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I did a very detailed review 2 years ago and went for the Lockly Vision Elite. One of the most expensive but very good reviews and features. Very happy with my choice. The charging of the battery is 5v so I have a power point near the hinge and it is on permanent charge.
Family, caretaker, cleaner all access with finger print.
Guests have a unique code restricted to their booking dates and time. I allocate over the internet at the time they book or pay. So maybe a year in advance.
Has key access. So have a key safe with the key. If all else fails, I or the caretaker can give the guest the code for the key safe over the phone to access with the key.
There is also a phone app access for guests but I do not use.
There is a log and video of guests accessing the property which I can view over the internet.
There is an auto lock function which you set to activate the dead lock after a period determined by you.
You can open and lock the deadlock remotely over the internet so long as the door is closed.
I can get notifications but have not set as I do not want to get a text message every time a guest unlocks the door during their stay.
There are instruction videos you can sent to guests to show how to use the key pad.
You can choose to sent the personalised access code by text message from the app when you add a guest. I only use it to give to trades men who need to have access on a one off basis. For guests I include the code in a confirmation email with other essential information.
There is a new model out with facial recognition, but for our family and caretaker access happy with the finger print.
Only fault is the Lockly app does not have an adjustment for daylight saving, so either for guests arriving during daylight saving you have to add an hour to check-in and check out times or re-sync the app to GMT and then delete and re-enter all future guest access codes.
We have seven of these we have been using for about a decade on several rentals: SCHLAGE FE595 CAM 609 ACC Camelot Keypad Entry with Flex-Lock and Accent Levers, Antique Brass - Door Levers - Amazon.com? I change the guest code about every six months. Try as I might, I canât see any of our visitors sneaking back and into the rental in the off chance that they might find something to steal. We also have a separate code for my wife and I which only we know and opens each of the seven locks. You can program 4 different codes I think. That way you could have three codes that you rotate with your clients and the likelihood that a previous guest comes back and the code they used works is one in three chances.
Canât you change it for every guest? I do. My average guest stay is three to four days (two rental apartments) so Iâm changing codes almost every day.
This has nothing to do with previous guests sneaking back to steal stuff - itâs to give every guest a sense of security knowing that the code is unique to them.
I could but choose not to. I donât see it as a problem. They have a deadbolt for nighttime security. No one has ever batted an eye. That said, I educate EVERY guest on how the little toggle on the inside above the handle should NOT be changed and it is NOT a lock. It actually turns off the locking mechanism. When they arrive and have let themselves in, I talk with them about a couple of idiosyncrasies about the rental and tell them the story of the couple who dutifully flipped that toggle each night and slept blissful ly with the door unlocked. And got a laugh out of it when I showed them what they had done. That story, IMHO, is all the education that the guest needs to be assured of their security.
During the day it is just not plausible, given the situation with our rental, that a previous guest would use the code. I applaud your energy and diligence in changing the codes every day. I pick 4 digit codes that have an educational component to them, something that the guests will find more memorable than just a random set of four digits. That way, if they for some reason lose the code, they can remember the other significance of the code and figure out what it is if they canât reach me. Been working just fine for the last 9 years. I have stayed at Airbnbs where they used the last four digits of my phone number. Except, thatâs kind of the cyber equivalent of hiding a key under the doormat. It would be really easy for someone who did want to break in to figure out my phone number. There is the illusion of security and then there is actual security. I focus on the later.
Can you explain? Checkout is at 11am, but the guest comes back 5 hours later because âthey forgot somethingâ and enters? How is that not plausible (for ex)?
In my experience, if a guest has forgotten something they contact me about it. We have cleaned the rental and if we find âforgottenâ things we contact the guest and work something out. A returning guest who doesnât contact me about a forgotten thing is not likely to just barge back in to a rental that is occupied. The problem of a guest using the code they were given to do something bad is just vanishingly improbable in my view.
I stay at an Airbnb. The nefarious local person knows about the Airbnb, knows that last four digits of the phone is used for the code. Stops by for some contrived reason, gets in a conversation and from the conversation learns where I am from, name(s), profession, can guess at age.
Finding a phone number with that kind of information is pretty easy.
I also use the Schlage Camelot. The battery lasts at least 2 years so I change it once a year to insure it wonât ever die. The battery life is why I went with the non-wifi version. The WiFi lock my neighbor has needs new batteries every few months and You canât open the lock if the battery dies. The Schlage does have a regular hard key slot in case the battery ever does die but Iâve never had to use it. It holds 19 codes. I use the last 4 digits of the guestâs phone number for each guest and program the lock as soon as I get a confirmed booking. I keep track on a spreadsheet that way my cleaner can delete or enter codes if I am travelling. Using the last 4 of the guestâs phone number makes it easy to use templates to send automated instructions to the guests since you donât have to actually put a code in the message. Every so often I do a âdelete allâ and just re-enter the current codes to make sure I havenât forgotten to delete someoneâs code.
All that makes a lot of sense. Yep, change the 9volt batteries once a year, along with batteries in any smoke detectors, etc. One of my instructions for every guest is to tell them to contact me if the light on the lock is blinking because that is the indication of a low battery. I learned that the hard way when the temp was -25, snowing and the guests couldnât get in after late dinner at 11 pm. We have four rentals clustered together. I keep all the hard keys for the Schlage keypad locks in a central place, outside in a magnetic keybox, just in case. I didnât realize that there were 19 possible codes! You learn something new every day, I thought it was just four. And you are right, that telling them the code is the last four of the phone number means you donât actually type the code. But again, in the unlikely event that some bad guy decides to try and break in one thing they would pursue is last four of the guestâs phone because LOTS of hosts use that method and itâs not lost on anyone who wants to break into STRs. One other thing about Schlage⌠fantastic warranty! Two of the locks failed and Schlage replaced them completely free with new ones. Doesnât get better than that. And they didnât make it difficult. And apropos of the ease of finding phone numbers⌠7896
Could you please clarify âsome bad guy decides to try and break in one thing they would pursue is last four of the guestâs phone because LOTS of hosts use that methodâ. I get that phone numbers are usually easy to find on google but how would anyone know the name of a guest?
A determined person could find the guestâs name. I was just illustrating how easy it was to find your phone numbers. Please continue using guestâs phone numbers if that works foryou.
Easy- of course- her full name is on her profile here.
I canât imagine how a thief would get a guestâs name, know what town they are from (there are many people with the same first and last names in thousands ofcities and towns) in order to search for their phone number. Nor can I imagine any common thief being that detetmined. Thieves tend to target places that require the least amount of effort.
The old âlast 4 digits of the guestâs nameâ has been shown to be an easily hacked number and in addition makes entry to an airbnb a simple process for someone who knows the guestâs info. A randomized number system, different every time, prevents many situations - for example âOh yes, we are there every summerâ becoming a potentially planned robbery.
Like the extra key in the lockbox or under the floor mat, security is threatened and I cannot imagine any guest feeling secure knowing that a number can not only be easily linked to the guestâs private information, but also that it is repeatable over time with a return visit.
I asked ChatGPT to explain why using a phone number for access is a bad idea!
Using the last 4 digits of a guestâs phone number as the access code for an Airbnb is a terrible idea for several reasons:
Security Risk: Phone numbers are not secure information. They can be easily guessed or found out through social media or other means. Using them as an access code makes it too easy for someone to gain unauthorized access.
Predictability: Since phone numbers are typically 10 digits long and the last 4 digits only offer 10,000 possible combinations, this makes the access code highly predictable and easier for someone to crack.
Lack of Privacy: Sharing the last 4 digits of a guestâs phone number as an access code can lead to privacy concerns. If someone were to overhear or see the code, they could potentially misuse the information.
Repeat Guests: If a guest has stayed at multiple Airbnbs that use the same method for access codes, it increases the likelihood that their code could be known to others.
Professionalism: It can come across as unprofessional and lazy. Guests expect that hosts take security seriously, and using a generic or easily guessable code can undermine their trust in the hostâs attention to detail and safety measures.
To ensure the safety and privacy of your guests, itâs better to use a unique, randomized access code for each guest. This way, you can provide a secure and professional experience for everyone who stays at your property.
Oh yeah, 10,000 possible combinations of numbers makes it highly predictable and easy to crack. I can easily imagine a thief standing at the door for 16 hours trying out several thousand possible number combinations.
I use key codes but selected locks that also have key access. The key access is in a lockbox on the front porch. So far no one has needed it (Itâs been 4 years) but itâs there and all I have to do is tell them the code to get the keys.
