Tesa electronic locks: 10 Benefits to know about

In 1974, the famous Norwegian inventor Tor Sernes, who worked at the plant, heard a story about the attack on a woman in her hotel room. This led to the appearance of traditional hotel locks.

At that time, the traditional keys to the hotel were metal and often the name, address and hotel number were indicated on them. In an effort to create a more secure mechanism, Sernes made the first programmable card. In his patent application in 1978, he wrote: “Such locks are of particular interest for hotels, where guests often forget to leave the key when leaving, or the keys are often lost in some other way. For security reasons, it is advisable to change the combination of this lock so that only a new key can open it.”

Over our many years of experience working with hotels, the hospitality market has undergone great changes. If earlier many hoteliers had to be convinced of the need to install an electronic lock and explain what its advantage over mechanical keys is, today 95% of hotels install locks that work with contactless cards.

Often, hoteliers install electronic locks in accordance with fashion trends, so it seemed important to us to touch on the functional side and consider their main advantages, using the TESA hotel locks as the only electronic lock system in the world for hotels, hostels, hospitals and other commercial facilities offering the maximum complete solution.

So, advantage 1: population control
The main problem of most hotels is the so-called “left” settlement for a short time. Since electronic locks have a memory, they record all events associated with their opening, including the date, time and name of the card holder. At the same time, locks register not only openings, but also their attempts.

2. The ability to differentiate access rights for employees
Personnel cards can be configured in any way, based on the staffing table and access rights to certain rooms, thanks to TESA software. It creates a virtual wireless online network between the locks (R / W) and the central system. Information is collected from locks automatically by reading the personnel card: optimization of personnel activity monitoring (access attempts outside the set time). Conventionally, the card of the maid Ivanova can be programmed so that she can open rooms only on the 3rd floor and only from 9 to 18 hours on weekdays, and the manager Petrova’s card can be encoded so that she has access to all hotel rooms around the clock.

3. Protection against unauthorized entry
In the case of mechanical keys, you have to constantly worry about the fact that you can make a duplicate of any key. Or in case of loss or theft of keys, a replacement of the door lock mechanism is required. When using electronic locks, this problem disappears by itself: key cards are valid only for the period of their issue, and each new one issued automatically cancels the previous one. We want to note that communication between locks and software is carried out in real time, from anywhere in the world, with instant collection of any information registered by locks:
• About user access.
• About unauthorized attempts to open.
• About attempts to open not during working hours or during one's shift.
• Detection of intruders. Attempt to open 3 or more locks to which there is no access, within 1 hour.
• Stopping the intruder. Trying to use several cards (for example, lost) on one lock for 1 hour

4. Guest privacy function
Most hotel castles have a guest privacy feature. While in the room, the guest can close the lock with an additional rotary knob. Locks can be configured in such a way that such doors can only be opened by employees of a special category, for example, only the hotel manager or the security chief. This eliminates accidental hits of maids in the room when the guest is in the room.

5. Unlimited number of key cards for guests
If two or more guests are accommodated in a room, it is not difficult to issue any number of cards to this number, which will be a copy of the main

6. Easy to install
Locks for hotels are autonomous, that is, for their installation it is not necessary to stretch low-current networks. At the same time, the installation options provided by TESA are so wide that electronic locks can be installed on almost any door: wooden, metal, narrow-profile, glass, etc.

7. Ability to use maps for third-party applications
Due to system integration, guest cards can be used for any other systems using cards of this standard. In restaurants, guest cards can be used for settlements, while, for example, in ski resorts, a guest card can serve as a ski pass, and in spa hotels it can be used as an identification tool for accessing certain areas. In addition, TESA supplies wall-mounted readers working in a single system with locks and having identical electronics and operation logic. Such readers can be used for barriers in parking lots, in elevators, to enter the building, and so on.

8. Energy Saving
The TESA smart energy-saving device is a switch that monitors and controls electrical equipment located in a hotel room. It allows you to connect to the power supply in the room by reading a valid card, provided that the card is in the room. The switch operates exclusively with cards programmed by the hotel, and is able to distinguish between customer cards and master staff cards. This ensures a reduction in electricity consumption levels when the room is busy, and ensures that there is no energy consumption in an unoccupied room.

Wireless on-line power switches inform the central system in real time of the presence of guests or maids in the rooms, and allow you to control the temperature in the room. You can also turn off the air conditioning or heating during the period when the client is not in the room (even if the card is in the switch), or in the case of opening a door or window (requires a volume sensor and / or a door / window sensor).

9. Automatic check-in desks
It is no longer necessary for the staff at the reception to work around the clock or to be present when handing over the keys to the tourist apartments, which significantly reduces hotel costs. TESA offers various solutions to improve guest service in several ways:
• Pin Locks. The system automatically sends a guest an email with information about the PIN code of the keyboard, which gives access to their room, as well as the date / time of entry and exit and the number of their room. The PIN code is automatically canceled on the day / time of departure.
• Mobile key. Guests automatically receive authorization from the system for the application downloaded to their smartphones, which allows them to open their rooms. Opening permissions will be valid only during the guest's stay, and the permission is also valid for hotel staff.

10. Mobile key
Keys and cards are a thing of the past. The mobile key gives you the opportunity to access your rooms and other hotel doors (for which you have access) through your smartphones using low-power Bluetooth® technology. These access rights can be controlled by hotel staff in real time. A mobile key has several advantages. Firstly, it eliminates the need to stand in line at the front desk. As soon as the check-in date arrives at the hotel, the necessary access permissions will be automatically activated on the guests' smartphones. If another access permit is required, it can be requested without going to the reception. The solution allows you to free guests from wearing a key card and at the same time makes it possible to study the mobile application in which they can find the answers they need, learn more about the hotel and your offers. This function is intuitively simple and safe, it uses two-factor authentication and gives the hotel the ability to deny access in real time. The mobile key is easily activated during registration and will be automatically deleted after the guest leaves.

“In my opinion, electronic locks are the dictates of the time. A kind of "must-have" for the hotel business. Their use meets current market requirements and industry trends. Why? Because it’s convenient for guests to use a key card: you don’t have to hand it over to the reception, worry that it will be lost. But the most important thing is the safety of both guests and the hotel. After all, the castle stores all the information about who and when went into the room. And it, if necessary, can be "considered". In addition, if a guest forgets to return a key card at check out, it becomes a kind of souvenir that reminds a person of a hotel. As for the losses incurred as a result of this, they are insignificant. Moreover, the card is programmed only for the duration of the stay in the room, after which it becomes useless if it is not reprogrammed. And if electricity consumption is also tied to a key card, this saves energy and serves as an additional guarantee of security in a situation where they forget, for example, when leaving, disconnect the iron from the outlet. I confess, I don’t see any inconvenience. Of course, like any device, electronic locks need to be timely and professionally serviced. But without them, today you can’t imagine any modern hotel,” says Olga Kiseleva, General Director of the Admiralteyskaya Hotel.

Choosing the right manufacturer of locks for the hotel today is not an easy task, since in recent years many young brands have appeared on the market, calling themselves European, but not really being such. 100% reliability of locks is the main criterion that should be considered when buying.

TESA today is a leading developer and manufacturer of world-class fittings, offering an extensive range of door systems and access control. TESA is one of the first companies to be certified in accordance with international quality standards