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Thanks to some excellent advise on here re my last post on locks, I’ve now ordered smart locks for my front door (Yale), and for each bedroom.
I’m wondering now whether to also get individual safes for each bedroom? I buy almost everything second hand on Facebook marketplace, so cost needn’t be too much of a factor, and at this stage just wondering if people think worthwhile or not, bearing in mind everyone will have coded locks on their bedrooms. As I’d have back up keys for everything (doors and safes), I suppose the only extra peace of mind a safe can offer is for when the cleaner comes in. I’ve had my cleaner for ten years so it’s really just extra peace of mind for guests rather than anything else.
Then if you vote yes, do I need to get one of those really heavy safes or will a light one (but Yale, for example), suffice? I’m getting a big heavy one for myself, but I’m thinking maybe light ones for guests will be fine, as it will serve more the kind of situation whereby you’re ‘sure (I) left my wallet in my drawer’ scenerio, where as mine being for longer term should also be more burglar and fire proof…
A lot would depend on how many rooms you have and what clientele you usually get. Most of my guests have cars and if really squeamish about theft, leave their valuables in their trunk. Your personal needs exist independently from having guests as non-guests could break-in or fire could strike. I know that you trust your cleaners but your guests have no history with them or with you. The safes could be seen as a thoughtful amenity, but they might also be taken as a sign that they are needed. I probably haven’t been much help, but perhaps have added some perspective.
Thanks for your response Christine. Yes that’s what I meant … that I trust my cleaner but my guests can’t trust her like I do, and therefore the purpose of the safe would be to give guests peace of mind rather than because I felt their belongings needed to be locked away from my cleaner for actual security reasons. As I said, no one else will have a key code for their rooms, and so I really am just focusing on whether the guests would appreciate the extra security for the time that the cleaner enters their rooms.
Your point regarding people possibly feeling that a safe could mean it’s needed is an interesting one. I’d love to hear other people’s thoughts on that? I’d hope they would see it an an amenity. Re type of guest there’s no typical type. Now and then people are security conscious but I’ve only just recently installed bedroom locks so this is the only reason it’s ever come up. No one has mentioned safes. But I suppose if I was travelling I’d prefer to have my laptop locked away while I was out if the cleaner was coming in…
That’s interesting that people where you live would find it safer to leave their valuables in their cars. This would be considered bonkers in London!
Good point. It’s the plan for the door codes yes I think so because it’ll be a bit much to expect guests to remember random numbers (planning to use the last four digits of their cells). That said, will have to see how it goes.
For the safes I’m thinking just one number for all (i was just going to make it someone famous birthday or something so they can always look it up)… guests in each room. I figure previous guest won’t have access to the house or the bedroom, so unlikely to get as far as the safe…
Just a word of warning … I was once cleaning in one of our rentals with guests due in about an hour.
But I heard them outside. She said “but we don’t have the code yet” and he said “oh, it’ll be the last four digits of my phone number. They always do that.”
He tried, and he was wrong.
I think most can remember four but my guests have to remember two. Our locks need a four-digit code so I double up i.e. 2121 or 6464 and so on.
I was a flight attendant for 25 yrs and many hotels had safes. To be honest, I never used the safes but then again I didn’t travel with a laptop. Do you have many travelers that work remotely during their vacation time? I don’t think you really need a safe for each bedroom. Most folks don’t even carry cash around since so many use debit cards.
Yes I get a lot of people working from home. I’d estimate only about one in four are on vacation. That said, I’d always take my laptop with me whether a vacation, work from home or work trip
I personally think it’s a bad idea. The room door codes should be random and changed after each checkout. The safe codes should be something each guest can configure.
We installed a hotel-type safe for each bedroom where you set your own code (whole house rental, but we have staff in the house on a regular basis). The odd part is that the housekeeper has the key for the safes in case the batteries die or the guests forget their code! So it’s really about the guests feeling their valuables are protected.
I’ve had that discussion with my housekeeper - she knows the short-term benefit of taking something from a safe isn’t worth losing her job over.
Well, I wouldn’t provide safes at all, unless there is always someone around who can unlock them—day or night. I know that on cruise ships, the room stewards are often asked to unlock the safe.
A locking bedroom door should suffice, as long as each code is unique to the guest.
The funny thing is that each of our guest bedrooms has a floor safe in it. But the safes are not for guests, and guests wouldn’t even know they were there.
I only think the safe codes are a bad idea. Never changing the codes would be the same as if you had safes with physical keys and you allowed guests to take the keys with them after they check out.
I don’t think the safes are a bad idea as I think you’ll occasionally get a guest that wants to use a safe. However, I agree with @RebeccaF that somebody needs to be available within a reasonable time frame to be able to open a safe with the physical override key for when the guest can’t get into the safe because they forgot the code, forgot how to use the code, the battery dies, etc.
Also, if it were me, I’d want all safes to be identical so I wouldn’t have to remember the intricacies of how different safes work.
Thank you Brian.
Okay so I’d be looking at changing codes over a lot. Not sure how tricky or tiresome that would or wouldn’t be. Any thoughts on keys instead? I couod keep spares in my key safe. Had preferred the code idea but you got me thinking
I was starting to think guest safes were a good idea until I thought about THIS issue. I often have guests checking out when I’m not available to help with a safe that won’t open. Not going to go down that path.
So I’ve thought about safes. It seems like a ‘nice to have.’ That extra touch.
But, I think you do need the same one in each bedroom to make it easy on everyone to use. A backup key is needed. SO someone needs to be easily accessible. That’s easy for me as I live downstairs but if I lived 30 minutes away, less convenient.
There is a cost to it, and to installing it, maybe to maintaining it and being there ‘just in case’ the code is forgotten or doesn’t work. It needs to be communicated in a way that doesn’t inadvertently create more liability.
‘Oh, it’s not fireproof?? I assumed it was.’ ‘Oh, when you bolted it to the floor that voided the waterproof warranty?? I assumed it was protected.’ ‘Oh? It’s not UL rated for security?? But someone took my gun! How can you call it a ‘safe’?’ ‘YouTube shows someone getting into the safe with a scissors! You’re saying your cleaner has a key??’
Maybe I worry too much about these possibilities.
It seems to me that most of us are not really going to be compensated for this kind of investment unless it’s expected for our kind of rental.
It might be that a personal safe demonstrates the kind of attention to detail and caring for the guest that many of your other amenities convey, that it’s part of your ‘brand’ from which you hope to profit. Maybe you have a great handy person to bolt them cost effectively and you can get one for each bedroom (with that backup key) for a fair or less price. If so, good for you.
But most of us probably have other priorities though I think it would be ‘cool’ to have a safe in each bedroom.
No, not as far as I know from the safes other hosts I know use (I only host one guest, so I don’t have a safe).
The host or property manager has an override code that never changes, and the guests program their own chosen code. There is nothing for you to do regarding the safe once you program your code in, aside from using it if the guest forgets the code they programmed or forgets to take whatever they put in there with them when they check out.
