Three guests, one receptionist
At nine thirty, three guests arrive for different members. The receptionist asks each for their name and who they are visiting, writes it in the visitor book, and messages the members on Slack. One member does not see the message. Their guest waits ten minutes, then calls them. Another member's guest needs wifi, so the receptionist reads out the guest password.
At four, the fire alarm is tested. The receptionist looks at the visitor book and cannot tell which guests have already left.
Why guest handling is manual
- Members do not tell reception about guests in advance.
- Guests sign in on paper.
- Hosts are told by message or phone, which they may miss.
- Guest wifi is a shared password.
- Sign-out is not recorded, so nobody knows who is on site.
- Guest data in a visitor book is visible to every later guest.
Busy mornings expose it. Guests for nine o'clock meetings arrive in a cluster, just as members arrive, parcels come in and the phone rings. The visitor book becomes a queue, and the receptionist cannot greet anyone properly.
What the visitor book costs
Guests' first impression of your members' businesses is a queue and a wait. Reception time goes on admin rather than welcome. The fire roll call cannot include guests reliably. A paper book showing names and companies to every visitor is a privacy problem. And heavy guest use of meeting rooms or desks by some members is invisible.
Members with regular client meetings feel it most. If their clients wait in reception every time, the member starts to wonder whether this is the right place to meet clients at all.
The guest flow we build
- Members pre-register guests in the member app or by a calendar invite to a guest address, which is read automatically.
- Guests receive a message with directions, a QR code and any building instructions.
- On arrival, guests sign in by scanning the QR code at a reception tablet or entering their name. Walk-in guests sign in on the tablet and choose their host.
- The host is alerted immediately by Slack, text or email that their guest has arrived.
- Guests who need wifi receive time-limited guest credentials, and access to the right floor is issued for the visit if your access system supports it.
- Guests sign out on the way out, or are signed out automatically at the end of the day.
- A live list of guests on site is available for fire roll calls, alongside members in the building.
- Guest records are kept for the period your privacy policy sets and then deleted.
| Moment | Visitor book | Guest flow |
|---|---|---|
| Before arrival | Nothing | Pre-registered with directions |
| Arrival | Write in the book, wait | Scan in, host alerted |
| Wifi | Shared password | Time-limited credentials |
| Fire alarm | Unknown who is on site | Live list |
| Privacy | Book open to everyone | Records held under your policy |
A different reception
Guests are expected, signed in quickly and met by their host. Reception greets rather than processes. The roll call includes guests. Wifi access is controlled. And members' guests have a better first impression of your space and of your members' businesses.
Guest data also shows how members use the space for meetings. Members who host many guests may be ready for a larger office or a plan with more meeting room time, which is a useful prompt for the account owner.
Is your reception like this?
- Guests sign in on paper.
- Reception calls or messages hosts by hand.
- Guests wait for hosts who missed the message.
- The guest wifi password is shared with everyone.
- You cannot say which guests are still on site.