Easy Access Control for Apartments and Weekend Houses

Chalet Burgblick x Tapkey

About a year ago, Tapkey checked in into an exclusive vacation lodge in Salzburg. Chalet Burgblick was equipped with Smart Locks and Wallreaders by Tapkey.

The owner sends smartphone key to his guests’ smartphones before arrival. This makes a physical key handover dispensable. But what do guests say about the digital access solution? We interviewed the chalet owner and landlord Dr. Eberspächer-Schweda to find out more:

Which Tapkey product do you use?

We have several Tapkey products in use. On the one hand we have Smart Locks. On the other hand, we have wallreaders and electronic door traps installed for our new doors.

Why did you choose a digital access solution?

First of all, I am very passionate about technology.  Secondly, I rent an exclusive chalet. The main reason to switch to a digital solution, are the complications connected with mechanical keys. If I give a key to a guest and he or she loses it, I have to order a new key or change the locks worst case. This means discomfort and high costs for me. With Tapkey lost keys are a thing of the past.

What advantages do you see?

The biggest advantage: we don’t need physical keys anymore. The key handover works virtually. I can give access authorisation to the guests via the Tapkey app for a limited period of time. No physical presence is needed anymore. This saves travel costs and a lot of time.

What’s the feedback of your guests?

We have both, young and older guests. The older guests are a bit sceptical at the beginning. But after trying the solution, they are pretty excited. At the end no one questions the advantages of using smartphones instead of mechanical keys.

Do you have suggestions for improvement?

Some guests do not want to download the app and insist to use NFC tags. These are very small, which I personally perceive very practical. However, we have noticed that some guest lose them because of their size. In the long run, I’m excited about the idea of being able to open everything via the Tapkey app and a smartphone anyway. A disadvantage: You need an Android phone to program the locks. As an iPhone user, I could only open locks using Bluetooth. But the NFC stickers already improve the situation.