The Evolution of Visitor Management

Every day, as many as two-thirds of visitors to buildings with visitor management systems are not pre-authorized, according to a recent Kastle Systems industry analysis. Kastle VP David McGuinness tells us that when visitors arrive unregistered it creates lobby congestion, delays, frustration, distracted security personnel and a bad impression of the building. 

Common visitor management systems allow hosts to pre-register their guests, but clearly there are roadblocks impacting usage: Tenants don’t routinely use visitor management software, which makes remembering log-on credentials an issue. Even when a host pre-registers a guest, meeting schedules and participants often change. When changes happen, tenants often forget to update the visitor management system or to inform the lobby security team of the changes.

David suggests there are some macro trends that are changing the way building owners and operators are thinking about lobby security:

• No more waiting in line. New construction and modernization projects are embracing hospitality concepts and putting greater emphasis on time-saving services, which include eliminating waiting in line at the check-in desk.
• Faster lobby traffic. Installation of lobby turnstiles and destination dispatch elevators to facilitate efficient and secure movement.
• No more separate keys. Interconnected systems allow a “one-size-fits-all” approach to a guest’s or tenant’s journey to their destination. One blanket pass should cover it all.

David adds that his company has innovated Kastle FrontOffice, including KastleVisitor, which simplifies and streamlines the visitor pre-authorization process. KastleVisitor enables hosts to schedule and manage their meeting calendars and visitor pre-authorization from directly within Outlook. This drives greater user participation with the visitor management process because Microsoft Outlook is the most-used office business productivity application. It automatically updates Kastle FrontOffice whenever a meeting schedule changes. As a result, systems remain accurate and in sync and the experience moves efficiently. That’s a better way to make a good first impression. To learn more about our Bisnow education partner, click here.