Smart Locks

[Margaret491]

What smart locks is everyone using and do they integrate in to airbnb 

[Troy276]

@Margaret491 I use Schlage Encode. They have been great so far. They integrate through my PMS, Hospitable.

[Margaret491]

How long have you been using them for? And what county are you located in? 

[Bronwyn100]

I use à key lock and change the passcode often. No trouble so far.

[Margaret491]

We have started a partnership with several key companies to offer a complete service for hosts that includes your smart locks, your monitoring devices, smart heating, broadband and many other property management services also.

I will do some posts here on the different products we are partnered with and give a bit of an insight into what each of them can do. If anyone needs any help in this area feel free to get in touch.

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Keep an eye out for my posts!

[Margaret491 · Accepted solution]

So as promised here is a bit of an insight into the products and companies we are teamed up with to make the hosts life an easier and smoother setup process.

The first overview is the Nuki Smart Lock products, I have included a few pics also.

This smart lock is designed to fit to any existing door over an existing keyed cylinder. A simple install that will have you up and running in 10 minutes changing your existing door into a smart door.

From our experience we recommend the Nuki Pro 3 as this has built in wifi so avoids the need for an additional wifi bridge. We also team this up with the Nuki keypad to sit on the external side of the door or frame. The pro 3 is available in 2 finishes white or black.

Once these two products are in place you can manage your property via the free mobile app where you can add users, share pin codes and remotely unlock or lock the door. All this is possible from anywhere in the world (as long as the lock is connected to wifi). 

The lock has some key features which I have broken down a bit for you below - 

Auto Unlock - you can set this feature so that when your within a close distance of the nuki lock the door will detect your mobile phone and automatically unlock the door to allow free access without the need to use a key or phone etc. Useful if your have your hands full of shopping, one point on this to consider is having this function turned on does drain the battery quicker.

Auto Lock - This is a key feature for any door that requires a manual process to the lock the door normally. If you set this feature you can choose a suitable time for the auto lock process to trigger and it will lock the door for you automatically. We, by default, set this to 30 seconds on all our properties.

Link to PMS and Airbnb directly - I will go into detail a bit more on our relations with various PMS systems but this area for the lock does what it says, it allows you the function to link your lock to your booking platform and PMS system so you can automate the check in process. Your guest then when they book online via any channel will automatically be issued their entry codes before the check in date and these will only be valid for the period of their stay. This saves you, the host, a whole heap of time and admin processing bookings.

For those who use smart watches the Nuki app is compatible with your smartwatch also!

Nuki Keypad - A key element for access, this links to the lock via bluetooth and enables you to have the function to also issue pin code access to the property for those who dont wish to use the app or who dont have a smartphone. 

Timed access - You can create a schedule for cleaners access which again once issued will only work for a set day and time of your choosing. This allows you to give limited access to any service providers of your choosing.

Audit Trail - There is a full audit trail function via Nuki that allows you to see all incomings and outgoings all dated and timed, you can then note if a guest has successfully checked in and it will also highlight any failed attempts at access. A very useful tool when needed to confirm who came and went at certain times.

You have full control over all of the settings above and can at any time revoke access to a pin number or an app should you need too.

We have spent a number of years working in this area and have tested hundreds of locks and how they link to different systems and think that through our extensive research this is the best and easiest route to a smart hosting process on the market today so far.

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Thanks for reading - look out for more product details to help you on your smart hosting journey!

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[Sybe]

@Margaret491 This is a really detailed overview, thank you so much for sharing! 

Please do keep in mind the Community Guidelines when posting on the CC. If anyone has any questions about what you posted, they can either reply here or reach out to you directly via DM. 🙂

[Rakhi3]

Thank you for this recommendation.. my building requires a smartlock with a physical key feature to help have a copy to the building manager for the fire marshall for emergencies.

Do you have a recommendation that would also have a physical key for emergencies or battery failure?

Thanks

[Debra300]

@Rakhi3,

A key can still be used to open a smart lock.  A keypad and an app are just additional methods to turn the deadbolt.

[Debra300]

@Sybe,

We use Schlage Encode, August and Wyze locks at our rentals, and chose not to integrate anything with Airbnb, do have them connected to other apps and devices (doorbell cameras).  We can manually generate door codes and send them to guests, and we are able to remotely manage and monitor locks by using their respective apps.  I like the Schlage the best because it doesn't require a separate internet bridge or keypad, but it is more expensive than the other locks.

[Stefan4727]

Here is our fabulous experience with Nuki! Let me take you on a thrilling ride:

We were oh-so-lucky to purchase the recommended setup: Lock + Bridge + Keypad. Sounds perfect, right? And for two whole weeks, it worked like an absolute dream—well, if your dream is minimal functionality. But wait, week three rolls around, and just like that, it goes offline. The Bridge? Oh, it’s still there, smugly reachable and restartable, but it does absolutely nothing to fix the issue. Charming.

1. Monday: I thought, “Let’s give Nuki a call!” It only took a casual two hours to get a human on the line. The expert advice? A factory reset. Brilliant. Exactly what you want to do with a remote vacation property. 
   
   

2. Tuesday: Round two. I basically had to beg them to even look at the bridge's log files—because apparently, why would they care about their own product’s logs? Twice a day status updates, they said. Twice a day! Wanna guess how many times they called me back? Oh right, exactly zero. Shocker.
   
   

3. Wednesday: Ah, the plot thickens. I tried again (because clearly, I enjoy the pain). My last attempt of the day? Started at 17:30. After sitting on hold for 21 minutes, I got the delightful message, “Oh, sorry, we’re closed now. Byeee!” They close at 18:00. Impeccable timing, truly.
   
   

4. Thursday: My personal favorite. Desperation set in, so I turned to the Nuki forum to flood it with angry comments. Because clearly, making a scene is the only way to get any attention from these people. By some miracle, Thursday afternoon, someone finally decided to glance at my log files. A standing ovation, please.
   
   

5. Friday: Guess what? The lock is still offline, guests can’t use it, and all Nuki can tell me is that a firmware update is needed. When will that happen? “Maybe next week, maybe not.” Oh, and they still haven’t explained how they’re planning to install that firmware on a device that is... you guessed it, offline. Pure genius.
   
   

We chose Nuki as a test for our property. Spoiler alert: that test failed miserably. The technical problems are bad enough, but the support? Nonexistent, useless, and honestly, a little bit laughable. Because what’s the point of having a product if the support is this chef’s kiss flawless?