SoHostel, offering stylish and affordable accommodation in the heart of London’s West End, is benefiting from a highly reliable Salto access control solution designed and installed by Delta Security to further enhance security and provide a user-friendly experience.
Following a major refurbishment that saw SoHostel re-open in November 2014 with contemporary and fun decor and facilities, Stuart Ball, General Manager for One Housing, the organisation that owns and manages SoHostel, was looking for an access control system that could efficiently and securely manage an increasing number of guests:
“SoHostel can be very busy at all times of the day and night,” he says, “so we needed a system that would reliably give access to guests (and only guests), and was fast and accurate for our employees to programme on check in.”
The new system works by giving each guest a key card that is programmed with their details and the relevant room. Stuart says it is working well: “The locks installed are very robust, and guests are able to gain access without any problems,” he continues.
“The reliability of the system provides our employees with more time to concentrate on the guest experience, and crucially, we are able to track comings and goings, enhancing the security of the whole site.”
Because the system is fully web-based, Delta is able to remotely solve any problems quickly and efficiently, offering Stuart and his team a high level of support and convenience.
Dave Mundy, Operations Manager at Delta Security, says they have an excellent working relationship with One Housing: “We were approached again because we have considerable experience working with both hotels and housing associations and we understand the exact requirements from design to installation and implementation.”
Stuart adds that the installation went very smoothly: “Delta co-ordinated all back office integration with our room management system,” he says. “The engineers made sure our guests were not disturbed, even though it slowed down the installation process, and the work was completed to a very high standard. Engineers did not leave the site until systems were tested five or six times and we were confident with how it worked.”
SoHostel is owned and managed by One Housing, a leading developer and provider of homes and housing, care and support services across London and the South East. As a not-for-profit organisation the profits of ventures such as SoHostel are used to fund charitable work with the homeless, elderly and vulnerable, as well as affordable housing projects.