Automated Door and Gate Codes for Short-Term Rentals
Automated Guest Credentials
Codes are created from the booking feed: the calendar (ICS) link that Airbnb and Vrbo provide, or the API of a property management system where one is used.
Each booking gets its own PIN, QR code or Wallet pass, valid from check-in time to checkout time.
The invitation goes to the guest by email or SMS with the visit details and the access method.
Visitor credentials are revoked automatically when the visit time ends.
Cancelling a visit revokes the guest's credentials immediately.
Flexible Entry Methods
Touch Pass puts the guest's key in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, so an iPhone or Apple Watch opens the door with a tap.
Readers with a keypad accept a PIN, so guests without a smartphone still get in.
The same guest credential can open a driveway gate or pool gate for the stay through the Access Gate Hub.
UniFi Access visitor schedules limit a visitor to chosen doors, gates or elevators for a set time.
Staff Access and Remote Management
Cleaners get codes timed to the turnover window between checkout and the next check-in.
Maintenance and the property manager get separate codes, so each entry in the log shows who opened the door.
Entry events for every property appear in one log under one login.
A doorbell call can ring the manager's phone number, and the door can be unlocked from the call.
System Architecture and Integration
No native integration exists between UniFi Access and Airbnb, Vrbo, Hostaway, Guesty or OwnerRez; the connection is built for the property.
Hostaway's own smart-lock list names other lock brands and not UniFi.
UniFi Access has a local API on the console, with its own token, that can create a visitor, generate a PIN and assign it.
The open-source project unifi-access-airbnb (MIT licence) reads an Airbnb calendar or the Hostex API, creates a visitor with a PIN per booking and deletes it after checkout.
Door hardware runs on the network, so a cellular backup keeps codes working if the internet line drops.
About CloudCentric
CloudCentric is a managed IT provider in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, serving businesses across Charleston and the Lowcountry.
Phone (844) 422-7000.