Tuya vs TTLock: Which Smart Lock Ecosystem Should You Sell?
Both ecosystems work. They suit different buyers, and choosing wrongly costs a lot of after-sales time.
Read the article →How a Hotel Lock Card System Fits Together
A hotel project fails for a different reason than a residential order. The locks are rarely the problem. What goes wrong is that the cards, the encoder and the software arrive at different times, and the property cannot check guests in.
What the system actually contains
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| Locks | Room doors, and often back-of-house and meeting rooms |
|---|---|
| Cards | Guest cards, plus spares and staff cards |
| Encoder | The device at the front desk that writes a card |
| Software | Issues cards, tracks rooms and produces the audit trail |
| Gateway or network | Where the property wants live status or central control |
The lock is the visible part and usually the smallest share of the project risk. The front desk workflow is what decides whether the property opens on time.
Who supplies the software and the encoder
Software, encoder and locks are best supplied as one package, so the property is not left integrating three vendors. Where a third-party property management system is already in place, that integration is a separate question.
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| One package | Locks, encoder, cards and software from one source |
|---|---|
| Third-party PMS | Raise it at quote stage; it is a project, not a product option |
| API integration | Confirmed against the platform rather than promised |
| Offline codes | Time-limited codes generated by algorithm, useful where there is no network |
How many spare cards to order
Order spares with the locks rather than afterwards, because a card re-order carries its own lead time and shipping cost. The number depends on turnover and on how often guests take a card home.
- Rooms multiplied by the turnover rate, not rooms alone
- A working stock at the front desk for replacements during a shift
- Staff cards for housekeeping and maintenance, as a separate category
- A buffer for cards that are lost, damaged or demagnetised
Master-key levels
A hotel card system normally has several levels: a guest card that opens one room, a floor or section master, and a general master. The plan belongs on the project document rather than being decided during commissioning.
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| Guest card | One room, valid for the stay |
|---|---|
| Section or floor master | The rooms a supervisor is responsible for |
| General master | All rooms, held by management |
| Emergency or override | For a lockout or an incident, with an audit entry |
Reviewing the door schedule
Room doors are usually thicker and heavier than residential doors, and a hotel often has fire-rated doors as well. Both change the lock and the fixing, so the schedule is reviewed line by line before anything is quoted.
- Door thickness and material for every room type
- Fire rating, where it applies, and what the lock has to suit
- Existing preparation, where the property is being refurbished
- Back-of-house doors, which often need a different lock entirely
Phasing the delivery around the fit-out
A property that cannot store 200 locks should not receive 200 locks. Phased delivery by floor or by wing is arranged at quote stage, so the freight and the documents match the phases actually delivered.
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| Deliver by floor | Matched to the fitting sequence |
|---|---|
| Deliver with the software | So the front desk can be configured before opening |
| First article | One room fitted and checked before the batch is produced |
| Commissioning | Encoder, cards and software tested against a live room |
Work backwards from the opening date, including the fit-out and the commissioning time. Working forwards from the order date is how a delivery date quietly becomes impossible.
Buyer Questions
Three questions this guide usually raises.
On this topic
Who supplies the hotel software and card encoder?
They are best supplied as one package with the locks, so the property is not integrating three vendors. A third-party PMS integration is a separate project.
How many spare cards should we order?
Order them with the locks. Base the number on rooms multiplied by turnover, plus a front-desk working stock and separate staff cards.
Can the locks integrate with our PMS?
Raise it at quote stage. Integration is a development project rather than a product option, and we will confirm what the platform supports rather than promise it.
Related Reading
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The single most expensive misunderstanding in app-connected locks, and how to avoid it.
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The four measurements that decide whether a smart door lock order works.
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