SAAA May 2020 Special Edition Residence Magazine MAY_2020_DIGITAL_Magazine | Seite 23

Choose the Right Access Control Solution for Your New Property
By Carl Hanly, CAS KeyTrak
W
ith new multifamily construction booming in San An-
tonio, property management professionals across
the city are working on competitive strategies for
marketing, leasing, and hiring. These are all critical
elements of setting up a new apartment community
for success, but before you hand over a key to that first resident,
make sure you’ve thought through a key and access control strat-
egy.
Key control is an important part of providing a safe, streamlined
resident experience and protecting your reputation. The three
most common key and access control methods are a manual
process using a pegboard and logbook, electronic key control
systems, and smart locks. Which one is right for your property? Use
the criteria below to help you decide.
1. Your Target Demographic
Are you building a smart community geared toward younger gen-
erations? Do you expect retirees to flock to your property? The
best access control solution for your property depends on who will
be living there. For example, millennials and Gen Z are more likely
to find smart locks appealing. Older generations, however, may
prefer traditional metal keys.
If your property uses metal keys, you’ll need to manage them with
either a pegboard and logbook or an electronic key control sys-
tem. The pegboard system will cost you less out of pocket upfront,
but an electronic system is more reliable since it can securely store
keys and capture a digital record of who’s accessed those keys.
Even if you use a smart lock system, however, you may still need
a method of key control for smart tokens that function like keys
(fobs, cards, etc.) or for areas not outfitted with smart locks (stor-
age sheds, offices, mailboxes, etc.).
2. Your Brand
Imagine being served wine in paper cups at a 5-star restaurant.
Would that experience affect your opinion of the brand? Now
imagine taking a prospect on a tour of a high-end property and
whipping out a key attached to a paper label. How do you think
that would affect the prospect’s perception of your apartment
community? Details matter.
Paper-based key tags and logbooks don’t just give your prospects
and employees reason to think your community is outdated,
they’re also present the risk of human manipulation and inaccura-
cy. Securely attaching keys to an electronic key control system’s
unlabeled tag or controlling access to apartments with a keypad
or security token shows that you’ve thought through how you’ll
protect residents from unwanted access to their homes.
3. Scalability
Think about how you manage key and access control at existing
properties. Is there a certain method or system that works well? Do
you need to overhaul the key control situation at multiple proper-
ties? Do you anticipate needing a solution for new properties in
the future?
Consider using the same key and access control method across
multiple properties. This will make your life easier in a few ways:
• You can standardize employee training.
• You can use the same format for your key control reports.
• Purchasing and vendor management are simplified.
• Rolling out the solution at future properties is streamlined.
As I mentioned before, however, you should remember your tar-
get market and brand. For example, if you don’t think smart locks
are a good fit for a new property, don’t implement them simply
because you already use them at another apartment community.
4. Versatility
If your on-site personnel are stretched thin for time, having a key
and access control method that includes time-saving features or
applications will help your team do more with less. Manual key
control methods such as pegboards are the least versatile since
they can’t do more than store keys.
Electronic key control systems, on the other hand, may offer op-
tions to manage resident packages, track employee time clocks,
manage work orders, or even collect prospect data by scanning
driver’s licenses. With smart lock systems, you may have the option
to offer self-guided tours if that’s something you’re interested in.
To decide what capabilities would give you the most value from
your technology investment, consider your staff’s daily tasks and
their interactions, as well as any existing software.
5. Training and Support
As employees leave and your processes change over time, having
an efficient training process is essential. Working with a technology
partner that provides customized training services can help allevi-
ate the training burden. They’ll focus on showing employees how
the tools work, while you can focus on educating your team on
what your policies are and why they should follow them.
Getting a new apartment community up and running can feel
like a race to the finish line, especially in a competitive market. It’s
easy for hiring, leasing, marketing, and other processes to bump
key and access control down your priority list, but set aside the
time to find a solution that works for you. Your property’s residents
and your reputation are worth it.
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