Do you know how do hotel electronic door locks work? As a hotel owner, one of your top priorities is to ensure that your guests are safe. And, in order to provide the best service, you must have a good understanding of the locking system.
How do hotel electronic door locks work? Hotel electronic door locks work using contactless systems such as RFID or magnetic stripe systems. The lock system reads the information from the card and processes the information to unlock the door when the card is swiped or touched.
In this article, we will talk about the hotel electronic lock systems and discuss their mechanism . And also give you some guidelines to choose the best electronic locking system.
How To Program Electronic Hotel Door Lock?
Electronic locks are the most cutting-edge choice. This locking device requires electronic power to operate. Programming or setting up an electronic hotel door lock is not a complicated process, if you know the steps. Following are the steps below to program an electronic hotel door lock
- First of all, you need to check your default admin password that comes with the lock manual.
- Type on the lock’s keyboard star(*) default password and #1 (for example: *9999#1)
- Sweep the new card and type: #*
- Rescan the card, the red light will turn into green ( means the locking mechanism is working correctly)
However, depending on the lock brand the programming instructions may vary. Hence, it’s wise to follow the manual that comes with the lock.
Digital electronic locking systems are convenient and provide a broad range of functions and features, such as the option to program the door to lock or open at a specific time automatically, and you can even unlock the door with your smartphone using WI-FI or Bluetooth.
Examples of electronic hotel door locks you should know:
1. The RFID locking system
RFID is a technology that uses electromagnetic waves to detect objects or motion. The contactless transmitter-receiver system detects a large number of people using radio waves. It’s compatible with smart door locks.
A specific chip must be encoded and put into a tiny transponder on the door. During the data transfer, a radio frequency check is done to verify authorization. Depending on the provider, the guests can get a key fob, a card, a specific wristband, or other keys to this lock system. Know more about RFID locking mechanism.
2. Code lock with PIN
A correct sequence of digits input on a keypad or touchpad can open these locks. The input field is mounted on a wall at a distance of no more than 50 cm from the code lock.
The software also allows you to record the time of access, which is one of its many useful functions. These keypads are splash-proof and have a smaller surface area than touchpads, making them less susceptible.
3. Lock with a chip card
Hoteliers love electric door locks with sensors and chip cards. They can also be readily reconfigured. The simplicity of use for customers and hotel personnel is another feature that makes them appealing and useful.
4. The lock with a smartphone control
Combining a smartphone app with a locking system is still relatively new. Users can use Bluetooth or WiFi to control the locking system for example they can remotely locks and unlocks the door. This is still a new technology, therefore there are security risks (hacker can hack the system and unlocks the door).
However, these type of locks are very simple to install or setup and adding a new user to the locking system takes only few clicks. Click here to understand how to program a smart lock.
Do Hotel Electronic Doors Lock Automatically?
Yes, hotel electronic doors release locks when card is swiped and locks automatic when the door is closed. However, normal mechanical doors have the simplest of mechanisms and they are not as modernized as electronic but some of locks also have automatic locking features.
Different types of locks, such as bolt locks, chain locks, padlocks, mortise locks, do not have an automatic locking mechanism. Only few lock brands upgrade their manual locks to an automatic door locking feature, but it’s not as convenient as an electronic door lock system.
On the contrary, if we talk about electronic doors, they have an automatic locking system by default. They are considered smart locks because they can be accessed in a huge number of ways, and they have some good security systems. Let’s talk about the RFID system. RFID stands for radio frequency identification. It falls in the contactless lock system. Mainly the lock contacts with the through radio frequency and identifies the persons’ identification and verifies it. Then let the customer or employee in. It is more durable, and you can program it in any way. But it can be inaccessible if there is no power system in the door. But it gets locked automatically when the door gets locked or pushed to the base.
How to Open Electronic Hotel Door Locks?
All hotel electronic doors are contactless and keyless, and they are more compatible and feasible than regular mechanical doors. Electronic doors can work in many sorts of ways. Mainly control locks and RFID cards are the most common. But we are going to discuss all of them below.
RFID
As we told you before, RFID is radio frequency identification. They identify the user through radio frequency and the contactless transmitter system on the lock, and the card gets the information from the lock and then identifies the user. The owner of the card system can get them modified easily and control the users’ accessibility. But these locks have some drawbacks to them. For instance, you can access them if you are out of power in the lock system. And also, these cards are costly and can cost you a fortune if you plan for a whole.
Magstripe
Magstripes are magnetic stripe cards, or you can say a chip card. They are the most common lock system you will ever see. They also work kind of like an RFID card. You will get a credit card like a swipe card that you can use through the magstripe reader. The magstripe reader reads the magnetic stripe on the card and identifies the user, and then checks the lock. Everything has disadvantages along with advantages. Though they may be mostly used lock systems, they are not durable enough to be lost easily. Also, the lock systems are fragile.
Did I Answer Everything You Want To Know About How Do Hotel Electronic Door Locks Work?
Electronic door locks are highly efficient for commercial use but you can get its use everywhere. They can work in various sorts of ways, contactless system is most common and in high use. But we gave everything about every hotel door lock in the above elucidation. Hope it helps you with what you are looking for.
Frequently Asked Question About Hotel Electronic Door Locks
- How does an electronic door lock work? There are actuators in electronic doors. Which mainly controls the bolt of the door helping it lock or unlock.
- How do hotel locks communicate? It can be wired or wireless. The hotel system records the checkin and checkout time and then marks the pay.
- How are hotel locks powered? Mainly and usually, hotel locks are powered by double-A batteries, and the socket lies just in the back of the lock system.
- How does a plastic key card unlock the door to a hotel room? There is a magnetic strip at the end of the card, which the lock reads and unlocks the door.
