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!
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!
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!
SALTO KS meets TNW at the heart of tech
Over the years, we have found our solutions implemented in smart and sustainable sites around the world. Ranging from maritime to real estate, we have built upon these stories by reaching out to our customers to find out what led them to SALTO KS and how they make use of it.
In this blog post, we reflect on a customer of SALTO KS who lies at the heart of technology, TNW. Also known as The Next Web, the company aims to inform, inspire and connect people who love tech, and they do exactly that. You might be familiar with the tech conference which brings together talent and thought leaders annually, most recently with their 2020 live digital conference.
TNW was founded in 2006 when co-founders Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten and Patrick de Laive were looking for a tech event to showcase their new startup. One thing led to another and they soon realized they needed to host their event to check all their boxes and in promoting this, needed a platform. This is how thenextweb.com was born which later transformed into the company which leads tech media today.
Today the company has expanded to four pillars that have given rise to TNW News, TNW Deals, TNW Conference and Events. Through stories and insights, they aim to bridge the cross-generational gap through events and workspaces. Their headquarters are found in the place where it all started, in Amsterdam.
Their mission as the centre of tech with the TNW spaces is to provide a physical space for Tech startup and smart building solutions. In order to achieve this, TNW required a smart lock solution to fit their spaces in Amsterdam for which they decided to partner with SALTO KS.
Once this collaboration started, there were a few hurdles at the beginning which motivated both parties to work through these issues to achieve a practical and reliable solution for the space at hand. These went on to be solved, and the benefit of smart locks was quickly noticed by the TNW team.
Both companies aligned on their values and positions in the wider tech community at the time and now continue to do. Today, with a total of 56 spaces, 90 doors, and 84 locks used, TNW uses SALTO KS as their access control solution.
For TNW, the main benefits of using SALTO KS are the lowered installation costs paired with cloud-based access control and having access to an app. Their ways of opening are divided across their visitors for their spaces. For instance, residents and members use Keycards while the suppliers use physical Tags. Last but not least, the TNW team and management make use of Remote Opening. As the name suggests, this way of opening is used by admins to open doors remotely. A SALTO lock can be unlocked in two ways: short and temporary, or long and continuous. A short ‘unlocking’ action is ideal for letting someone in from a distance. This unlocks the lock for about 5 seconds, providing temporary access. For longer, continuous access, a lock can also be set in ‘Office Mode’. This unlocks the door for a longer period of time, depending on the type of Office Mode.
The allocation of these ways of opening has been carried out with close consideration. The reason for Remote Opening being limited to internal staff is to avoid the risk of users accidentally activating Office Mode for the entrance doors outside of office hours. Office mode is the state a lock is in when it is continuously unlocked. This allows anyone to enter the lock without a SALTO KS Tag. The Remote Opening feature has also proven useful in times when the team has been able to save the day and open office doors for residents who have forgotten their Tags.
The SALTO KS web application and app interface have also proved most valuable according to TNW Head of facilities, Wai-Man Sun. “We’re happy to see consistent improvements and added features,” he says. The team has also looked into the prospect of integrations with their current solution and have recently started to implement OfficeRnD, which enables you to completely automate the door access control in your flexible workspace.
Looking to the future, TNW believes that the app can be even more user friendly, levelling with its high security. This is particularly with regards to the process of onboarding new users.
The SALTO KS access control system has significantly reduced management time and overhead needed to manage access and has provided the flexibility to use Tags, Keycards or Remote Opening to access the site(s) of TNW. We are proud to be entrusted with the unique and pioneering spaces of TNW and look forward to unlocking even more potential with our solutions.
To learn more about how SALTO KS benefits TNW, among other spaces, visit our selection of Customer Stories.
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 efficiency for your business. Integrate smart locks, start easily managing wireless access control now!
Cloud-based self check-in & keyless access for Automated Self-service Hotels
Provide online self-guest check-in and check-out technology for the hotel industry, unlocking guest experience value through customer self-service with one easy-to-use, cardless, contactless, and mobile-enabled system for automated self-service hotels.
What is Salto KS and how does it work?
For the seasoned traveller, smooth check-in and check-out go a long way in improving the guest experience. Swapping your keys for a cloud-based access control solution might just be a better investment than you think.
When a guest arrives at the hotel, they want to check-in as fast as possible. Support from a receptionist is essential in this case, so staff should have time to welcome the guest, keep them happy and help them in providing a great guest experience in the safest way possible.
As important as the front desk is, there is a growing trend to give guests the option to either visit the front desk or bypass it completely and check-in and check out themselves via emerging hotel industry access control technology. With one easy-to-use, cardless, and mobile-enabled system, you can establish your property as an automated self-service hotel.
Benefits of Salto KS for hotels
With the help of this innovative technology and automated self-service solution, it puts the power to check-in and check-out in the guest’s hands – enabling check-in outside of peak hours – and gives the ability to conduct other essential tasks in the hands of your staff. This way, staff can allocate their efforts and attention to guest safety and better service in a more meaningful manner. The automated self-service delivers a guest experience that will increase efficiency, safety, and security and improve your guest stay with a seamless check-in experience.
Provide easy access for your guests effortlessly with PIN code or a mobile entry
The Salto KS cloud-based solution for self-service hotels allows you to simplify processes such as check-in and check-out and enables an overall digital experience. With Salto KS keyless access, you can provide guests, suppliers, or visitors access to your hotel property and their room with a PIN code, offering the ability to self-check-in. Before guests arrive at your hotel, they can choose to go straight to their room and receive their PIN code on their phone, or they can ask for assistance at the reception for their room check-in. It is their choice. The mobile self-check-in process, combined with keyless entry (through a keypad or digital key systems), allows guests to bypass the front desk entirely upon arrival, without compromising the level of service.
Not only is this the safest and fastest option for guests, but it helps improve the staff work-flow by automating many processes that come with a regular guest check-in.
A seamless check-in experience
With Salto KS, you bring together all the strengths of cloud-based access control technology and value-added features and simplify all of your front office operations.
Salto KS is the access control solution that is making access control smart. With an easy installation and affordable solution, Salto KS is designed to scale right along with your property. You can immediately manage all user access through a simple and intuitive cloud-hosted access management web dashboard making it a convenient solution for system administrators right from the start.
With Salto KS, manage user keys, monitor all your property activity, and assign different access levels from any device. anywhere, anytime.
Take advantages of integrations
As part of Salto’s cloud-based wireless locking solution Salto KS, KS Connect allows simple PMS software and service companies to integrate with Salto KS, and enrich their offering.
By connecting Salto KS with your hotel property management software, transform your hotel property operations and improve your guest stay with seamless check-in experience. Guests can receive their PIN code entry during the check-in process. Upon arrival, they can pick up their PIN code or mobile key and head straight to their room.
You can benefit from our Technology partnership with some of the world's leading Hospitality technology innovators such as Priority Key, Tab Hotel and 3RPMS. Find the extensive overview here.
Visit the Salto KS website to learn more about the technology and solutions we can provide to deliver online guest self-check-in and check-out technology for automated self-service hotels.
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Does the BLESA Bluetooth security flaw affect my SALTO access control installation?
BLESA vulnerability does not affect SALTO Systems access control and BLUEnet based platforms nor SALTO Mobile Keys technology.
Smartphones, tablets, laptops, and IoT devices are now using Bluetooth software stacks that are potentially susceptible to a new security flaw. Referred to as BLESA (Bluetooth Low Energy Spoofing Attack), the vulnerability was identified over the summer and is said to impact devices running the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol.
For those who are not aware, BLE is a compact and smart version of the traditional Bluetooth that is designed to be more energy-efficient to conserve battery power without compromising on the connectivity. Due to its battery-saving features, BLE has been massively adopted over the last years in many IoT and wireless smart devices.
According to the research, the BLESA vulnerability manifests itself during the pairing and bonding process – the client and the server have authentication to pair with each other’s devices. It is a process that is part of the standard security of the BLE technology, which SALTO devices do not use in any case during the access control platform network configuration or communications in any of the SALTO smart access platforms (SALTO Space Data-on-Card, SALTO KS Keys as a Service or SALTO Danalock) and smart door locking solutions.
Defending against most Bluetooth attacks usually means pairing devices in controlled environments and network architecture, but defending against BLESA is a much harder task, since the attack targets the more often-occurring reconnect operation.
When SALTO implemented BLE technology into its access control platforms to achieve smart-locking communication between the network and devices of the system, we decided to use SALTO security measures instead of standard BLE security measures, adding an additional security layer. We did this specifically to avoid the risk of being affected by these types of attacks from the mainstream standard.
In summary, regarding the recent BLESA Bluetooth spoofing attacks, this vulnerability DOES NOT AFFECT SALTO Systems and BLUEnet based technology platforms (SALTO Space, SALTO KS), nor SALTO Mobile Keys (JustIN, KS) products and communication, nor products of the Danalock platform.
New version of SALTO MyLock online door lock customization tool
New design, improved user experience, and new features help planners and architects better envision and design new lock projects
SALTO Systems has upgraded MyLock, the online lock customization tool that allows users to choose and see potential door configurations prior to final architectural project and design definition.
With MyLock, users can select a SALTO electronic lock model, door type, and choose from a broad range of colors, finishes, handles, and functions. The new MyLock design has an improved user experience for web as well as mobile access and adds important new capability including configuring accessory products like wall readers. SALTO SPACE access control management software and SALTO KS Keys as a Service compatible product ranges are also included.
Whether it’s a change model, finish, or door type texture, SALTO MyLock users can easily navigate through a menu to make their selection and customize the chosen model as much as possible. User can choose between different door standards and technology platforms, like SALTO SPACE access management software or SALTO KS cloud-based solution, and opening mode options like contactless smart card, mobile key, or keypad.
https://mylock.saltosystems.com/
Users can now make more than one configuration in a single MyLock session which allows those seeking electronic lock solutions the capability to configure a variety of door models within a building. Once completed, a MyLock user can preview and download 3D and 2D files including BIM files in a variety of industry formats including Revit, STP, DWG, JPEG, PDF, and more.
SALTO developed MyLock to aid project designers and planners and provide them the capability to see how their electronic lock choices work with a variety of doors. This new MyLock design has simplified the user interface and website navigation to provide users with the most positive experience as possible as they carefully construct the access point model that best suits their access control and security needs.
Fully connected: Powerful new Mullion and Panel Readers add to hospitality peripheral portfolio
The hospitality vertical has unique access control needs – guest rooms, elevators, turnstiles – that are best served by products that are specifically designed with these requirements in mind.
The hospitality vertical has unique access control needs – guest rooms, elevators, turnstiles – that are best served by products that are specifically designed with these requirements in mind. SALTO’s peripheral products are engineered to provide the ideal solution for those access points where online connectivity is needed, or where interaction with other systems or electric-powered devices such as elevators is required.
We’re excited about our two newest products that will help enrich your comprehensive access control solution and will supply the connectivity your hotel needs: the Mullion Reader and the Panel Reader.
MULLION READER:
The slim SALTO Mullion Reader for flush mounting has been specially designed to fit elevators, sliding doors, or electronic gate doors that have a narrow profile frame and where there is insufficient space to install a standard wall reader. Part of the SALTO electronic locking platform, the SALTO Mullion Reader is compatible with SALTO ProAccess SPACE and SALTO KS Controllers. Technical characteristics include: black or white color; compact, slim module design; specially designed for narrow or aluminum profile doors, making the installation quick and easy with minimal impact; modern aesthetic design; acoustic and optical signaling, and dual color green/red to indicate access authorization. They are housed in a two-piece, weatherproof secure electronics potted enclosure.
PANEL READER:
The SALTO Panel Reader door entry system also works in conjunction with SALTO ProAccess SPACE or SALTO KS Controllers. They are designed to be integrated behind elevator panels, door intercoms, electric switches, turnstiles, or gates. Users can present a valid SALTO credential – including both RFID card and JustIN Mobile app – to gain entry. These models do need a window in the door, which is necessary for reader antenna operation. Technical specifications include: compact module reader; specially designed to be integrated behind elevator panels, door intercoms, electric switches, turnstiles or gates; acoustic and optical signaling, dual color green/red to indicate access authorization. This reader is housed in a one-piece, weatherproof secure electronics potted enclosure.
We’re working hard to enrich your hospitality access control solutions! To learn more about either of these new products – or for a product demo – contact us:
