2022 security trends: Choice & flexibility a must-have for multifamily residents

As we navigate the new normal, the power of choice and flexibility continues to take centre stage. We’ve grown accustomed to the choice to work from home or virtually anywhere and the flexibility to have everything delivered (sometimes even right into your fridge!).

Seamless access control

With this, we are seeing heightened demand for seamless access control through smart locks and mobile credentials. This powerful combination creates exciting new opportunities to meet resident demand for choice and flexibility while providing a positive experience.

A great example of this is the rise in self-guided tours. Smart locks, seamless access, and mobile credentials enable potential residents to schedule and tour an apartment at their convenience. While the technology may have started as a way to scale operations and also limit in-person interactions during the pandemic, prospective residents appreciate the convenience and experience self-guided tours offer.

Smart locks and mobile credentials

Pairing smart locks with mobile credentials add convenience and also makes new services more attainable

This efficiency transcends into resident benefits as well by improving day-to-day routines. Pairing smart locks with mobile credentials add convenience and also makes new services more attainable, like dog walking and in-unit grocery deliveries. 72% of millennials live in apartment buildings and are driving this trend.

Looking ahead, Gen Z will find value in this as they begin to seek out their first apartments. Many are experiencing mobile credentials on higher education campuses and use their phones to make contactless payments daily. They will expect similar smart apartment technologies as they graduate, and this trend will continue to permeate industries and become second nature to most.

Custom solutions

As technology adoption increases, we’ll see the benefits of system standardisation. This will help unlock more data models and drive more product integrations.

Additionally, the importance of open architecture and interoperability is heightening, as technology rapidly advances in this ever-changing landscape. Solutions that can be easily added to and customised are proving valuable to operators.

WiFi utility

Community WiFi continues to grow, driven by the demand for connectivity for entertainment and work. With more flexibility to work from home, has WiFi become the next utility? What impact will this have on security and smart buildings?

I foresee managed WiFi networks pushing forward to help connect and support all the smart technology in buildings. This remains a core conversation in the smart apartment space, as a way to connect the entire building, versus only thinking in-unit. As adoption for mobile access and other smart technology grows, so will the need for community WiFi.

Mobile access

Mobile access control solves the delivery dilemma by ensuring packages are delivered directly and securely

Mobile access control helps elevate the apartment living experience and facility management in various ways. Deliveries and mail rooms are a pain point for multifamily buildings. More people are ordering packages, rather than picking things up in-store and there are no signs of this slowing down.

Companies continue to see a boost in deliveries/e-commerce. Beyond retail packages, food delivery has also heightened. From take-out to meal kits and groceries, managing these new deliveries adds a twist to building access and storage. Mobile access control helps solve the delivery dilemma by ensuring packages are delivered directly and securely to residents. In tandem, this process reduces crowds of people and packages in apartment mailrooms. 

Network monitoring and data management

Many apartments include amenities such as pools, fitness centres, and clubhouses. To ensure residents are not overcrowding an area, and to keep items like gym towels and hand sanitiser well-stocked, managers can use access solutions to monitor the flow of people within the building and control room capacities.

Mobile credentials can also uncover meaningful data which can help properties manage and operate their properties more efficiently. Aggregating this data, analysing it, and utilising it will rive more in sites, new products, and software and ultimately accelerate net operating income (NOI).

Safety via secure access 

Property managers can outfit the building with smart locks to provide enhanced security and convenience

Above all else, safety is a top priority for renters. A survey found that only 26% of millennial renters felt secure at home. We are home more than ever in today’s ‘homebody economy,’ so to help give people more peace of mind property managers can outfit the building with smart locks to provide enhanced security and convenience. 

Also worth noting, many residents across demographics are embracing a lifestyle that allows them the convenience to lock-and-leave at a moment’s notice. As they travel, they don’t have to stress about maintenance. Whether it’s granting access to the pet-sitter or letting the gardener into the water the patio plants—allowing seamless, traceable, secure access proves valuable.

Smart apartment technology

Smart apartment technology isn’t just for new buildings. Take a look at Deylen Realty, for instance. Deylen owns and operates seven residential properties, primarily in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. To remain competitive in the Midwestern market against newer buildings, Deylen needed to equip its renovated properties with unique features and amenities not found in comparable, urban properties.

To attract new renters and retain residents, they upgraded their buildings with electronic locks on individual doors and shared access points. This technology add-on was integral to their success in competitively attracting residents.

Electronic door locks

Smart features add value to the residents’ lives or make the staff’s day-to-day more efficient

Megan DiVello, assistant property manager at Deylen, said the use of electronic locks has drawn new residents to their apartments. She noted that they are frequently asked if their building has electronic locks and electronic security. Additionally, when marketing apartments online, electronic locks are an option to add as an amenity listing, which further highlights this trend.

That said, smart apartment technology isn’t something that should be applied thoughtlessly. The smart features need to add value to the residents’ lives or make the staff’s day-to-day more efficient. Ideally, both of those would ring true.

Multifamily solutions

For security professionals implementing smart technology or creating new multifamily solutions, it’s important to underscore how the technology improves NOI.

Two key questions for operators are: how can smart technology lower operating costs, and can new features and amenities be added to attract new renters? With these considerations in mind, there are huge security growth opportunities within this unique market and we’ll continue to see the demand for smart security in 2022 and beyond.