The Helsinki Student Union owns Ylva. The organisation’s purpose is to enable a vibrant and active student life; it has been part of Helsinki’s cityscape for over 150 years. Ylva owns many iconic properties, such as the Old and New Student House and the Domus Academica, a housing complex where many students have spent part of their life as tenants.
Real estate access challenge 1: Common areas
Domus Academica has three distinct housing properties. In addition, there are dedicated commercial spaces, conference rooms, a laundry room, common areas and a garage, of which the Aalto EE, University of Executive Education is the tenant.
The whole complex is elaborate and diverse. Traditional access control systems are unsuitable in such a heterogeneous environment and can be costly and problematic. The use of a PIN code could also be challenging:
“We share the basement, sauna and laundry room. We used to have a PIN-code system, but the readers have been removed due to the codes ending up in wrong hands,” says property manager Markus Thomé.
“Crossing from one building to the other is challenging, as there are different access control systems or no access control system at all. The intricacy of the systems affects people’s everyday life and overloads the administration, as we need to manage access control in many different systems simultaneously, which is costly and slow.”
Real estate access challenge 2: The tenants
Outside tenants, such as tenants renting gym facilities or band rehearsal spaces, represent another essential user group.
“The gym has 3000 customers plus the trainers. The band rehearsal spaces would like to have an efficient booking system. The access control currently in use is obsolete and confusing. We are in charge of it but we’d like the gym and the rehearsal space to manage access independently”, Thomé explains.
Ylva’s view for the future
“We want to switch to mobile access in all our residential and office space services to facilitate our tenants’ daily life so that they can go about their business solely using their mobile phones, without having to carry any keys anymore.
One login and they could access the laundry, book sauna shifts, office spaces, and party venues, report about maintenance needs, read about housing rules and regulations, or reserve their turn for carsharing”, envisions Thomé.
Laundry room, common area, garage, gym – check!
Bitwards can solve all the above mentioned challenges and make Ylva’s vision come true! The mobile access solution is already in use in the common areas.
Says Thomé: “The app is easy to use, and the admin work has reduced dramatically. Misuse has diminished, and tenants have been mostly very pleased.
The common areas in the guest house have a mobile key. It’s so convenient not to have to hand out keys, and that access rights go straight to users’ phones and are valid for the agreed time.”
Trainers in the gym have also started using the mobile key and are delighted. They wish to be able in the future to control access independently and to be responsible for it.
“One clear example of how much easier daily life has become is that we have one-month-long renovation works starting soon, and with the app, I was able to assign access rights to the crew, for example, to the garage for the duration of the project. How incredibly easy is that? It is a relief to know that keys will not be forgotten somewhere, in the pockets of the construction crew members or on their desks. We don’t have that problem anymore,” Thomè happily recounts.
Bitwards’ Next steps for Ylva real estate
The Bitwards app has an NFC feature for Android phones, which makes using the app as easy as using a keycard! One needs to show the phone to the reader, and the door opens. It will be tested soon in the Ylva property.
Future plans include introducing mobile access to the doors of the apartments. That would facilitate access during moves, so prospective tenants will not be dependent on the opening times of the lobby services. Controversial situations due to “I won’t make it by four” are history, as access rights will go straight to the tenants’ or customers’ apps on their mobile phones. Access rights can be assigned when signing a lease and terminated when the lease ends.
To whom would you recommend this solution, Markus Thomé?
- New builds – construction companies should consider installing access control systems based on mobile access technology.
- All properties needing to renew their locks and/or obsolete access systems or those considering mobile access.
- All properties experiencing issues due to unauthorised people accessing the premises.
Would you like to know more about Bitwards’ solution for real estate?
Contact us through the link below!
Benefits of Bitwards for real estate owners
1. It replaces access control systems
2. It wipes out the need for PIN-code readers without any cable work
3. The transition to Bitwards is not expensive or laborious
-> Increased security!
-> This solution can be compared to access control but is much easier to implement!
Text and editing: Bitwards/Katja Sonninen
Translation: Bitwards/Katariina Benedetti
Photos: Bitwards/Katja Sonninen
