How to check in late guests at a motel with no one on the desk
Updated · HotelOne
In short
The most reliable way to handle late arrivals without staff is to give each guest their own way in before they arrive — a door code that only works for their stay, or a key card from a self check-in kiosk — and to keep a way to open the door remotely for the guest whose code doesn’t work. A shared key safe or a “ring this number” sign costs less to set up, but costs more in security and in nights spent on call.
Why late arrivals are a motel problem
Motel guests are usually on the road. A guest who booked for “after 2pm” might arrive at 9pm after a long drive, or at 1am after a delayed flight and a hire car. Most motels are run by one or two people, so every late arrival either keeps someone at the desk or gets someone out of bed.
The aim is not to automate the guest away. It is to make sure the guest can get in on their own — and that you know they have.
Five ways to let a guest in after hours
| Method | How it works | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Key safe | The room key waits in a combination box at the entrance; the guest is sent the box code | The same few box codes get reused; a key that leaves the box has to come back; no record of who opened it |
| Phone the manager | A sign at the door with a mobile number to call on arrival | Someone is on call every night; the guest waits outside while you drive in |
| A door code per booking | A code generated for the booking, valid only from check-in to check-out, sent before arrival | Needs keypad locks; the code has to reach the guest, and the lock has to accept it |
| Self check-in kiosk | The guest scans their ID, pays and collects a key card in the lobby | Hardware cost; the lobby has to be open or reachable at night |
| Remote unlock | Staff open the door from a phone, or the guest opens an unlock link | Needs a lock that is online (gateway or Wi-Fi); a fallback rather than the plan for every guest |
A good set-up combines two of them: a door code (or a kiosk card) for every guest, and remote unlock for the exception.
What makes a door code safe
- One code per booking — never shared between guests, never carried over to the next stay
- Valid only for the stay: from the check-in time to the check-out time
- Sent to the contact details on the booking, so it reaches the person who booked
- A record of every unlock, so you can see that the guest got in — and when
- An offline fallback: if the lock can’t be reached, a code that works without a connection
Avoid one master code for the front door that every guest is given. It never expires, it gets passed on, and when it leaks every room is exposed until you change it.
Write the arrival message once
Much of the trouble with late arrivals is a guest who can’t find the room or doesn’t know how the lock works. Put everything in one message, sent the afternoon before or on the morning of arrival:
- The room number, and how to find it from the car park
- The door code, and how to enter it on the keypad
- When the code starts and stops working
- Wi-Fi, parking and check-out time
- A number to call or text if anything goes wrong
Hi Sam, your room at Riverside Motel is 12, on the ground floor to the left of reception. Your door code is 482916: touch the keypad to wake it, enter the code, then press the unlock key. It works from 2pm on 14 Nov until 10am on 15 Nov. Wi-Fi: Riverside-Guest. Any trouble, call or text 0400 000 000.Plan for the guest whose code doesn’t work
Even with everything set up, sooner or later a guest will be stuck at the door: a mistyped code, a lock that is asleep, a flat battery. Decide in advance what happens then:
- Check the times first: a code only works from the booking’s check-in time
- Ask the guest to touch the keypad to wake the lock, then enter the code again
- Open the door remotely from your phone if the lock is online
- Issue an offline code if the lock has lost its connection
How HotelOne handles it
In HotelOne the door code comes from the booking: the PMS creates a new code, sets it to the stay’s check-in and check-out times and fills it into the arrival message, which goes out by SMS or email. The guest can also collect a key card from HotelOne’s self check-in kiosk, and staff can open the door remotely from the PMS on a phone. Every unlock is recorded against the room, low-battery alerts show up in the notification bell, and when the guest leaves, the card return box tells the front desk.
Self check-in with HotelOneA checklist before your first unattended night
- Every lock is bound to the right room
- The property’s check-in and check-out times are set
- The arrival message has been tested on your own phone
- You know how to open a door remotely and how to issue an offline code
- Lock batteries are above the warning level
- A contact number is on the door and in the message
Questions
- Is it safe to send door codes by SMS?
- A code that works only for one booking, from check-in to check-out, limits the risk: once the stay ends, it stops working. Send it to the mobile number on the booking, and keep the record of each unlock.
- What if the guest has no mobile phone?
- Send the code by email instead, or let them collect a key card at a self check-in kiosk.
- Can I send the code days before arrival?
- Yes, if the code is set to the stay’s times: it can be in the guest’s inbox days ahead and still only open the door from the check-in time.