By Robert Gaulden, director of Allegion multifamily channel strategy
Multifamily properties have come a long way over the last decade. From urban core growth to bolder style and design to experience-driven amenities, multifamily living has increasingly become a chosen lifestyle for many people.
This is an exciting time in the market, but it has also led to some confusion as to how to best adopt technology into their property’s offerings.
Technology providers have tried to apply either single-family solutions or commercial solutions. Single-family solutions have a hard time scaling to the needs of a multifamily property. Commercial solutions can tend to feel heavy and lack the feature sets or integrations that really make sense to the multifamily operator. It was a Goldilocks situation, and none of these hybrid residential-commercial solutions were “just right.” Then property technology (Proptech) companies entered the scene to deliver better apartment experiences. With the right Proptech provider, multifamily properties seeking a purpose-driven technology solution can choose from the broadest offering of capabilities. When smart locks for apartments and mobile credentials integrate with Proptech providers, properties can start to solve for self-tour and package delivery dilemmas and enable services like dog walkers and food delivery.
But what if you’re not ready for a fully integrated system throughout your property? Do you stay mechanical forever? Of course not. Expectations for smart locks and electronic access control intensify as each generation becomes more tech-savvy. Check out our research on millennials and their expectations for multifamily technologies.
Smart locks for apartments buildings can be added around the property in offline mode, which gives you many of the benefits of electronic access control without the need for community Wi-Fi.
The infographic below covers the basics of electronic adoption and tips for transitioning from mechanical to electronic.
