Turn your existing locks into smart locks without the costs or hassle of replacing any hardware.
Learn more about Operto Boost.
The trick is to find a way to give them that without spending a fortune on overhauling your current lock system.
In this article, we look at the types of hotel door locks on the market, assessing how effective they are at ensuring a frictionless guest check-in and reducing the workload of understaffed or inexperienced teams.
With insights from Axel Persson, who’s worked for Operto for five years providing consultation on access systems, we also explore how you can upgrade your hotel locks while protecting your profit margins.
Turn your existing locks into smart locks without the costs or hassle of replacing any hardware.
Learn more about Operto Boost.
A hotel door lock system integrates your locks with your management tools so you can provide, oversee, and control access points throughout your hotel. Most locks today use pin codes, keycards, or smart technology with digital keys.
With Operto, the hotel door lock system can be broken down into three distinct areas:
Your locks connect with a remotely managed access system, which is integrated to your PMS, operations management tools, and guest experience software via an all-in-one dashboard.
We automate unique mobile keys and/or access codes for every stay and share these with your guests.
Guests use a branded web app and digital guidebook to be independent throughout the guest journey, from pre-stay to check-out.
We’ll explore how different types of locks work in more depth next, as well as how these solutions affect the guest experience, your management processes, and on-the-ground efficiency.
Here, we take a look at the five main types of hotel door lock, and consider some of the pros and cons of each.
A magnetic stripe (or magstripe) lock unlocks when a card with data that matches its stored information is swiped or inserted. This data is uploaded to the card from a centralized system at the front desk or by a check-in kiosk, and to the lock through either a wired or wireless connection.
RFID (radio frequency identification) locks work by matching their stored data and the data in a chip, which is typically in a card. Because RFID readers work via electromagnetic waves, they don’t need to make contact with the card—you just hold the card against or near the reader, and voilà.
These days, RFID locks often come with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) built-in. This means that you can facilitate keyless entry with a guest’s mobile phone. However, as we explore later, you still need a platform to manage this.
With Operto Guest, the process looks like this:
Pin code locks aren’t so common among hotels but, since there are tools available to integrate them with management and guest experience software, they’re a solution worth considering.
A good example of how to effectively implement pin code locks is Roomza, which we recently wrote about here.
BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) locks work by reading information transmitted via a Bluetooth signal. They can help you to meet modern guest expectations by making it possible for people to enter without a physical key. But upfront costs can be expensive, making it difficult for many boutique hotels to transition over.
With the latest cutting-edge technology, though, BLE connectivity is accessible even to small independent hotels. We explore this further in the next section.
With Operto Boost, you can retrofit any lock to turn it into a BLE lock by inserting the Boost Smart Chip. By simply adding this technology to your existing hardware, you avoid the following issues:
Installing BLE locks still isn’t a complete solution. You need software through which to manage and provide access.
“Most manufacturers provide only an unbranded app which doesn’t connect with your hotel in any way, provides no automation, and no real guest experience,” Axel explained.
By sending your guests a link to a generic app, you miss the opportunity to brand-engage them in the build-up to their stay. And by only providing room access, managed manually by staff, they’ll still depend on your team to guide them through arrival—not a crime by any means, but they won’t be fully independent, and it doesn’t address your staffing pressures.
With hotel management software like Operto Guest, on the other hand, you can:
Because Guest is part of an integrated tech stack, you can also access our team management and tech solutions in the same operating system. You can:
Meeting modern guest expectations means becoming tech-enabled. Commercial-grade BLE locks offer the highest level of security and facilitate contactless check-in. But they’re also expensive—especially since you’ll need to implement them across all access points.
But with the latest technology, you can have a fully integrated system for automated processes, operational efficiency, and a contactless guest experience, without replacing any hardware.
To get the benefits of BLE hotel locks but without the prohibitive costs, you should:
Turn existing locks into smart locks without the costs or hassle.
Learn more about Operto Boost.
Hotels can use electronic and digital door locks to secure their buildings. These will integrate with an online of offline access control system to allow hotel owners to provide access to guests and teams as they navigate through buildings and outdoor areas.
Robust door locks are an essential part of any hotel’s security system. Well-integrated locks with BLE connectivity also facilitate contactless room access which boosts guest satisfaction, providing increased independence and less pressure on your staff.
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
cookielawinfo-checbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |