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I bring this up because, as hosts, our GUESTS see keys as a potential for problems. In the back of their minds, their ‘stuff’ in their room is potentially vulnerable; and realistically, things can change rapidly - a checked-out guest comes back 6 hours later to THEIR room because they forgot something for example.
Hosts also have the issue of placing burdens on guests - carry the one key around (what if there are 3 family members all going off in different directions?), remembering instructions for giving them back (hotels don’t even ask for entry cards back anymore, they are disposable, so guests are ‘trained’ not to do the sometimes complex dance of delivering keys back to the airbnb.) The list goes on.
Perception is a big part of what makes your airbnb desirable; knowing that your ‘code’ is ‘unique’ gives a sense of security. And as often remarked on this forum, we need to ‘guest-proof’ our long lists of ‘to-dos’ so that guests cannot ‘screw up’…
I understand that you are talking about avoiding potential problems, but I can assure you that no guest of mine has ever expressed any concern about security due to me using keys. Nor have they lost them or forgotten to return them before leaving.
They are perfectly welcome to hide them somewhere on my property if they don’t want to carry them around when they’re out.
I am here when guests check in and out. And I only host one guest at a time, they don’t have to share the keys.
And my 70 pound dog is quite vigilant about not letting strangers onto the property
So while some of what you say may be considerations for some hosts, they don’t apply to my listing at all.
My locks are Schlage. I recently locked the cat - and all the keys to that lock - in my bedroom. Schlages are not easily picked so he had to drill it out. It depends upon the lock.
Stirring the pot again? I never said it was unpickable, just difficult to do. I tried (because … well… I may have picked a lock or two in my time…) and couldn’t get anywhere.
@Cillikugel
It was not easy to find one in my area because of odd naming.
However after I found one, Facebook started recommending similar groups. There are at least 5!
Food for thought; none of the groups’ titles’ included Airbnb or VRBO or short term rentals.
Several had a popular attraction name & rentals like “Xyz park area Vacation Rentals”.
As the video shows, no, Schlage locks are not any different than other locks. And as the video shows, can be picked using standard locksmith tools.
This forum is seen by many - and an off-the-cuff comment that a Schlage lock is somehow different is disseminating bad info to the hosts here.
Many times a thread is read not because of the initial issue, but to learn more about how it was resolved, or to glean info for future use. It’s important that misinformation, or in this case opinion disguised as fact, is corrected by hosts who can add to the conversation.
I never said it was unpickable, just difficult to do. I tried (because … well… I may have picked a lock or two in my time…) and couldn’t get anywhere.
