ASPEN APP UPDATE
Aspen’s statement on the future of access control, and location-based information.
In a continued effort to improve our Aspen app and overall tenant and building experience we have fully transitioned to a new mobile access control system for our Aspen Club amenities and general building access. We recognized that while the previous system worked ~98% of the time, a ~2% frustration level was not acceptable. This change will take effect immediately and will be the access system going forward.
With the new access control system integrated within the Aspen app, there are now two options in which to access our Aspen Club amenities and the general buildings as described below.
1. “Always Allow” background operation. This is the most seamless way to travel through our amenities and office buildings in Calgary or Edmonton in the same way. You just need to hold your phone out and tap the reader, no need to have the app open on your phone. To achieve this seamless experience, the Aspen app has to run in the background to always detect the mobile access readers. (Note; if you are a software developer and you think there is a coding way around this, we’d love to hear from you).
2. Open Aspen App to access. This will not require the “always allow” feature and therefore will not be running in the background, as in option one. However, when you go to open a door in our amenities or to access the building, you will need to have the app open on your phone and click “door access” on the Home Screen. From a convenience standpoint, this is like having to use a traditional key card or fob.
You might wonder if we use your location-based information while in an Aspen building by selecting Always Allow? The answer is yes, as this function is needed to properly wake the mobile door readers to create the seamless “tap” experience across all our buildings. We are in development of an opt-in function for option one that will further anonymize location-based information from the app.
Benefits of Location-Based Information
When traffic patterns in our buildings are known, we can operate far more efficiently. We can send cleaners into areas when needed, not just on a set schedule. We can optimize when we run the HVAC system, and in certain locations, for when people are present and turn it off when they aren’t. From how amenities operate, to how future common spaces will be constructed, this information helps us improve the building experience, while also lowering emissions and the overall cost to operate. These savings can then be passed directly to your company through our leasing structure. We intend to have this optimized strategy in place in 2023 and will provide additional information as it gets rolled out.
We would greatly value you selecting the “Always Allow” option in the app, as we believe that having more location-based information about our building usage will fundamentally change how an office building can operate, and in turn will create a better experience and help reduce our carbon footprint.
We also believe and respect that you have the right to decide if you want to share location-based information from the app and are fully supportive of your decision, we wanted to share our perspective on how this information could be used to continue innovating the future of office space.
If you have any questions or comments on the above, we would love to hear from you.