Has anyone used smart buzzers?

Hi there,

I am just staring off as an Airbnb host and was wondering, if anyone has tried smart buzzer systems to let guests in by providing them with an access code for the building buzzer instead of having to meet them with a key. I have seen a few companies offering such a service: Ringo, BuzzMeHome and Easy Buzzer. Has anyone tried any of those? Any feedback?

Thank you,
Evgenia

No, but when I saw the title of your posting, I immediately pictured having buzzers on the person of my guests - so I could buzz them and give them a tiny shock to say “hey! Turn down the heat!!” or “HEY! Quiet down there!!”.

LOL do you think we could get away with that?

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After your reply and you sharing your feelings about the guests I don’t even know, if I want to keep doing this whole Airbnb thing haha

But seriously, my last two guests were arriving super late and I had to stay up to meet them and give them a key. So the idea of just giving them an access code seems sweet. However I couldn’t find much reviews on services above

Oh, sorry to give that impression! We love hosting! I have a family of 5 - 3 kids, teens, and its great fun, We have 2 bedrooms with little kitchenette and bathroom in the ‘lower level of our home’ (aka the basement). Out of about 35 groups there have only been 2 that stand out as less than ideal. Both were groups of young students. Buy I’ve had other very young people be amazing, taking out the trash, leaving thank-you notes, so I still welcome guests of all ages.

I really wish I had installed a key-less entry when I just had my locks changed. It just didn’t occur to me. Luckily I’m a bit of a night owl and since I work several jobs always have something to do while I wait. Plus since they are in our home it would feel weird to me to not meet them.

I use the RIng doorbell. I only installed it last week so it’s in the early days, but we had a guest arrive yesterday and it worked great! I didn’t give them the door code in advance - instead I told them to ring the doorbell when they arrived. The doorbell rang, and I answered it from my house (2 miles away). I then saw the guests through the camera and confirmed the guest count was the same as booked. Then I spoke to the guest and told them “for security I won’t tell you the code out loud (people walking by) but I am texting you the code right now” so then I texted them the code and watched them open the door.

It was an awesome experience and I think that the Ring doorbell will be a great tool for me.

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Hi Evgenia.

I’m Daniel Fraser, the creator of Easy Buzzer.

We have customers using Easy Buzzer both as a tool for key exchanges as well as providing buzzer service for their Airbnb guests. We actually have a new service specifically for professional Airbnb hosts that has some unique new features. It’s currently in private release with a few customers who run multiple listings. If you’d like to learn more, send me a private message and I’ll tell you all about it!

Look forward to hearing from you,

Daniel

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I have installed Yale Doorman smart locks on all our doors. It makes it hassle free for guests to arrive any time of the night.

Hi everyone,

I believe smart buzzers only work for those buildings where the buzzer is already able to call the person right? And also they don’t solve the problem of opening the door to the apartment…

Best
Marc

Hi everyone,

The Remotelock 6i from Lockstate is a commercial grade smart lock that directly integrates with airbnb. As it uses a keypad you don’t need a smartphone to open the door. If you want keyless access, and to save time, money and hassle then this is the bit of kit you need. It even will integrate with the Ring doorbell. Plus there are loads more integrations on the way, imagine when the guest enters your property, the lights switch on, the music starts playing and the kettle begins to boil! This functionality is coming real soon.

more info at smartlock.co.uk & remotelock.com

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the usefull feedback! I didn’t even know that there was such a wide array of options.

If anyone is curious, I eneded up signing up with BuzzMeHome. When I was searching around and contacting companies with questions, they were super promp with their replies, very informative and super friendly in their customer service.

So far ability to create access codes is my favorite feature. My schedule no longer depends on my guests’ arrival time. Also, the cleaning company that takes care of my rentals, now has a code of their own. Super convinient service.

Cautionary tale: Last year my neighbours (their rental is next to ours - not on Air) installed a lock that required a phone app. The owners don’t live nearby so it was a great check in solution for them.

The problem is that every single guest since then has had a problem getting into the rental. This isn’t the fault of the app - more a case of guests arriving who don’t have iPhones (or equivalent) or who arrive with no power in their phones. Or it’s simply too tricky for the technically-challenged. Even those with the app and a charged phone seem to have a hard time with it.

The old saying - you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

One of their guests who was staying for two weeks told me every day that yes, she was enjoying her stay, but the fact that they had to wait for an hour to get in still rankled and annoyed her.

So yes, these can be a great solution but there are downsides. Just the other side of the coin :slight_smile: