Digital locks for short and long term tenancy

If you are renting out the premise for short and long term stays, what you really need is a good quality digital lock that has only the bare essentials to deliver digital access convenience on a daily basis. This translates to the following guidelines:

• Keep it simple on features
  - don't let the 'gadget' person in you get carried away
  - future requirements without a timeline associated - is not a requirement
• Focus on build quality
  - a failed budget lock will cost you more than the initial savings 

Some examples:

• Keep It simple
  A conservation house owner wanted to install a "big-on-features" (and price!) Samsung P920 Push-n-Pull digital lock and he is renting out the space through AirBnB and other platforms. Digital locks are still new to most travellers and you would not want to surprise them after their long trip into Singapore with an odd looking (handle) digital lock. There is a reason why hotels still use just cards! The owner went for a Gateman A20 (see previous post). Simple, straightforward (and happens to be less than half the price of Samsung P920 - and the small footprint of Gateman A20 is not imposing and that is in keeping in character with the conservation house door.
  
  
• Focus on build quality
  A landlord wanted to change a faulty China-made digital lock with the cheapest equivalent digital lock. We could have proposed a Samsung model that is slightly cheaper than a Gateman branded one but our experience with both brands says Gateman build quality is perceptibly better in both build. Our business is dependent on our understanding of lock reliability (warranty is by our company) and trust we develop with our clients.

What are our thoughts on bluetooth or smartphone NFC enabled digital locks? Or the add-ons that makes these locks accessible over the internet? We believe NFC and bluetooth enabled digital locks are mostly specific to certain use cases and generally does not apply to most home owners. In other words, you are paying more than what you (really need). Those features are there to allow a smaller footprint (but passing on the footprint so to speak to your phone which you must not carry with you). We believe pin number access is the most important and to require a phone to unlock is all too impractical in real life. On the internet-enabled locks, you must be an early adopter because you are subjecting yourself to any security holes that is always present in early implementations (ie now) that allows hackers to (very) simple unlock from a non-trusted source. 

Ultimately, for the majority of us, not paying for what we don't need is a practical approach to choosing the right digital lock that delivers maximum value at the lowest price point.