Boost PBSA Value with Salto Smart Access Control

As a developer of purpose built student accommodation, you are no doubt aiming to reduce development costs as much as possible. But what if a technology investment at the build stage could significantly reduce the cost of operating the PBSA and actually increase the lifetime value of your asset? 

Salto has conducted research with a wide range of BtR properties around Australia which shows that smart access control can reduce operational costs by up to $91,000 per hundred apartments. That level of opex saving every year can translate to an increase in property value of $1.82 million. 

Salto provides smart access control with specifically designed to reduce PBSA operating costs, giving you a stronger long term ROI. 

Four ways that Salto reduces operational cost

1. Reduce staff onsite with automation 

Salto’s access control system enables remote management, so your PBSA does not need to be staffed 24/7. You could reduce staffing to daytime hours only, run completely unstaffed, or allocate that budget to higher levels of staff service in other areas. 

2. Lockout resolution without onsite attendance

One of the most frequent incidents in PBSA, lockouts used to mean onsite support, often a callout. With Salto, doors can be unlocked remotely, allowing you to rapidly get students back into their room without the cost of onsite staff. 

3. Remote lost key replacement

Lost keys also required onsite support, but with Salto, these can also be managed remotely, by using the Mobile Key functionality—sending a code that allows the resident to use their mobile phone as their key until you can issue them with a new keycard. 

4. Online vs Offline locks—save on installation 

Salto has a unique technology, the Salto Virtual Network (SVN), which enables offline locks to retain 90 per cent of the functionality of online locks. With SVN, the keycard becomes a ‘portable database’, of access control information. When the resident uses a wired access point (the main door, for example, or the lifts), the card is updated, and access information is transferred to the locks as the resident passes through the building. SVN delivers savings of $100,000 or more on installation and commissioning of the gateways, nodes and licences—with minimal impact on functionality.

Duty of care

Of course, cost saving must never compromise the resident experience you want to deliver or the duty of care that you owe to young people who are living away from mum and dad for the first time in their lives. Salto’s access control offers a detailed wellbeing audit trail function, including student inactivity reporting, which can flag if a door has not been opened for a period of time. 

You can rest assured that even when you don’t have staff onsite your residents are safe and can interact positively and efficiently with you and their home away from home. 

By investing in Salto for smart access control, you can take care of your residents, reduce ongoing operating costs and increase the value of your asset. 

Contact Alex Karamouzis, Salto’s PBSA expert, to learn more.

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