Guest locked out with key on inside lock

Rachel1842
Level 2
England, United Kingdom

Guest locked out with key on inside lock

Some advise please from fellow hosts.

 

My front door locks when you close it. In the printed guide that is on the table at entry I make it clear that you may get locked out. I do have a spare key that they can easily contact me to access in that emergency.

 

However my current guest has shut the door with the key left in the lock on the inside so the spare will not work. I'm unsure what to do and where the bulk of the responsibility sits. It's his error and I have provided a spare key. It never crossed my mind that the key would be left in the inside lock to need to troubleshoot ahead of time. Should I leave him to arrange a locksmith? Will I need to pay some of that cost? 

NOTE: I've today updated my listing guidebook and access instructions to make it clearer (though I don't have much faith that many guests read this info)

 

Help!

18 Replies 18
Rachel1842
Level 2
England, United Kingdom

UPDATE // this was solved with easy communication between myself and the guest but left this conversation open as I'm getting valuable insight from fellow hosts and very much appreciate it.

M199
Level 10
South Bruce Peninsula, Canada

@Rachel1842 

 

There is a simple solution.  Install a digital lock, they are effective and simple to use.  I show all my guests how to use it...

 

1 - To lock the door press the lock button.

2 - To unlock the door enter your 4 digit code (usually last 4 digits of the phone number on  the reservation, who forgets their own #) press unlock.

 

In case the battery  fails, we have a physical coded lockbox, they can text us for the number.  We will them replace batteries asap.

 

No way our guests can get locked out.

 

Hope this helps.

Inna22
Level 10
Chicago, IL

I have disabled absolutely every lock that can potentially lock from any side. I went as far as taking the guts completely out of some locks because guests would accidentally stick their fingers in (so they claimed) and locked themselves out. Calls from drunk guests at 1 AM that they couldn’t  figure out how the key worked. Digital keypad with instructions taped on the door has been the only solution that worked

As M199  said install a digital lock. I agree this is the best way to keep your house safe and your guests too. It's pretty easy to use and it has its own features you will definitely like. A key feature of a digital lock is a door lock/unlock tracker, you'll be notified everytime a door was locked or unlocked. Just be sure to find a hounslow locksmith to install it as the installation process could be tricky for a locksmith that is not certified to install digital locks.

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