The last guest left at the end of October. The shutters are closed, the water is off, and you are back in town. The smart locks, though, are still on the doors, with batteries inside and codes in their memory. Who can still open them? Will the door open in March when the electrician comes?
If your locks are TTLock and connected to Bookmatrix.com through the TTLock integration, you can see most of this from your phone, without driving to the property. The list below is for winter: what to check when you close, what to check once a month, and what to check before you open.
When you close
1. Sync and batteries
Open Smart Locks in the property menu and press Sync Now. Every lock in your TTLock account appears with its battery level. Note the low ones. It is easier to change batteries now, while you are still there, than to make a special trip in February. Cold weather is hard on batteries, especially on outside doors.
2. Gateway: online or Bluetooth only
Next to each lock you see whether it is Online via gateway or Bluetooth only. Bookmatrix.com talks to the TTLock cloud, and the cloud reaches the lock through the Wi-Fi gateway. If you switch off the router or the power for the winter, the gateway goes offline. Codes already on the lock keep opening it, but you cannot send a new code or delete an old one remotely.
So decide before you leave: if you want to give out codes during winter, the gateway and the router stay plugged in.
3. Seasonal staff codes
For each lock, press View passcodes. You see every PIN, its status (Scheduled, Active, Expired, Revoked, Failed) and, if it belongs to a reservation, which one. Guest codes are deleted on their own at check-out. The ones you created by hand for cleaners, technicians or the gardener are valid until the end time you gave them. If someone still has an active code for no reason, press Revoke.
4. Winter bookings
If you are closed, close the dates in the calendar too, so no reservation comes in from Booking.com or Airbnb. Every new reservation gets a PIN and the guest receives an email with the code. If you do not want guests, the code should not go out either.
If you accept a few bookings, say over Christmas, leave the automation on in Settings. It will work as it does in summer, as long as the gateway is online.
Once a month, from your phone
5. Is the TTLock account still connected?
The account should show Connected. An expired TTLock session renews on its own. If TTLock refuses the renewal, the page asks you to connect the account again with your TTLock app login. Better to see it in January than on the day of the first arrival.
6. Press Sync Now again
See whether anything changed: a lock that moved to "Bluetooth only" means the gateway lost power or Wi-Fi. The battery level shown is the last value the lock reported.
7. Codes that failed
If you sent a code while the gateway was offline, the code shows Retrying and is sent again after 1, 4 and 10 minutes. If it still fails, it stays as Failed. Check the power and Wi-Fi of the gateway and send it again.
When someone has to get in
8. A code for the technician, with an end time
The plumber wants to come on Tuesday. You do not need to go. From the Smart Locks page you issue a new passcode with a start and end time, for the entrance lock and whichever room is needed. You send it by message. After the end time it does not open, and if the job finishes early you revoke it with one tap.
9. A plan if everything goes dark
No power for weeks, no gateway, a flat battery: the lock will not open with a code. Find out how your own lock opens in that case (mechanical key, external power) and leave the key with someone you trust near the property.
Before you open again
10. Test with one code
Two weeks before the first arrival: replace the batteries that were low, check that every lock is "Online via gateway", issue a test code for the entrance and one room, and ask someone on site to try it. If it opens, the summer can start.
11. The first reservation
When the first reservation of the season comes in, open it and check it has a PIN for every door. If no PIN was created, check that the smart-lock automation is on in Settings, the PIN automations are enabled, the room has a lock mapped and the account shows Connected.
For how the whole process works during the season, read "TTLock smart locks for hotels: keyless self check-in" and the Smart Locks page.
The list at a glance
- When closing: Sync Now, batteries, gateway, staff codes, closed dates.
- Every month: account Connected, a fresh sync, codes in Failed.
- For visits: a code with an end time, not a key under the flowerpot.
- Before opening: batteries, a test code, a check of the first reservation.
Have TTLock locks and want them connected to your reservations? Try Bookmatrix.com free for 14 days, with your own rooms and no card, at bookmatrix.com/demo. Or leave your details at bookmatrix.com/form and we will call you on the next working day. You can also call us at +30 2351 151525.