I am a Computer Science/Business student trying to make Airbnb easier for home owners. As an Airbnb owner, how big of an issue is keeping track of keys? I am thinking about developing a secure, low-cost facial recognition door lock.
Personally, I never had an issue with it. Others might but overall I donāt think itās a big deal. I bet most hosts has an additional spare key if lost.
However, the idea in general is a good one. Not sure how itāll work with guests where the facial recognition lock didnāt see them before but you probably thought of itā¦
Never had an issue but then Iām an onsite host who always checks their guests in and out.
Thanks for getting back @Bunny! From your experience as an Airbnb host, would it be helpful to have a temporary lock system? For example, be able to change the passcode or face remotely from your phone?
No. I live 40ft away from my rental and Iām a farmer so Iām on property 90% of the time.
Makes sense - thanks for the feedback 
Itās an issue for some hosts but I donāt think facial recognition locks are the answer. Thatās not to say there isnāt a market for it, but I donāt know how it would work with Airbnb? The host would have to meet the guest and set it up? Doesnāt seem convenient.
There are already phones with the FR technology and apps to operate smart locks so interfacing the two shouldnāt be hard.
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Great - thanks for getting back @KKC! Would your opinion change if guests were able to be added remotely with a single picture?
I see running into guests who are resistant to uploading a clear picture for privacy reasons. Also there are guests who arenāt very tech savvy and therefore tech resistant.
Iām also an onsite host so donāt have a problem with keys; just trying to anticipate roadblocks youād encounter.
I think the system that would work best would be similar to what Amazon is trying with their safe delivery system or Dominos driverless delivery cars that give the consumer a code to punch in to remove their pizza.
Thanks @KKC - thatās a good point. Privacy for guests trumps the convenience of a facial recognition lock. Perhaps a keypad solution is better.
@Bunny love the suggestions. And Iāll definitely have to try out the new dominoes delivery cars. Like @KKC said, guest privacy may be a bigger priority here. Perhaps the Airbnb market isnāt as big as I thought. Thanks for the help
In this business, I donāt think āthe convenience of a facial recognition lockā is a valid statement. First, we cannot require guests to post a āvalidā picture useable by Face Recog.
Second, many guests do not post a valid picture of themselves, and would strongly resist doing so. Likewise, they would not read the part that says āto check-in, your account photo must be validā¦ā and then we would get downgraded for poor procedures.
You said " [quote=āpetertao, post:13, topic:20121ā]
Perhaps the Airbnb market isnāt as big as I thought. [/quote]
The market may be big enough but only if AirBnb the company mandates that we, hosts, all use such a system ā and I donāt see that happening any time in the next decade. Most of the hosts would quite AirBnb if forced to use such a system, unless it were free from Air ā and that will never happen.
Whatever system you have my advice is to keep it simple, a push button lock works for me, I will no doubt upgrade to one that I can control through an app.
Camera would be nice to check comings and goings.
I would love a fob that remotely locks and unlocks, just like my car key fob. Just beep the door, and I can push it open. However, gets a bit pricey if guests lose a fob.
How about doors that unlock with a smart phone? Set a different number for each booking (please not a 12 digit number, that must contain at least one upper case letter!) and the door wirelessly or bluetoothlessly opens.
Some garage doors start to open when you drive down the road, howaboout that for a front door?
Well, maybe the market for āfacial recognising doorsā per se, isnāt as big as you thought!
āHello, guests, and if I could just take this oral swab for your dnaā¦ā
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