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5 Benefits of an Intercom System

• 06/24/2021
• 4 minute read

Intercom systems are a staple of multi-family communities. They curate building access, allow guests to get in touch with residents, and act as the first layer of security to prevent unwanted guests from entering the community. When it comes to providing a feeling of safety and comfort to residents in the building, they’re essential.

Intercom systems can also cost a premium, and for communities that already employ 24/7 concierges for example, they can be seen as an unnecessary expense. But as the industry and technology continue to advance, it’s becoming increasingly essential to include an intercom system in your multi-family community.

Here are the 5 biggest benefits of adding an intercom system to your building.

1 – Enhanced Building Security

For your residents, their home is their safe place. It’s their sanctuary. It’s where, after a long day, they get to come back, kick their feet up, and relax. Ensuring your community is safe not only gives residents peace of mind, but extra safety precautions can make your community more desirable to prospective tenants.

An intercom system enhances building security in a number of ways. First, it acts as a preliminary layer of security by forcing visitors (wanted or unwanted) to have to dial or “buzz” in, rather than just walking in. Residents are then able to help manage which guests enter the community, as calling from the intercom system typically goes directly to their mobile phones. This allows your residents to act as a security checkpoint by ensuring they know exactly who they’re granting building access to.

For some of today’s intercom systems like 1VALET’s Smart Entry System, logs are also kept for each access event. So even if an unwanted visitor does manage to gain access, that access event is logged in the system, allowing building staff to know exactly when and where that guest entered the building from.

2 – Convenience

Intercom systems also add a level of convenience to managing building access. As with most intercom systems, calls from visitors go directly to the mobile device of residents. This allows residents to vet and grant access to visitors no matter where they are. They can speak to the guest trying to enter the building, and in some cases can also view the guest through video calling on their phone. This is especially useful for older tenants who typically have a difficult time getting up to answer calls.

Did your guest arrive during the time you had to step out quickly? No problem. You can easily grant them access from anywhere, rather than having to keep them waiting outside.

3 – Increased Property (Asset) Value

Adding an intercom system to your building and enhancing its overall security can also increase the overall value of your property.

It’s no secret that people want to live in communities where they and their families can feel safe, and the presence of an intercom system adds to that feeling of safety and security. By investing in tools and infrastructure that enhance that sense of security, not only are you keeping residents from having to look into additional safety measures of their own, you’re making your community more desirable. This creates a competitive advantage, and allows you to request or rent at a higher price point than a comparable building that isn’t necessarily as secure, increasing your overall property value.

4 – Make Your Building More Attractive to Prospective Tenants

First impressions are everything. In many cases, an intercom system is the first thing that greets visitors or guests when they enter the vestibule of the building. Investing in a modern intercom system as the first thing a guest sees can leave a lasting impression, and set the stage to make your building more attractive to prospective tenants.

5 – Reduce Operating Expenditures

Some intercom systems can actually help you reduce your overall operating expenditures, and pay for themselves over time.

1VALET’s Smart Entry System, for example, includes a call concierge feature that allows property owners to centralize their concierge, and eliminate the need for one on-site. Calls from the Entry System surface on their web-based management portal, allowing a single person to answer intercom calls for an entire portfolio, from anywhere.

In some of the largest cities across Canada and the USA, the price of front desk concierge services can average anywhere from $25-$35 per hour. If the service is required 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, that can add up to over $200,000 over the course of a full year. Now imagine if you have on-site concierge services at multiple buildings across an entire portfolio.

Not only will an intercom system keep your building and your residents safe, it can make your building more attractive, increase your property value by allowing you to charge more for rent, and in some cases actually lower your overall operating costs. Intercoms are an essential feature that you should consider adding to your community today.

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1VALET has created an innovative smart building platform that combines software, hardware, and services to make condo and apartment complexes better places to live and work. Our patented smart entry system replaces your typical video intercom system, and grants mobile digital access along with facial entry and a number of other features. When paired with our resident application and building management portal, we’re able to connect a building’s most important capabilities, and create safer, smarter communities.

To learn more, visit www.1VALET.com and book a demo.