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How Smart Access Helps with Co-living & Co-working Spaces

By igloohome | May 4, 2018

In the era of the sharing economy, everything from bikes, to homes, to office space are being shared. Smart access is changing the landscape of co-living and co-working spaces. This sort of integration allows us to do more with less - making convenience a key factor in the way we work and play.

This sort of economy has seen a great boom in the recent years. Brands like Airbnb, Grab and ofo bicycles have seen tremendous uptake from both millennials and older generations. Despite some form of resistance, it's still a strong force and testament to how this enhances the quality of lives.

Co-living Spaces

Photo credit: MamaHome Singapore

This is no different in Singapore. Mamahome, the leading apartment service platform from China, has set foot on our shores. They aim to improve serviced apartment quality, as well as enhance customer experience with automation processes. Tricky leasing procedures are taken care of, from start to end, with MamaHome.

igloohome has tied up with Mamahome Singapore to help owners manage their homes and rental units remotely. The first location they will be operating on behalf of owners is Alex Residences. Situated near Redhill MRT station, they target expat millennials and Singaporean professionals with its central location.

Land is scarce in this part of the world. Co-living spaces act as a solution to the problem and offer fully-furnished apartments to meet the demand.

Smart access in co-living spaces

With many people entering the same space, it is easy to have keys misplaced. Lost keys also mean a myriad of issues such as replacing everyone’s keys, getting a new lock and ensuring security is not breached because of one lost key.

These issues can be eliminated with the use of igloohome smart locks. Lost keys will not be a problem as PIN codes and Bluetooth keys can be issued. Community managers can operate the rental unit remotely, and track who enters the home via access logs.

Features as such allow for greater convenience and are something a traditional lock will not be able to provide. Community managers are able to focus on more pressing issues when it comes to granting access. Automated procedures allow for faster and smoother processes to make co-living a fuss-free experience for all.

Co-working Spaces

Photo credit: MyWorkspace

Similar to co-living communities, the co-working space in Singapore is also on the rise. Places like WeWork have seen many startups adopting their premises to network and set up workspaces.

Co-working spaces reduce the high cost of rental prices. On top of saving dollars for such companies, hosting a smorgasbord of other related companies prove to be beneficial. People establish working relationships and even score partnerships with each other which propel both businesses to scale.

Smart access in co-working spaces

igloohome is working with andCards and WorkingSpace in Seoul, Korea. A fully automated room booking system is implemented to improve customer service.

Photo credit: andCards

Managers of the co-working space can utilise it to their fullest potential. Handling a shared office can be challenging, and the solution provides a more convenient user experience. Efficiently and securely booking the rooms allow for a streamlined process too. This reiterates the fact that doing more with less is possible.

About andCards

andcards is the first coworking space software focused on members. Blazing fast room bookings, membership benefits and services, and a collaborative community feed — andcards technology offers an engaging experience for flexible office tenants. andcards vision is a co-working space that adapts to how people use it and offers more natural interactions. Managers get extra perks: a single place to track bookings, payments, membership benefits and services, and build a collaborative community.

Photo credit: andCards

Managers often deal with meeting room overbooking, conflicted bookings, and receiving external booking requests. andCards solves all pains with its simple Booking System. It allows to:

  • Enable self-service booking for tenants without the need to interact with a community manager.

  • Prevent conflicts by not allowing to create bookings at the same time.

  • Acquire debit/credit card payments for bookings right inside the app.

  • Automate free hour credits for individual and team members.

  • Set booking limits, such as working hours, minimum and maximum booking time, and a maximum period for advance bookings

  • Integrate with Google Calendar or any other personal calendar of choice.

Often members book a meeting room and simply forget about it. andcards sends them a push notification when their booking starts to remind them about their reservation. Meeting room display mode allows to auto-cancel reservations without a check in and impresses visitors with rarely seen property technology.

igloohome x andCards

In addition to bookings, andcards can automate physical access to the shared office. Sometimes co-working space members just walk in and use a meeting room without booking. To prevent unpaid or unauthorised room usage, andcards has integrated with our smart locks to counter such issues. Upon successful booking of a room, members receive a PIN code that's valid only during the allocated time slot. This makes the experience secure for both residents and managers.

Co-working space managers can provide ultimate coworking space experience to their residents by complementing bookings with a loyalty program with membership benefits and value-added services, community news feed, various integrations for payments and customer support.

Automation plays a big part in how we carry out daily tasks. There's no sign of the sharing economy slowing down too. There's definitely more to be done in this space with more things being carried out with increased efficiency and effectiveness.

If you’d like to speak with us about a possible partnership, we’ll be happy to chat! Simply drop us an email at info@igloohome.co.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency of igloohome. Assumptions made within the article is not reflective of the position of any igloohome entity. If we have incorrectly used any media items belonging to anyone without the right accreditation, simply write to us at info@igloohome.co to request a takedown. Removals will be done within 24hrs of acknowledgement.