Most hosts start self check-in with a lockbox. It does the job while guests are few. With more bookings and more places its weak points start to show.
Lockbox
A metal box with a code, fixed by the door, with the place’s key inside.
Pros
- Cheap, and up in minutes.
- Needs neither power nor internet.
Cons
- The code spreads. It is changed by hand, on site, so it often stays the same for months. Every former guest knows it.
- The key may not come back or may be copied. Then only a new lock cylinder helps.
- You do not know who came in when. The box records nothing.
- It shows. A box by the door tells every passer-by that guests stay here.
Keypad lock
A keypad on the door where the guest types a code.
- Better than a lockbox: there is no physical key to lose.
- But the code still has to be changed for every guest, often on site or through the maker’s own app, and can still be shared.
- It has batteries to watch.
A key in the guest’s phone
The door has a controller connected to the internet. Every guest gets their own link, which unlocks only their door and only for the days of their stay. This is how Atrino works.
- Access only for the stay. The link works from check-in to check-out and ends on its own. No code to change.
- A key of their own for every guest. Confirmed with an SMS code sent to the guest’s phone, it works on one phone only and unlocks only at the place.
- You know what is going on. A notification when the guest arrives, a record of every unlock, and with a sensor, whether the door is closed.
- Nothing shows outside. The controller sits hidden by the door.
- You can unlock from afar too, when you need to let a cleaner or a repairman in.
It costs more than a lockbox: an electric strike or a magnetic lock if the door does not have one yet, a controller, and a monthly plan (pricing).
Compared
| Lockbox | Keypad lock | Key in the phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access only for the stay | No | If you change the code | Yes, by itself |
| A key for every guest | No | If you change the code | Yes |
| A record of entries | No | Depends on the model | Yes |
| A notification on arrival | No | Depends on the model | Yes |
| Unlocking from afar | No | Depends on the model | Yes |
| Needs power and internet | No | Batteries | Yes |
Which to choose
With one place and few guests, a lockbox may be enough. If guests come every week, you have several places, or you simply do not want to think about codes and keys, a key in the phone pays for itself quickly: in time saved and peace of mind.
What it looks like in practice: Self check-in for Airbnb and Booking.com.