Your guests make it to your Airbnb property after a long period of budgeting and planning their vacation and are often looking for a while away from home to relax and rewind.
Most of your guests aren’t looking for human interactions at this point since that defeats the entire purpose of the holiday. People looking for extra service will most often opt for hotel rooms but those craving a bit of solitude and their own company arrive at an Airbnb.
Here is where self-check-in enters the picture. Not only does it reduce human interaction but it also sets up your process easily and automatically without having to worry about hiring extra staff. Your guests can also check-in according to their will without a hassle.
The reasons that self-check-in is taking over the tourism industry as one of the top property management solutions are obvious:
- No lock-picking
- No arranged meetings, schedule conflicts, or awkward small talk
- Latest security technology making things convenient for guests
But is self-check-in even possible? The latest trends these days are allowing guests to check themselves in which is revolutionizing privacy, security, and their travel experience.
Here’s everything you need to know about preparing your Airbnb for the self-check-in process.
Lockboxes & Key Safes
A lockbox or key safe attached to your door handle or wall can allow another inside the property by entering a safety code. This can be given to the guests at the time of booking anytime before they get onto the property. As an Airbnb owner, one needs to consider a few aspects ahead of time.
1. Placement
A good, sturdy lockbox is quite a challenge to break into, especially for burglars without any prior locksmith experience. in order to get in forcefully, one may need to break down the door, which is an even bigger hassle. Lockboxes are already pretty secure.
A strong lockbox can easily withstand about 45 minutes of banging with a hammer which is bound to attract attention before the lock can give away. The placement of the lockbox plays a key role to reduce any potential risk of theft or forceful entry.
- In an apartment or other building complexes, place the lockbox within the building or beyond the first gate or door so that it isn’t visible or accessible from the street.
- If you have a house, keep your lockbox out of sight from the main road, probably the side of the house, the backyard fence, or the garden.
2. Security
Lockboxes can either be attached to a wall with screws or hung by a metal loop around a secure surface such as a door or railing. Although both are very secure, screws in a wall are thought to be targeted less. Make sure you change the code after each guest leaves. Or even better, set up a code that expires upon checkout of the guest.
3. Lock Size
Lockboxes come in a variety of strengths, sizes, and dial formats, such as:
- Push-button locks: Allow you to set a combination you can punch in any order.
- Wheel models: This model has four scrolling wheels with numbers or letters to form a combination.
- Dial models: Similar to a classic high school locker padlock, with one rotating dial for entering a combination.
Dial models have been proven as the hardest to break into. The right kind of lockbox is not just easy-to-use but also strong enough. Make sure you find the perfect blend of all benefits that even include placement as well.
Virtual Keys
This concept uses a door that requires no material object to open like a key or card. A secret code or a private scan is all that it takes to gain entry onto the property. There’s no doubt technology will continue to evolve beyond this, but it’s honestly hard to see how with tools already so convenient. Such convenient tools make it even better, safer, and easier both for guests and Airbnb owners.
Time equals money for any property manager or a homeowner looking to acquire additional properties and expanding their business. And trends like these can not only go easy on your pocket but save you ample time as well. Brands VirtualKey and SlickSpaces work the best in this regard. They even offer services like temperature regulations, automated staff alerts in addition to many more.
Property managers have a variety of smart lock technology to choose from, offering all kinds of beneficial features including:
- completely removing keys from the equation
- automatically sending uniquely generated codes for each guest, ensuring maximum privacy
- detecting vacancy and schedule maintenance accordingly
If correctly set up and implemented, these services will save you substantial time and money. It even automates your process making it simple and easy thereby reducing manual error as well. Smart lock technology is one of the biggest tools we have in the modern age today that is only bound to get better and more advanced with time.
Summing it up:
Proper installation and preparation of automated self-check-in systems have the potential to make your Airbnb incredibly safe and convenient. Not only that, it even simplifies your guest’s entry and stays aspects of your guests’ stay with regards to more privacy and a flexible schedule for them. In addition to that, you will have to hire fewer staffs for the same.
