The Keys to your Kingdom
Chaos descended at the Marriott in Denver on the stroke of midnight on New Year eve as guests at the 628-room Marriott were locked out of their rooms when their electronic key cards stopped working – for a staggering three hours. Denver police were called to the hotel as fights broke out among frustrated guests. Now I appreciate this is an extreme example, but the Door Access system not working in your hotel is going to cause a lot of disruption to you and your guests, but hopefully not fighting!
The first mechanical reprogrammable card lock was invented in 1976 by Tor Sørnes, who had worked for VingCard since the 1950s. The first card lock was installed in 1979 in the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, Atlanta, USA. This product triggered the evolution of electronic locks for the hospitality industry that we all take for granted every time we open a bedroom door in a hotel.
The manner in which you receive your guests expresses a great deal about how you value them and gives a first impression of the quality of service they can expect during their stay. Gone is the bulky room-key, and the risk that yesterday’s guest may return to attempt to gain access into the same room (along with the inconvenience and costs incurred to change the lock). Most establishments have overcome these issues by installing electronic locking systems that guarantee guest security and convenience. A magnetic card or RFID tag can be programmed for an individual for a specific period of time, making the card or tag invalid for use after the guest has checked out. An electronic locking system supports access to specific areas, and places restrictions based on each person’s need, whether they are paying guests, visitors, workmen or employees.
Let me dismiss an urban myth, there is no guest information or data stored on the magnetic key cards that are common in the UK, just a coded algorithm which is encrypted so it cant be read by just anyone. A card that works in one hotel will not open a door in another hotel as each hotel has a unique master system code.
Although there have been massive leaps in the technology the magnetic key card is still king and used by the majority of hotels in the UK. The reason being that it is incredible expensive to change every lock in a hotel for a newer system and will continue to be a barrier to advances such as guests using their mobile phone to open their hotel room in all but a small percentage of hotels in the UK.
Hotel guests want to feel safe and secure in their temporary home. Hotels have a duty to protect them. After all, the business depends upon them. Good security benefits everybody, hotel guests, staff and managers. When all staff take security seriously as a service, the result is a well run, efficient hotel with an excellent reputation and booming business. Security should be another guest service, just like the bar, restaurant, leisure club or turn-down service. It should not be seen as an overhead, but as a value-adding service, which can be used to promote the hotel as a safe haven and secure environment
Over the last year we have had an increase in enquires from hotels wanting help and advice to ensure they are following best practice. Many enquiries have come after an incident or breach in security including thefts from guest rooms. Security experts warn theft from guest’s rooms is on the increase due to the wide array of gadgets and devices guests now travel with laptops, tablets, mobile phones and not to mention the good old favourite’s passports and cash are easy pickings for a thief.
Many hotels see the door access system as just there to let guests in their rooms and do not actively manage the system. Due to the make up of the door entry system part mechanical, part IT system its responsibility can be difficult to pin point, is it maintenance, front desk or IT department and in many cases no one takes responsibility for this mission critical system. We have to look beyond “it’s just a system for letting guests in rooms” it is probably one of the most critical systems you have in your hotel after power and water!
Keystep’s Key Advice
Entrance and Exits
Minimise the number of entrances, one is preferable, although not always possible. Reducing the entrances allows owners, management and staff to monitor who is entering and leaving the hotel.
Emergency exits should be alarmed so that staff will be immediately notified if the door is opened or tampered with. Signs to this effect should be placed on emergency doors
Staff Access Levels
Make sure staff only access the areas of the hotel they want and at the times they should. Don’t give all staff access to every area and at all times. There is a tendency to give staff access to all areas when they just don’t need it. When staff leave make sure you get their access card / tag back and cancel their access. Record the details in a log in case you have to investigate any incidents hotel.
What Time is it?
Ensure the time is correct on all the locks in the property. If you are in the UK you may have to set the time in your locks twice and year to cope with BST and GMT. If the time is incorrect any log information on who has used the lock will be useless in the event of an incident.
Emergency Access cards
Every door entry system has emergency cards, which are pre-made cards will allow you to let guests into rooms if there is a system fault or a power cut that prevents you cutting room keys. You should always keep your emergency keycards available and have a manual process for issuing the cards in the event of an incident. It is worth practicing the drill with staff in the same way you have a fire drill.On some systems the emergency cards expire after a period of time so it’s critical to check they work every 6 months.
Well Maintained
Basic maintence is essential many of the electronic locks have batteries that should be changed before they go flat otherwise the lock will loose its programme. Cleaning of the Magnetic card reader will ensure guests are not fumbling to get into their rooms. Housekeeping should report any lock issues and clean the reader every month.
Master Keys
The traditional mechanical master key should be kept locked away in the safe at all times. It shouldn’t be on a bunch of keys even the maintenance managers. If you loose the master key your only option is to recode all the key barrels in the locks, which no one wants to, do.
Cards
Hotels want to enhance their brand by using guest key cards or access tags, but make sure staff cards are plain so if they are lost they cannot be linked to the hotel. If a guest brings a card back and says it doesn’t work, destroy the card and use a new one. Like everything the magnetic cards wear out over time and loose their magnetism. Any staff cards that are lost should be cancelled and details recorded in a log in case you have any incidents in the hotel.