Guest made a copy of our key

Carter3
Level 2
Atherton, CA

Guest made a copy of our key

Our last guest made a copy of our key.  Most probably for their own use as they left it for us on the counter after check out.  It does have us a bit freaked out though and certainly is outside the bounds of what we feel is appropriate.  They did not ask us for an extra key.  We are probably going to move to coded door locks after this but wondering what folks think.  Does anyone have experience with this.  Do we really have to put "do not make copies of our keys" into the guest handbook?

 

8 Replies 8
Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

Better yet, give them TWO keys in the future, and in all likelihood they won't have to make a copy, in case they get locked out. I am assuming they made a copy worrying about loosing the original.

Paula-and-Gill0
Level 4
New Paltz, NY

 I couldn't fathom anyone making a copy of my keys totally out of bounds. Run out and get your coded key locks asap. Our AirBnB's entrance has a sliding glass door, so, we can't use a coded key lock.

Cynthia-and-Chris1
Level 10
Vancouver, WA

An electronic door lock will be your best friend. 

Karen-and-Will0
Level 10
Maryland, United States

@Carter3 I think as a guest if I saw something in the house manual that said don’t make copies of the key it would awaken me to the possibility that others may have and would be concerning.  Like the others suggest get the smart lock.  I personally use the Schlage Sense in coordination my iPhone and couldn’t be happier with it.  Hope this info helps.

Helen343
Level 2
Toronto, Canada

Carter, I have a  lock where the key cannot be duplicated. It's an option if you choose not to go with the digital lock. When I decided to do Airbnb, I researched the digital lock and it was not for me as they have been known to freeze up, especially in the cold climate. Hope this helps, Helen

What lock is this?

Sandra126
Level 10
Daylesford, Australia

I think they were coming and going at different times and needed a key. Probably seemed easy enough to cut one. Consider yourself lucky you now have two, to offer future guests!

Sam397
Level 10
Reno, NV

You can get keys made of any lock at any locksmith that has "do not duplicate" stamped on them. Even the self serve key machines won't copy them.