In Rome and Milan, Home at Hotel discover vacation rentals are easier to manage with an ENTR® smart lock
Travellers treat their smartphone as an essential companion. It’s a boarding pass, a credit card, a travel guide... and for Home at Hotel guests at holiday rentals and apartments in Italy, it’s a front door key, too.
Providing high-end holiday rentals is a labour-intensive business, requiring services tailored to the individual traveller. Part of that manual workload involves managing lots of physical keys, with the risk of loss or unauthorised copying always present.
Home at Hotel wanted a smarter way to work, so they could admit guests and deliver their add-on services in a more efficient way. The system would need to be user-friendly — not every traveller is a “digital native” — yet make no compromises with the security of their guests and properties.
They also sought partners who understood their business needs. The goal: a digital solution to free time and resources to concentrate on the personalised services Home at Hotel guests really value.
“In Yale and SCLAK, we found the perfect technology solution for our business,” explains Francesco Postiglioni from Home at Hotel.
Home at Hotel properties are now secured with an ENTR® Smart Door Lock from Yale, a modern, user-friendly replacement for mechanical locks and cumbersome keys. Locks are integrated with the SCLAK (www.sclak.com) app-powered access system designed for homes and offices.
Travellers just download the SCLAK app to their Apple or Android device and open their temporary front door keylessly, via the app and an encrypted Bluetooth connection.
ENTR® and the SCLAK system make it much easier for Home by Hotel to deliver value-added services, including breakfast served in the morning, grocery shopping, extra cleaning on demand or a home-cooked dinner. It’s straightforward for staff to open doors remotely to admit a cleaner or cook, for example.
“No longer are apartment keys running around with the risk of being lost or copied,” says Francesco. “We can see when a guest has left the flat and can inhibit access if they do not respect the rules. We also have full control over our service suppliers, with the exact time they spend in the flat and when an apartment is ready for the next guest.”
With an ENTR® lock, there’s no risk a guest will accidentally lose keys or make unauthorised copies — which increases security for everyone. It’s also easy to time-limit a digital key’s validity inside the SCLAK admin app. So, when a guest departs, their key is automatically cancelled.
ENTR® further contributes towards Home at Hotel’s mission to deliver sustainable vacation rentals. The ENTR® lock is powered by rechargeable batteries that only require 16 hours’ charging per year over their 5-year lifespan, so it’s cheap to run and has a kind environmental footprint. Recyclable packaging and battery, as well as a lock that’s 90 percent recyclable, further enhance its sustainability credentials.
Installing ENTR® at Home at Hotel’s properties was quick, easy and affordable. It takes just one screw to fit an ENTR® to an existing mechanical lock, with no drilling or cabling. Yet the functionality it provides enables Home at Hotel to transform their guests’ experience. The lock also has an auto locking function which is additional security feature.
Results so far are impressive. Home at Hotel apartments fitted with an ENTR® smart lock receive, on average, a 9/10 customer satisfaction rating — and average occupancy is running at 80 percent.
“This solution needed to be very easy to use for our guests, who come from all over the world and with very different attitudes to new technology,” adds Francesco. “Furthermore, we have met partners who understood our needs; we quickly developed a good cooperation with the mutual objective of growing this business together.”
For more information visit: www.assaabloy.co.uk/smartholidayrental