Combining student and study abroad accommodation, international short stay availability with educational programs, and outstanding facilities, The Stay Club redefine what PBSA can be, using ASK4 Internet to connect residents, students, teachers, faculty and visitors alike.
About The Stay Club
Offering a combination of contemporary London accommodations, flexible working areas, classrooms, faculties, and inspiring social spaces, The Stay Club offers a truly unique residential experience.
The Stay Club’s first site opened in 2012 with 126 units in Willesden, followed by an additional 256 units in Camden in 2014. Today, The Stay Club’s portfolio boasts around 1,300 units across 4 prime London locations with an additional 1,300 units expected by 2024. The Stay Club’s educational team ‘Stay Campus London’ also offers educational programs in partnership with 9 UK Universities to provide students with accommodation, foundational courses, unique courses including an ‘English Football’ course with Watford Football Club, all housed within top class facilities to ensure their stay is as comfortable, convenient and rewarding as possible.
Construction Type
Rooms are created using a modular build technique, which is created ‘off site’. These are then shipped to the property, placed together to form the main building structure, with full facilities and social spaces added to create the final property.
The Stay Club's Requirements
- Fully pervasive, secure wireless throughout building including roof terraces, gardens, libraries, disco’s, cinemas and restaurants
- Wireless access unit in every bedroom to guarantee every student receives excellent high speed and reliable Internet services, due to method of construction
- 10 devices per user
- Fully accessible and secure wireless to the educational faculties including the 65 classrooms within the portfolio
- Guest network – especially important for The Stay Club for any visiting parents or friends studying or socialising with the students
Project Summary
ASK4 has partnered with The Stay Club for a number of years, following an invitation to quote for two sites to improve poor Internet provision. Following a successful service takeover, ASK4 was also invited to deliver Internet services for The Stay Club’s newly built Kentish Town development. Each site has a number of high-end, unique facilities (including cinemas, classrooms, common areas and restaurants), meaning that fully pervasive and secure wireless was needed throughout. The Stay Club’s North Acton development will be opening in the coming months, including ASK4’s superfast Internet service. The ASK4 team is currently liaising with contractors and the building design team to ensure that the service is on time and deployed to the highest quality – on track for ASK4 to provide high speed wireless services from Spring 2021.
A secure, reliable and easy-to-use guest network was a key requirement from The Stay Club. Their sites welcome daily visitors including parents, friends and study partners, as well as teachers and their assistants. As such, a reliable guest network was also required. This is especially relevant for meeting rooms and classrooms, as well as social areas such as restaurants and common areas. Visitors can connect quickly and simply to ASK4’s secure network, giving them seamless wireless coverage as they move around the building.
While it is not possible for many of the social facilities to be used during the current pandemic, the need for fast and reliable Internet remains an essential service for staff and residents continuing their day-to-day lives.
The Stay Club and COVID
The Stay Club prepared for the pandemic ahead of the curve, anticipating the arrival of residents from across the UK, as well as international residents. They implemented measures such as social distancing markers and one-way systems and conducted risk assessments to be able to maintain the levels of service that their residents expect, as well as ensuring they felt as comfortable as possible. Where residents were unable to occupy their rooms or chose not to for personal reasons, The Stay Club offered to defer their contracts with no extra charge, keeping their rooms available for when they are able to move (whether this is in academic year 2020/21 or to commence their stay with The Stay Club from September 2021 for academic year 2021/22).
For the residents that were able to take up tenancies with The Stay Club, it was vital that their Internet service was reliable and able to cope with high-demand online services. With universities moving to online-only education, a stable connection is a must for residents attending lectures online and accessing online resources, as well as the hundreds of students now being taught online from The Stay Club educational facilities.
The importance of online social activity and entertainment during this period should not be underestimated either, as residents need to be able to chat with family and friends via video calls and be able to stream video and audio content.
Martyn Duguid, The Stay Club COO, said:
“When I joined The Stay Club, one of the first things we needed to address was our IT and Internet provision. ASK4 retrospectively fitted equipment into our existing sites and have since installed Internet into our Kentish Town location too.
Having worked with ASK4 in previous roles, I knew just how reliable they were in terms of providing excellent Internet, as well as how dependable they are as a company. I can pick up the phone and talk to anyone in the business at any level right away, meaning that should we need to discuss anything urgently, we are assured there will be someone available to assist us. It’s for these reasons that we feel the level of service we receive as part of our agreement delivers excellent value.
We see ASK4 as a true partner, and as companies we share the same values – we both have great people who are excellent at what they do”.
Adam Newton, Commercial Account Manager for The Stay Club at ASK4, added:
“It’s a pleasure to work with an organisation so committed to delivering on its promises to residents. The Stay Club genuinely cares about providing an excellent experience to everyone that uses its buildings, and we are proud to know that the ASK4 service meets their high standards and residents’ expectations.”
Join The Call
We spoke to Martyn Duguid, Rhianna Janes and Mariana Ulanowicz of The Stay Club to find out how they create a sense of community among their residents.
