Traditional offices and working styles are evolving. To keep up, companies must stay on the cutting edge to put employee wellness and productivity first. As a result, leading commercial office owners and operators are actively assessing how to empower their tenants through technology. From the lobby to the offices themselves, building owners are looking for ways to improve—and one key experience seems to always fall short: visitor entry. 

Typically, visitor entry at commercial offices is unnecessarily complicated for everyone involved. From long lines in the lobby for both visitors and front desk staff, to complex visitor invite processes for tenants, there hasn’t been a single solution that accommodates everyone’s needs—until now. 

First, Latch made visiting apartment buildings easier than ever before. By allowing residents to share one-time and long-term access with friends, family, and service providers from anywhere, guests never have to worry about getting in. Our multifamily solution is so effective that, today, more than 1 in 10 new apartments in the U.S. are being built with Latch and we’re working with 7 out of 10 of the NMHC’s top developers. 

Now, we’re bringing our same innovative approach to visitor entry for commercial offices with Latch Visitor Express. As our first commercial office solution, Latch Visitor Express makes access easier for any guest, so they can go from the front door, through the lobby, and to their meeting more seamlessly than ever before.

Designed for offices of every size, from high rises with every amenity to single-tenant offices without a front desk staff, this solution works for all types of spaces. We’re excited to launch Latch Visitor Express at three of New York City’s most iconic buildings: Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, and Brookfield Place. 

“As an early adopter and extremely satisfied customer of Latch products in our residential portfolio, I immediately recognized Latch’s potential to dramatically elevate the office-going experience,” said Rob Speyer, president and CEO, Tishman Speyer. “Tishman Speyer is proud to serve as a thought-partner, incubator and operational partner to Latch and look forward to launching Latch Visitor Express at our global headquarters.”  

Beginning this summer, a Latch Visitor Express turnstile will be available at each of these buildings, making it faster and easier for guests to gain access in the lobby. “We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Latch as an investor via Brookfield Technology Partners and an adopter of its residential product in our multifamily portfolio to now piloting Latch’s foray into commercial office,” said Ben Brown, Managing Partner and Head of U.S. Office, Brookfield Property Group. “We continually look for innovative ways to enhance the tenant experience with the use of technologies such as Latch.  As the company expands into commercial office, we can think of no better place to deploy its LatchOS system than in one of our marquee properties, Brookfield Place New York.”

Once a new visitor has been invited to a meeting by a building tenant using Latch Visitor Express, they’ll receive a Latch Link with their meeting invite along with simple check-in instructions. When the visitor arrives, they simply show their Latch Link and identification at the front desk for simplified check-in. That way, building staff can move visitors through the queue quickly without unnecessary delays. Returning visitors don’t ever need to check-in at the front desk, and can simply proceed right through the turnstiles to get where they need to go. 

For building tenants, the invitation process has also been streamlined. Instead of emailing requests to office managers or adding visitors to antiquated systems or portals, they can simply invite visitors using the Latch App or through their preferred calendar, like Outlook or Gmail. They just add Latch Visitor Express as an attendee to the calendar invite, and the rest is taken care of automatically.

“We have followed closely Latch’s industry leading guest and visitor management solutions in multifamily, and we are very eager to see how Latch and its access controls and LatchOS can work in our lobby with tenants at the Empire State Building," said Anthony E. Malkin, chairman, president, and CEO, Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. “We are excited to participate in our pilot with Latch at the World’s Most Famous Building.”‍

Interested in Latch Visitor Express for your office building? Contact our team today.