Coliving is often described as an ‘experience’ or ‘movement’, characteristics that can be boiled down to its foundation: community. Most housing models may often prioritise factors such as efficiency, sustainability or social interaction over one another. Coliving focuses on all of these in equal capacity, and technology has the power to combine them. Cloud-based access control can deliver the technology necessary to ignite a sense of belonging in coliving by implementing these solutions from the onboarding process and beyond.

The onboarding process can determine the entirety of the coliving journey and directly impacts the quality of communal life. With access control, these operations are streamlined, making room for shared human experiences and connections. Simultaneously, it has the power to ignite a sense of belonging by welcoming and embracing new residents who will in turn embrace the fundamentals of coliving.

It is well known that the connected world we live in paradoxically leads to a growing sense of isolation, made evident by the heightened downturn in mental health issues in recent years. According to Forbes, “it was this desire for a sense of community, alongside increasing levels of unaffordability in cities, that spawned the first wave of ‘coliving’ concepts.” In the vast array of technology available, we must remember that community should not be replaced by technology, rather enhanced by it when creating a coliving experience.

This article will discover how access control as a service (ACaaS) can offer a smooth and welcoming onboarding experience and elaborate the ways in which it ignites a sense of community in coliving.

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Onboard Residents With the Help of Access Control to Ignite Belonging

Coliving presents unique operational challenges to the management of spaces. Residents may be contracted for a short or long stay, unfamiliar with shared housing concepts or in search of communal activities and arrangements. For these purposes, the onboarding process a coliving space puts in place can resolve all the scenarios mentioned and can set the course of the in-house life for the resident.

The optimal customer journey, therefore, begins with the onboarding process. Onboarding does not necessarily begin when the new resident arrives at a coliving space. It also encompasses the build-up to the actual check-in, where prospective residents can be contacted with valuable information and the tools necessary to begin their orientation into their new communal living quarters. In what is known as the ‘curation and discovery’ phase, coliving operators can view profiles of prospective residents and tailor their experience accordingly. This can be done by creating a layout in which residents with similar lifestyles live closer together, or by allocating accessible parking or other facilities closer to those who require further support. This stage has a significant impact on the eventual community that will be created, and its dynamics.

With ACaaS, a single smartphone application can open up a world of communication channels with your tenant. With this app, a community manager or coliving operator can grant access to tenants so that upon arrival, they have all the tools they need to set up in their new home. This sparks a sense of connection with the brand and its staff, as new residents feel welcomed and at home. There is no need to undergo an intensive process of onboarding or handover of mechanical equipment (such as physical keys) to kick off their coliving experience. Instead, a digital key will be presented to residents to ensure an entry into their living space that is secure, dependable and instantly accessible. This additionally removes the need for 24/7 onsite staff, as residents feel empowered and in control of their surroundings.

With an automated onboarding experience, a coliving space can implement technology integrations that can stimulate various degrees of connectivity and efficiency, leading to increased participation in one’s surroundings. A new resident arriving at their coliving space can use the in-house smartphone app to rent or hire a car, followed by buying a meal and booking a laundry service – all within the same app. Cloud-based access control gives tenants access to these facilities, amongst many potential others, minimising the need for outside interference and giving residents a sense of security and ownership.

Taking it to an additional level of convenience, the payments for all of the above can be organised through a tab that is kept and run on the same app. Using access control, the tags (or ‘fobs’) used to open access points of a coliving space can also be used to pay for services that are connected to the smartphone app. These payments can be billed by management at the end of the month alongside rent. Such seamless integrations give residents the ease and encouragement to feel in control of their daily routine, manage a variety of tasks and feel included in the whole process. In other words, residents feel at home.

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Streamline Operations With Access Control to Build Community

Once you have implemented amenities for your community to thrive in an improved living environment, you don’t need to stop there. There are further steps that can be taken to motivate coliving management and staff to streamline their role in the community. Cloud-based access control plays a significant part in this, using a combination of smart locking solutions and technology integrations. This ultimately helps to streamline operations, which will be discussed in more detail ahead.

In addition to a cloud-based access control solution, a Property Management System (PMS) can also be integrated, opening up an array of possibilities. SALTO Systems makes this possible with its technology integration partner res:harmonics. This platform is designed to help providers maximise their sales channels, increase occupancy levels whilst reducing costs and increasing operational efficiencies. With this PMS, credentials (username, password, PIN codes etc.) can be allocated or deallocated online, to guests on arrival or departure of their stay, and security can be monitored to keep track of entries including housekeeping, maintenance, delivery, management etc. As a result of this system, residents have stronger communication with management; one that is not possible solely with a front desk. This minimises the chances of feeling a lack of support and care. Instead, residents are confident in their welfare and in their extended community (management, staff, etc.).

ACaaS can unlock the potential to keep spaces thriving for coliving operators. For example, management of a coliving space may introduce flexible bike sharing for their residents, a coworking space or a studio to rent for purposes such as workshops, hospitality or entertainment. This is easily facilitated and coordinated with access control and is sustainable in the long run. For example, our partner Cohabs offers shared homes centred around its community, with locations in Europe and the U.S. and its own smartphone app. This app tailors their community experience and has integrated with SALTO Systems’ API for smart access control technology. Residents are able to create an event or a poll, navigate the living quarters, log an incident through the chatbot, check their rent balance, submit and track maintenance requests and RSVP to social events, among other engagement tools. This can consolidate interaction and engagement between residents.

Behavioural scientist Francesca Gino argues in Harvard Business Review that it is not sufficient to create opportunities for collaboration or demonstrate institutional support for it. What makes a difference is a psychological approach to connect more fully and consistently. Similarly, it is not sufficient to offer your residents state-of-the-art facilities; you should also be sure to stimulate engagement on a deeper level.

In summary, ACaaS can strengthen community experience in the following ways:

• Seamless user experience: Residents need not worry about the hassle of physical keys and can instead use flexible and secure entry options such as digital keys, tags, PIN codes and remote access.
• Optimised onboarding experience: Residents can receive digital keys anytime and anywhere, ensuring a smooth and organised onboarding process.
• Instant and safe access: Residents can easily enter communal spaces and interact with members of the community in a secure environment.
• Increased control for residents: Residents feel empowered and confident in managing access to their own space seamlessly.
• Modern sustainable living: By leveraging IoT and cloud-based applications, devices and sensors, you can reduce energy consumption and cultivate a modern sustainable community.

SALTO Systems can facilitate all of the above, making a difference in the overall experience of belonging and personalisation in coliving communities. Our aim is to develop products and technologies that adapt to the continuously changing needs of modern coliving brands and their residents. SALTO KS offers solutions that perfectly adapt to your building, requiring no software installation with remote management capabilities and providing endless integration possibilities. Moreover, this solution has an impact prior to an onboarding experience, purposefully influencing the perception of a potential resident to embrace a dynamic collective lifestyle. Such spaces can be transformed using smart electronic access control solutions and this technology can be implemented while safeguarding and enhancing standards of communal life.