Smart locks for scattered-site multi-family. How do we avoid the enterprise SaaS tax?
Hey everyone,
I’m designing a smart lock rollout for a multi-family property that is spread across multiple separate buildings (scattered site).
We are building our own middleware to automatically generate tenant and maintenance access codes via webhooks from our property management software. We want to own the software experience and completely avoid the $3–$5 per-door monthly subscription fees that enterprise vendors charge.
Since we can't just run Ethernet between all these disconnected buildings to form one massive Zigbee/Z-Wave mesh, what is the most reliable architecture?
- Managed Wi-Fi: Broadcast property-wide internet and use Wi-Fi locks with a local API?
- Algorithmic Offline: Use locks like igloo home that don't need a network at all?
- Cellular Hubs: Put a cheap cellular Z-Wave gateway in the mechanical closet of every single building?
Has anyone successfully solved the multi-building networking problem at scale without paying endless subscription fees? What hardware and architecture worked best for you?
Also, we haven't currently started construction yet, but it should also help in our existing properties if we ever decide to switch out locks.