenants respectively?
Spaceflow is here to help the building operator or owner with managing the whole building-tenant and building-occupier relation. Today, buildings need to have a digital layer as well as a community engagement strategy in place in order to differentiate from the competition and appeal to tenants.
We also help our clients manage the value of their space by providing data for more precise decision making and enable additional revenue from all transactions by providing their building as-a-service for tenants to enjoy.
Integration of Spaceflow and Salto KS
How does the integration of Spaceflow with SALTO KS benefit the end-users?
Seamless building-access and movement are one of the key cornerstones in creating the best possible tenant experience. The integration of SALTO KS as a provider of digital access control, and Spaceflow as a tenant experience platform, enables just that. Building occupiers can now use the tenant experience app in their mobile phones to unlock doors throughout the building they live or work in.
What would you like to see for the future of this integration with Salto KS?
The next step for our integration is to allow administrators to manage Salto KS users through the Spaceflow admin console and thus reduce the number of apps they have to use on a daily basis.
Thank you, Petr and the rest of the team at Spaceflow, for giving our readers an in-depth understanding of your solutions, products, and services, as well as your view on the future of technology in optimizing tenant experience. We look forward to seeing this unfold, and are equally excited for the future of our partnership.
For more on Spaceflow, you can visit their website here, request a demo, or have a look at their official blog.
If you want to learn more about our KS Connect partners, explore our integration page. To read more about SALTO KS, click here or follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn for the latest product features, team updates and news from the industry.
SALTO KS provides a flexible access control management system that requires no software installation or the added expense of a fully-wired electronic product. Modern cloud-based, wireless access control systems are easy and simple to use for businesses including Coworking Spaces, Coliving Buildings, Purpose Built Student Accommodation, Retail, Multi-Tenant Housing, Gyms and many more. Our best in class wireless access control solution and smart locks guarantee the efficiency for your business. Integrate smart locks, start easily managing wireless access control now!
