Latest Activity...
Our CEO, Paul Waldschmidt, recently sat down with Avery Carl from The Short Term Show Podcast to discuss OwnerRez and exciting updates coming next year.
The Short Term Show is a podcast about short-term rental and long-term wealth. Hosted by Avery Carl, a short-term rental expert who started with 1 property and turned it into 42 in a matter of 5 years. Avery became a millionaire in equity in 3 years and is sharing the tools she has learned with you. Avery brings on real property owners hosting real properties and crushing it in the short-term rental space along with some of the biggest names in the industry.
During the podcast, Paul and Avery discuss:
Listen below:
Eric - Can I be a part of the Hubitat beta?
Thanks!
Paul,
If you are asking about examples why the integration is inferior to other options (RemoteLock, Jarvis) then the two examples in the comments - battery low alert and webhooks for first door entry etc are great examples. I am ok to pay "more" for having those features now before I move to OwnerRez integration. The way I look at it - If a guest can not enter since the batteries died and I did not get an alert, it does not worth the $1/saving a month for me. Love to see the v2 in the next few weeks and make the switch.
When does the guest receive the code?
by Asha P – Nov 3, 2023 4:28 PM (UTC)
The short answer is: whenever you decide to send it to them. The code itself is generated at the "generate when" time setting on the integration page. There are options for generating it at the time of booking (the default option), or certain number of days before arrival, or manually (ie. you set it yourself).
Assuming the code is generated at the time of booking, you can then configure templates/triggers to send it to the guest from that point forward.
Typically, the normal pattern is to send a message [x] days before arrival if certain conditions are met (booking is paid in full, renter agreement signed, etc). You would customize the template to include the door code and possibly other information.
So it's kind of up to you.
Where do I see the code in case I need to resend to the guest?
Right on the booking overview page. Once your lock integration is in place, all bookings that are at that property (ie. the property configured in the lock integration) will begin show a "Door Code" field on the booking. It will show the code value right next to it if a code was generated. There are other options there for Generate, Sync, etc so that you can change the code or resync to the lock.
Can I set an email notification template to go out on booking and day of arrival with the code?
Yes! See above, or look at our documentation on automated messaging and field codes.
Hi, can you tell me if we will be able to adjust the check in and check out times for each individual guest?
Yes, this flows from the booking itself. Every booking has a default check-in and check-out time, which comes from the default property rules. If you don't manually adjust this on the booking, it uses the default. If you change the check-in/out times on the booking, the code will follow that new time.
Kelley nailed it:
You can adjust the checkin/checkout times of the reservation. I imagine this will update the codes if already created. Or, you can do it in the schlage app for sure.
Also, keep in mind the "grace period" settings. Grace period is always added onto the new time. So if you give a specific guest early check-in at 1 pm, and your grace period is 2 hours, the code will start working at 11 am.
Is there any way to limit the number of digits for the automated Schlage codes? The default appears to be 8 digits.. I only want my codes to be 4 total digits, but Schlage is generating 7-8 digit codes.
Just connected my Schlage lock. A few questions:
When does the guest receive the code?
Where do I see the code in case I need to resend to the guest? Can I set an email notification template to go out on booking and day of arrival with the code?
Thanks for setting this integration up!
It was such a pleasure meeting all of you face to face at VRMA. You’re an incredible team and an incredible company
Ben
You can adjust the checkin/checkout times of the reservation. I imagine this will update the codes if already created. Or, you can do it in the schlage app for sure.
Hi, can you tell me if e will be able to adjust the check in and check out times for each individual guest? I am able to do that in RemoteLock if I want to allow someone to check in a few hours early or check out a few hours late I am able to adjust just that one guests time within their booking.
Any ETA on the 4-digit code length hot fix? I ran into this same problem this morning when I activated 3 more locks that I wanted to get up and running.
Hello,
Thank you for getting the Schlage lock integration! As others have pointed out, I would like to chime in as well.
1. Name of guest and not ORB booking number as the code name.
2. Delete obsolete codes: I understand that the code will not work, but schlage allows for 100 codes to be in the lock, and this will make the code list unwieldy to say the least if we are not actively deleting expired codes in a timely manner. I am having to do this manually to keep the code list from spiraling out of control.
3. My locks have been historically set to code for only 4 digits. I noticed last night that one of my locks has now a 7 digit code set: 000xxxx, with xxxx as last 4 of the guest phone number. Prior to this, only the last 4 digits have been set.
I currently use Remote Lock and if a code is unable to be generated for any reason, they send me an email. Does OR do this as well? Do you continue to push to the lock if it isn't successful the first try? I don't see any documentation saying how your integration handles this. I manage homes in the mountains and wifi does go out from time to time.
I don't see a way in OR and also I don't see any configuration about code length in the Schlage iOS app (where I can set 4 digit codes). when I try to set a 4 digit code in OR the set code popup errors with "Code must be 8 numeric digits"
We actually ran across this earlier this morning and are preparing a hotfix to correct it.
There was also a Schlage update to the API in the past few days that fixed a similar problem for integrated partners (like OwnerRez).
Very soon, this will be fixed so that you can set a code 4-8 digits in length.
I just ran into this issue yesterday after regrettably updating my lock firmware... SO happy to hear that you are actively working on fixing this to allow us to set the code length manually as this has been a real bummer - thank you thank you! And thanks for all the hard work on the Schlage integration, so excited to finally be able to utilize this! :)
Quick follow up. Maybe I missed it but a Low Battery Alert would be nice. I change my batteries at 50% so having the option to set when the notice goes out would be an added bonus.
We do show the battery level, as you probably know, but you're right - an actual alert would be great since you won't see that battery level unless you go looking. Same with an alert when the guest uses the lock, telling you that they entered. There is a lot that can be done, but the first release was about getting a low-cost bare-metal integration out there for everyone to start pounding on.
Thanks to you as well, Nathan!
Another vote for this! Would be helpful to receive a low battery notification that we can set.
Maybe there could be an option in the OR settings to use either name or booking number? It seems most people commenting use the name, as I do.
We are changing it to use the name. The feedback on that has been overwhelming and the use case is pretty obvious. The OwnerRez engineer working on lock stuff is already actively working on putting that in place.
I've seen a bunch of questions about why OwnerRez is sending all the door codes to the Schlage lock up front, like at the time of booking, instead of waiting a few days before arrival. For some people with a lot of future bookings, that means you have dozens of codes showing in your Schlage app.
This is a standard setting that can be configured for any lock integration, Schlage or otherwise. Look at the "Generate When" option.
By default, it is set to "at booking time" which means the code is assigned and sent to the lock as soon as the booking occurs, even if the booking is 6 months in the future:
Just switch that over to "number of days before arrival" and fill in the number of days you want, and bob's your uncle:
Maybe there could be an option in the OR settings to use either name or booking number? It seems most people commenting use the name, as I do.
I use First Initial and full last name when setting up the Access Code Name in the Schlage App. Instead of the using the Booking number, could you program it to use first initial and full last name?
Obviously, the 4 digit request is a big deal. It looks like you guys are working on it. Additionally, I noticed when the code was generated by OR, the "Notify me when Code is Used" flag is off when I look at my app. Can this be changed to automatically be on?
totally agree... in no case do I or would I use the OR booking number.
Another Suggestion: Only send the door codes a few days before the guest arrival. Do not send all the codes immediately to the lock. The lock does have a 100 code limit, and when you are searching for a specific code to make an edit, it makes it extremely difficult to find a specific booking when there are so many in there. We have bookings showing up in ours that are a year away. I think if you guys can change the booking number to the guest name as well, both of these enhancements will make the feature easier to use.
Suggestion: Use guest name instead of booking number as reference. See screenshot. If you need to manually update a code in the lock or change the time if the guest wants an early check-in, using the booking numbers is extremely cumbersome. Remote lock uses the guest name and that is a lot simpler then the booking number. Schlage has a 12 character limit for the name so the last name of the guest will have to be truncated in many cases, but as long as you have the first name it’s still easier than using the booking number.
Wonderful to hear, Paul!! Thank you so much for digging right in to clarify this!!
Ah thanks for that fast feedback. My understanding from engineering is that it works the exact same way as it did before. If the property uses the same ONE code for BOTH locks, then it will continue to do that for Schlage. The underlying "how to generate codes" lock did not change as part of this. I will confirm this specifically and correct my answer above.
Ok, I was able to get with an engineer on this and we did some testing. The code generation does not change for Schlage - it's the same as every other lock integration.
Here's a quick pic of us testing it:
(Ignore the purple buttons. That's extra stuff that only OR staff can see.)
We created two different locks and associated them with the same property and set "random" as the code generation setting. We created a booking, and, as you can see, both locks are using the same random number.
A small caveat on this... If the two locks have different code lengths, the shorter would get trimmed. For instance, if the front and back door of your property both have a Schlage lock but one has a max length of 4 digits and the other is 8 digits, then the random number will get trimmed to 4 on the one lock. That may look like the two locks are using different numbers because OwnerRez auto-trimmed it to 4 digits, but it will start with the same random number and try to set that in both locks.
I'll update my previous comment to correct this.
Quick follow up. Maybe I missed it but a Low Battery Alert would be nice. I change my batteries at 50% so having the option to set when the notice goes out would be an added bonus.
We do show the battery level, as you probably know, but you're right - an actual alert would be great since you won't see that battery level unless you go looking. Same with an alert when the guest uses the lock, telling you that they entered. There is a lot that can be done, but the first release was about getting a low-cost bare-metal integration out there for everyone to start pounding on.
Thanks to you as well, Nathan!
Thanks for your response Paul. That insight helps.
Quick follow up. Maybe I missed it but a Low Battery Alert would be nice. I change my batteries at 50% so having the option to set when the notice goes out would be an added bonus.
If you connect multiple locks and associate all of them with the same property, each lock will have a different code.
This is the same behavior that has always existed with all of our lock integrations (ie. third-party lock partners).
What you just described is not how it plays out in my instance, just FYI. I have been and am still integrated via RemoteLock. For several properties, front and back doors both have Schlage keypads. In OR, I've got both locks assigned to a single property. I use the "generate random code" option (4 digits) and the same code is pushed to both locks for that property for each guest (new code for each guest, but the same new code is pushed to both locks each time). This has never been an issue with my current set up and integration. It sounds like you believe it will be an issue if I switch over to the OR direct integration. Am I understanding correctly?
Ah thanks for that fast feedback. My understanding from engineering is that it works the exact same way as it did before. If the property uses the same ONE code for BOTH locks, then it will continue to do that for Schlage. The underlying "how to generate codes" lock did not change as part of this. I will confirm this specifically and correct my answer above.
Thanks, Alece!
I have two locks. One is pushing 4 digit codes and the other is pushing 8 digit codes. They are both set up the same and have always had 4 digit codes previously.
We are actively working on this. Here is some back story...
Apparently, for older firmware on certain Schlage models, the code length is determined by the first code you put on the lock. This is typically the admin code you create when you first pair up the lock with the Schlage Home app. After that, every code needs to be the same length. This value will vary per individual lock, and is returned by the API.
In development, we discovered this, so prior to sending any code over the API, we first query the lock info to get the code length, then use that to trim/pad the code length as needed.
As it happens, yesterday, a firmware was released from Schlage that changes this so now the code length can be variable. We are waiting for a response from the Schlage dev team on how we can tell what the new supported code length is there (per lock) before we go in and change things.
To change the code length on the older firmware, you need to delete all existing access codes, and make sure the first one you create is the length you want the rest of them to be.
But this might explain why some people are seeing 4 and some are seeing 8. It also explains why our team grayed-out the length and said "will be determined by the device". We will update this when we get word back from Schlage.
Several of us have asked when the codes will be deleted off the lock. Support keeps pointing back to the grace period. The grace period is a setting in the lock that tells it when the code should work. For example, 1 hour before check in and 1 hour after checking. That isn't the same as when the code will be deleted off the device.
We are looking into this as well. In development, we deduced that the device would auto-delete codes based on the end time of the code, and testing did not catch that as well. We are working to confirm whether Schlage devices auto-delete after the end time or the code list just keeps it there forever. We will update this as well once we confirm. If the device does not auto-delete them, we will update the process to do that on our end with a live call.
Either way, from a guest/usage standpoint, the code will not work after the check-out time.
If you connect multiple locks and associate all of them with the same property, each lock will have a different code.
This is the same behavior that has always existed with all of our lock integrations (ie. third-party lock partners).
What you just described is not how it plays out in my instance, just FYI. I have been and am still integrated via RemoteLock. For several properties, front and back doors both have Schlage keypads. In OR, I've got both locks assigned to a single property. I use the "generate random code" option (4 digits) and the same code is pushed to both locks for that property for each guest (new code for each guest, but the same new code is pushed to both locks each time). This has never been an issue with my current set up and integration. It sounds like you believe it will be an issue if I switch over to the OR direct integration. Am I understanding correctly?
