$389+ August Smart Lock *DOES NOT WORK*

David632
Level 5
Plainfield, IL

$389+ August Smart Lock *DOES NOT WORK*

Will anyone from Airbnb discuss this issue? I would like to know if this is an Airbnb issue or an August Smart Lock issue...

 

I synced my Airbnb + August accounts on 10/11/2016. It has not worked once.

 

I've had an open support issue with August Smart Locks since 10/16/16. I've provided numerous reservations for them to research and I'm not getting any answers. Many times they take DAYS to reply. In fact, it's been 13 days since my last response from them. 

 

There is no interface for tracking which guests received notification on how to access the property or which guests downloaded the app or if the guest has equipment capable of running the application. I'm left messaging guests on Airbnb messenger to find out if they received any instructions on how to access the property...over and over and over. 

 

This lock was supposed to make my life easier! Instead, it's only caused a multitude of additional headaches.

 

BUT! It has the potential to be the coolest thing EVER! Is the issue stemming from Airbnb or is the issue with August Smart Locks?

 

How can we get some answers?

 

Thank you,

David

25 Replies 25
Paul4
Level 10
Kiawah Island, SC

First of all, I do not have one of these. It does sound pretty cool, if it actually worked.

I realize this does not answer your question but I would not hold my breath waiting for either august or airbnb to resolve your problem.  It does not get very good user ratings. Since it is useless unless it works as designed, is this thing returnable? In the meantime you might consider a real estate lock box with a key in it as back up?

 

Here is a pretty robust conversation on smart locks (from another website)...

https://community.homeaway.com/thread/47914

Sorry I use the resortlock by resort lock. I can vouch for that and the Integration works great. 

 

Note I didn't know it was working because by default it only sends email to guest with the code so you have to trust it (or login and verify). 

 

 

Andrew - see community help guides for many great FAQ
Monika49
Level 1
Millbrae, CA

Hello David,

 

I'm Monika, Head of Customer Operations here at August.  I was able to locate your support ticket with our team here and am working to address the bug we have filed.  

 

Our support team typically replies in just a few hours to tickets - your initial ticket came in during a time of very high volume and had a delay in reply from us - we're so sorry about this.  

 

I'd like to go through your support ticket and help address the things I am able to as well as push more on our development team to get the other issues solved for you.

 

I'll be taking over your ticket going forward and look forward to working towards resolution here.

 

Thank you. Looking forward to it...

David, did August resolve the problem?  Is the August smart lock working well for you now?

David, Did August resolve your issue? Is the lock working now as advertised? Thanks, Mitch

I installed a Yale Assure lock about a year ago (11/2020) that includes the August app. It integrates with Airbnb so that each guest automatically receives a unique entry code. 

Unfortunately, it’s completely unreliable: after about 11 months I started getting reports from guests that their code had stopped working in the middle of their stay (sometime in the middle of the night!).

 

August Support can barely communicate in written English and is of no help. 

 

Basically, it’s so unreliable that I’m back to using a lockbox and physical key. 

The Yale hardware, I should say, is fine. But everything related to August is buggy and terrible.

 

Don’t do it. 

Martin-A-0
Level 1
Colorado Springs, CO

I am in a similar situation with my lock. What was the outcome of the efforts?

I use the August Smartlock for my rental.  It works great with all my guests EXCEPT those that book through airbnb.  I have no idea why airbnb bookings don't work but I can only presume it has something to do with their platform interfering in the communication process with my guests.

 

If anyone else has had similar issues and had it fixed I'd appreciate any advice.

 

Thanks

Elizabeth350
Level 2
Lancaster, PA

I agree - it has NEVER worked.

 

I had August helpdesk completely reset to factory settings and tried to link it back with Airbnb. Nothing changed. Both groups point to the other entity saying it's not their software.

 

It's shame that these 2 companies can't figure out how to make their stuff "play nice".

Same problem here. It doesn't work, 99% of the time. Just once it created a user with Guest access based on the Airbnb reservation. It's very frustrating.

 

Airbnb and August, please fix this.

Hi, Eugen,

 

This is Eric from August and I would like to better understand your situation. 

 

It sounds like you are inviting the guest to the August app, but, ultimately, the guest access does not go through.

 

If possible, could you email me with more information about this? We can likely help diagnose this by checking your August account.

 

Best,

Eric [Personal information hidden]

We also have a couple of August Smart Locks.

 

The system has worked well in that it sends the invitation to the guest automatically,

and that the locks open and close according to the guest settings.

 

However, as someone else stated, it is not at all clear what the status of any given guest is.

Did they receive the invitation?

Did they install the app?

Is the app linked to the AirBnB reservation?

There should be a simple way for the host to determine this at a glance.

 

August should have a web interface that shows you all the invitations sent and who has activated.

The app is supposed to do this, I guess, but it does not show any guests until they have completed the activation process.

So you have to send messages to the guest to find out what is going on, which is stupid because the August lock system probably already knows but won't share the information with you.

 

 

 

Hi, Matthew,

 

This is Eric at August. These are good suggestions. I will definitely summarize the pain points referenced here and see how we can incorporate that into the August / Airbnb experience.

 

If you have other suggestions, feel free to contact me directly at [Personal information hidden]

 

Best,
Eric ***