Guides for short-term rentals, B&Bs and hourly spaces

The box opens when you collect. Whether you are hiring out bikes or ski equipment, you face the same challenge as a holiday let owner, albeit on a smaller scale: how to hand over your gear without being tethered to the counter every hour of the day in case someone turns up.

Campsite barrier access for pre-booked guests. At a campsite, the barrier is your first point of contact. If there is no one at reception during the night, you are left with a choice: leave it open for everyone or keep it closed to everyone. Neither of those options works particularly well.

The pitch is free at seven, but the gate is not. Running a padel court and managing a holiday home might seem like chalk and cheese. Yet, for your guests, the challenge is identical: they have paid for a specific slot and need to gain entry without you having to be there to unlock the door manually.

Meeting rooms available by the hour. An empty meeting room in the morning that suddenly fills up by eleven is a classic coworking scenario. If the key is kept at reception, someone needs to be there to hand it over. If it is hidden under a plant pot, well, it is under the pot for everyone.

Selling devices and installing them are two different trades. Selling hardware and installing it at a customer's property are two distinct trades. Sometimes they are handled by the same company, but often they are not. Treating them as the same role only leads to misplaced expectations on both sides.

Installations available in your area. If you are a professional installer, you do not need a DIY online shop. You need to be found by people in your local area who need a relay or a lock fitted and have no idea who to call.

When the network fails, you need an active bridge. A lock at the end of a corridor, a gate by the roadside, or Wi-Fi that only reaches halfway: it is a common scenario where you have compatible devices, but the connection just isn't there. Without a bridge, you might be able to generate a code, but you will struggle to revoke it.

The installer tests, then the permission is revoked. Having an installer keep access to your devices simply because they fitted them might be convenient on day one, but it becomes a real headache a month later. You need to be able to grant and revoke access at will, without having to dismantle a thing.

The motor is already there. You just need a relay for the button. Many properties don't actually need a new lock. They already have a gate that opens at the touch of a button, but there is one catch: that button is inside the house, and the guest is not.

Managing multiple property arrivals in a single list. Managing properties for multiple owners is about more than just juggling keys. It is about knowing exactly who is arriving and where, first thing in the morning, without having to cross-reference three different calendars and a handful of chat threads.