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As a business owner, it's practically in your blood to constantly be looking for new ways to cut costs and maximize revenue. While investments can be scary, their potential return on investment keeps us going. It's important to note that the self-storage tenant has changed, and they're becoming more and more tech-dependent each year. According to a study polling 25,000 active self-storage tenants, over 85% wanted to have facility and unit access via their smartphone. Investing in an access control solution that attracts new tenants while also cutting down operational costs is sensibly a no-brainer. That's why we're discussing smart entry, and 7 ways it can cut your operational costs while also delivering you, your staff, and your tenant's unparalleled advantages. Hold on to your seats!
Prepare to save on the following:
NO LOCK CHECKS
We all know how tedious and time-consuming a traditional lock check can be. You have to physically walk around the facility, checking the unit status of each individual unit, multiple times a day. If a tenant has missed a payment, you have to go to the facility and place an overlock on the unit door. Once they've made that payment, you have to repeat the process and physically remove the overlock before the tenant can regain access to their unit. Let's say the tenant paid after hours or over the weekend. You either have to clock in extra hours to travel to the facility and take care of the release, or deal with a disgruntled customer come Monday morning. While I'm sure we'd all enjoy the celebration of extra steps from our Apple watch, there has to be a more efficient approach for performing lock checks... and there is.
With a smart entry system, these functions are now electronic, instant, and 100% accurate based on your property management software input. This means, no more lock grinding or cutting your fingers off in the process. No more physical lock checks, walking around to know what's going on at your facility at all times. You have access to this in real-time via a smartphone app or online web portal.
Here's what your site map could look like:
DIGITAL AUCTION SEAL ON UNIT
Who else would rather pull teeth than set up a unit for auction? It's not fun, it takes a lot of work, and it's time-consuming. With a smart entry system in place, the repossession of a unit sell is completely electronic and all unit activity is date and time stamped. Hello, efficiency! This creates a more convenient and secure process for auctioning units than ever before.
REMOTE ACCESS POINT ENTRY
With a smart entry system in place, you can remotely assist your tenants with access point entry. Whether that's opening the gate for them (no matter where you are), or remotely unlocking unoccupied units. While this may require you to get the "mother may I" from management, you can do this anytime and anywhere as long as you have an internet-connected device and the right permission.
DIGITAL KEY SHARE
Digital key sharing is the holy grail for tenants and operators. Tired of tenants sharing unsecured codes with everyone and their brother? With Bluetooth electronic smart locks and smart keypads, the tenant can enter the facility, access points, and their unit door with their mobile phone. When a tenant needs to share that access with a friend or family member, both you and the tenant will see an activity log of when that unit was accessed during the key sharing period. The tenant can revoke this access at any time, or set up a customized time frame for when the shared user will have access. This gives traceable activity for all!
DATA
Data allows for understanding tenant patterns, usage, and frequency. This is beneficial to your facility for many reasons. One of them being, you can tailor the amount of staff you have on-site throughout the day to better accommodate peak hours, potentially saving you significantly on labor costs. Not only are you getting data on your tenants, but you're getting data on your site managers too!
REDUCED BREAK-INS & INSURANCE CLAIMS
What better way to enhance the security at your facility than taking it down to the individual unit? With thermal motion sensors included inside each smart unit, you'll know immediately if someone is trying to sleep in a unit or break in. This can reduce your P&C and create a greater split on PPP or tenant insurance.
NOTIFICATIONS
Picking a disc lock is so easy these days, there are even quick tutorials available on the Web. That's why smart locks with thermal motion sensors are important. When thermal motion is detected inside of a locked unit, management or designated persons of non-authorized entry into a unit will get an instant notification.
