The trouble with keys and codes

Every short-term rental has the same weak point: the front door. A lockbox with a code you set once and never change. A smart lock where you type in a new PIN between guests -- when you remember. A key hidden under a rock that half the neighborhood knows about.

The problem is not the lock. It is the manual work around it. A code you share once tends to live forever. A guest who checked out in April can still walk in during July because nobody rotated the PIN. And the one time a guest is genuinely locked out at 11pm, you are the one awake fixing it.

Smart lock automation closes that gap. Connect a supported smart lock to ArrivHQ, and the door takes care of itself.

A unique code for every reservation

Once a lock is connected, ArrivHQ issues a fresh entry code for each reservation automatically. When a booking is confirmed, a code is generated on the lock and shown to the guest in their stay portal alongside the Wi-Fi and check-in details. No two stays share a code.

  • Live at check-in. The code starts working at the reservation's check-in time -- not before.
  • Gone at checkout. The code stops working at checkout. A guest can never hold a code that outlives their stay.
  • No manual rotation. You never type a PIN into the lock or change it between guests. The reservation does it for you.

That last point matters more than it sounds. The most common smart-lock mistake is a static code that quietly stays valid. ArrivHQ makes the code follow the reservation, so "still works after checkout" simply cannot happen.

Codes that can never outlast the stay

Security here is not best-effort -- it is enforced. When ArrivHQ sets the end time for a guest code, it always lands at or before checkout, never after. Even the grace built into a stay window is clamped so a code can't drift an hour past the checkout hour.

For a lock with an internet bridge, ArrivHQ can also revoke a code on demand -- so if a booking is cancelled or a guest leaves early, you can kill the code immediately from the reservation's Access tab.

Emergency codes, strictly on your terms

Locked-out guests are the reason hosts keep their phones loud at night. ArrivHQ can handle it -- but only exactly as far as you allow.

Emergency codes are off by default and require two separate opt-ins:

  1. You enable it for a property, and
  2. The primary guest accepts it for their stay.

Only then, if that guest tells the concierge they are locked out, will ArrivHQ issue a short-lived emergency code -- valid for about two hours and never past checkout. Every emergency code is logged, and both you and the guest are notified the moment one is issued. If any of those conditions is not met, the request simply escalates to you, the way it always has.

What you need

  • A supported smart lock connected to your ArrivHQ account.
  • The smart-lock add-on: $3 per connected lock, per month, on any plan.
  • A door assigned to the lock in your property's Access settings. From there, ArrivHQ handles a code for every reservation.

Getting started

  1. Open a property and go to Access → Smart locks.
  2. Connect your smart-lock account and choose which lock opens each door.
  3. Confirm a reservation and check its Access tab -- the code is already there, and the guest sees it in their portal.

That is the whole setup. From the first confirmed booking onward, the door manages itself: a fresh code in, a dead code out, and a clear record of every one.