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6 Airbnb Key Exchange Solutions For Self Check-In
Handing keys and having a key storage system has its challenging scenarios and could affect your guest experience on your rental property. Having a seamless key exchange solution is vital to any stay agencies and property managers especially for Airbnb key management and to have a smart self check-in process that can vastly enhance the guest experience.
KeyNest values your needs for your staffs and contractors to have a smooth check-in experience, secure key managing system resulting to great service and positive reviews on Airbnb may it be for long-term or short-term rental.
To access the property securely and efficiently with secure key storage and helps guests to arrive to your property at any time is not only KeyNest's core to provide you seamless check-ins and check-outs for your guest needs in a secure way.
So, as property managers and stay agents, you can sit back and relax as KeyNest streamlines your key exchange process and remotely granting access to the property eliminating the need to get in touch with your booked tenants in handing physical keys in the safest way.
In this article, we'll dwell on discussing what are the actual best key handing systems for Airbnb management that can best suit your needs as a property manager or a stay agent.
Airbnb Hosts On Handing Keys To Tenants For Check-In
It’s a question all hosts ask themselves once they have spent long enough doing Airbnb. Where and how can you do the exchange keys to my rental guests? What is a key holder? How do you keep my set of keys safe? How can self check-in process be efficient and sustainable in the long run?
Any property managers or hosts might have made plans to have a life for once such as to go away for the weekend yourself. You might have been woken up at 3 am by Airbnb guests late arrival time, you might be renting out your holiday home in another city or spending your birthday when there is a need to attend on your booked tenants that will be coming on the hour of your actual birthday celebration.
Enough is enough.
We’ve listed the six tips for key management for handing over keys to Airbnb tenants below, so you can decide which is the solution for you to decide which works best by not having the need for face-to-face interaction in handing keys.
If you’re looking for ways to leave keys for someone from your family or a friend (not a tenant), we have an extra article about it
6 Key Storage Ways And Airbnb Key Exchange Solutions
1. Relying On A Neighbour Or Friend
This is a pretty popular key management system solution for new Airbnb hosts - after all, your neighbour is right there and it’s easy to have an informal arrangement with a bottle of wine or a small amount of cash every time they welcome your guests and do key handover.
It does have downsides though and a true test of friendship. Your neighbour won’t want to answer the door at 3am any more than you will, so you can’t welcome guests 24/7 this way. Your neighbour will have their own plans a lot of the time, so they won’t always be available and not efficient and secure as a business key management solution when you are away.
Overall, love thy neighbor as thou love self and relying on a neighbour is probably a solution best used just once or twice for your own private or Airbnb key exchanges - your neighbour most likely won’t give such a friendly welcome after they’ve handed the keys over for your 50th guest.
2. Relying On A Cleaner
Consider this an upgrade over relying on your neighbour - your cleaner will already know their way around your flat, so will have no problems showing your guest around, and they’ll likely know how everything in their works too.
But like relying on a neighbour, this has some problems. Your cleaner is probably working to a tight schedule - and they won’t have time to wait around for guests arriving late. And it’s unlikely your cleaner will be there to welcome guests arriving really late at night. Like relying on a neighbour and relying on a cleaner is a solution that isn’t too reliable if you get regular bookings.
3. Using A Greeter
This is a great solution for giving your guest a personal welcome. Greeters are friendly, professional and will help to give that personal touch that will make your guests’ stay really memorable.
Greeters are commonly used by property management companies running high-end apartments, and if you are running a luxury Airbnb your guests might expect them.
But greeters don’t come cheap - unless your listing is high-end, this solution is probably too expensive to be viable.
4. A Lockbox
Using Airbnb lockboxes are probably the cheapest solution for handing keys to your staffs and tenants. The Airbnb lockbox payment is quite affordable and you can get one for as little as £25. Using them is pretty self explanatory and hassle-free. But they cost in other areas and some probably things it is the least secure option on having a way to get keys.
Additionally, leaving your key unattended through the use of lockboxes can make it an easy target for criminals and it won't provide a safe keeping for your property access. For a police-approved badge, a lockbox or a key box only needs to be able to delay a break in by 60 seconds which deems it not one of the most efficient Airbnb access managing solution.
Preventing guests from coming back and accessing your keys again that can compromise your backup keys means that the code also needs to be changed after every time it’s used which isn’t ideal if you’re away on a long holiday yourself and have multiple bookings.
5. An Automated Smartlock
For a backup, if the plan of use lockbox compromises your key security demands, Smartlocks are a solution that provides a bit of extra peace of mind over having to use lockboxes. It is one of the most convenient Airbnb key access solution that let you track the status of your keys and it usually generate a new code after every use so you won’t need to worry about a staff with an old code being able to access your keys. Most smartlocks come with an app that gives you notifications and lets you control access on the move.
Not everyone can use a smartlock though unless you own the whole building. You can’t fit them to the front door of an apartment block. Any Smartlock also has one of the most secure way for guests to get and leave the keys to but the highest up-front cost of any of the solutions on this list so they’re not the best option if you’re saving up.
Your guests also don’t get the personal touch of someone welcoming your guests and handing your keys over.
6. A Key Exchange Service
If you’re hosting in an urban area, a key exchange service like KeyNest is the best way to hand over keys for your guests to access the property they booked.
Like with a smartlock, you can track the status of your keys online and receive notifications whenever your guest collects or drops off your keys but without the hefty up-front cost.
Your guests can collect keys 24/7 at most KeyNest Stores, so you won’t have to worry about late check-ins. The shopkeeper at the store also welcomes your guests and answers any questions they have about your local area.
KeyNest is currently available in every major city in the UK, as well the USA and seven other countries across Europe.
We aim to fulfill all new store requests within two weeks - so if you need a KeyNest Store near you, let us know by filling out this request form.
Neil Beltran 21 November 2024