As a serviced accommodation host, you probably come across hundreds of bookings in a year, depending on the size of your portfolio. Every time a booking comes, there is a question to answer. How to pass the key to the guest and take it back from them? There are some common ways to do,
The most direct way to pass the key to the guest. It is also the greatest way to build relationships with guests and increase the chance of getting good reviews in serviced accommodation. Nothing is better than showing up in person and welcoming the guest with a smile. Also, during the M&G, a host can show the serviced accommodation around to the guests, guide them how to use the appliance such as adjusting hot water or radiators, etc. Guests feel being taken care of and they will like the accommodation and the host. However, it is a labour intensive job and if the host has a few serviced accommodations, it is quite impossible for them to run from place to place if there are bookings in the same day. Hiring a M&G team for a serviced accommodation would be a solution, but there would be a recurrent cost. It is down to the host to weigh the cost and benefits.
Putting a keysafe near the front door is the most common way people use in serviced accommodation. It is a lockable small box which stores the key and can be opened with a passcode. Usually, the host would send to the guest the passcode on the day of the check-in and instruct them to put it back to the keysafe when check-out. The good thing is that it solves the problem of passing the key in serviced accommodation easily and it is cheap to get a keysafe. The downsides would be that it loses the chance of building relationships and requires the cooperation of the guests. Sometimes they might forget to put it back and the next guests are not able to get into the serviced accommodation. The host needs to have a good workflow to make sure the key is always ready in the keysafe and the passcode is changed from time to time to prevent guests from getting back in the serviced accommodation after check-out.
An advanced way of providing guests an self-helped experience is to install a smart door lock in the main door. Guests can enter the serviced accommodation with a passcode so there will be no chance of losing the key. Hosts can change the passcode easily anytime and anywhere from their smartphones. Also, it makes the serviced accommodation more modern and high class. It can be quite costly to get a smart lock but the convenience may be worth it. However, if the host is not the landlord of the property then they might need the consent from the landlord to change the lock of the front door.
If you find this helpful or want more information about serviced accommodation, feel free to contact us.
