Keypad door locks for a self check-in homestay

HostBooking · Updated Oct 28, 2026 · 7 min read

A self check-in homestay needs two things: a lock that takes codes remotely, and an online step before guests arrive. A keypad lock with a gateway lets you set a separate code for each stay, valid only during it. Guests register, photograph their ID and accept the house rules on their phone; you approve once, and only then do they see the door code.

Common kinds of lock

• Keypad locks: the guest types a code. Nothing to hand over, and changing a code costs nothing. The best fit for self check-in.
• Card locks: familiar from hotels, but someone has to hand out the card, or a key box that itself needs a code.
• App locks: the guest installs the lock maker’s app and is given access. One more step for the guest, and not every foreign visitor is willing.

Many locks combine several ways in (code, card, fingerprint, app, mechanical key). For self check-in, make the code the guest’s main way in and keep the others for yourself and your staff.

Why a gateway matters

Most residential smart locks talk over Bluetooth: to add or remove a code, a phone has to be near the door. A gateway is a small plug-in device on Wi‑Fi, placed near the lock, that bridges the lock to the internet. With one, you can create and delete codes from anywhere, and your management software can do it for each booking. Without one, every code change needs someone at the door.

A gateway needs steady Wi‑Fi and must sit within Bluetooth range of the lock; check the maker’s guide for range and how many locks one gateway serves. Test the signal where it will go before drilling the door.

A code per stay, or one fixed code

One code for every guest is easy at first but leaks over time: past guests remember it, it gets shared in group chats, screenshots stay around. To stay safe you have to change it often and tell every upcoming guest again.

A code per stay works only during that stay and is dead afterwards. Past guests cannot come back in, and if something happens you know which code belonged to which stay. The catch is that codes must be created and deleted on time, including when guests change dates or cancel. Done by hand, that is easy to miss, so it is a job for software.

Batteries, backup keys and power cuts

• Electronic locks usually run on batteries. Note the date you change them and replace them when the lock warns, not when they die.
• Keep a backup way in: a mechanical key, or emergency power if your lock has it. Store the key where only you or someone you trust can get it.
• If the gateway loses power or Wi‑Fi, new codes cannot reach the lock, but codes already on it still work. Create codes well before arrival so there is time to fix a gateway problem.
• Always give guests a phone number to call if they cannot get in, and put it in the arrival instructions.

Online check-in before arrival

Self check-in does not mean skipping the paperwork. A homestay in Vietnam still has to notify the police of every overnight guest (see the guest stay notice) and should have guests accept the house rules. Done online before arrival, both are finished before anyone touches the door:

1. The guest registers everyone staying: name, date of birth, ID document, nationality.
2. The guest photographs their ID card or passport.
3. The guest reads and accepts the house rules.
4. You or the desk review and approve once.
5. After approval, from the arrival day, the guest sees the door code, Wi‑Fi and the way in.

The order matters: the code only reaches someone who has registered and been approved, not weeks early in a message.

Doing it on HostBooking

HostBooking’s smart locks work with TTLock keypad locks and a gateway:

• You sign in to your TTLock account once and assign each lock to its room.
• For a booking with a room that has a lock, a 6-digit code is created within the two days before arrival. It works from 2 hours before check-in time to 1 hour after check-out time.
• A cancellation, new dates, a room move or check-out removes the old code from the lock within minutes. If the lock does not respond, the code is kept and retried later.
• The code shows only on the right guest’s self check-in page, for the booking’s own room, from the arrival day and after approval. Staff allowed to check guests in see live codes so they can help.

Guest self check-in handles the paperwork: guests register each person, photograph their ID and accept the house rules (the time and the version accepted are kept). One approval at the desk turns the submission into the booking’s guest register; a wrong one goes back with a reason. ID photos are encrypted at rest and deleted 30 days after check-out. You can switch the approval step off if you prefer.

Guest self check-in is included from the Basic plan; on Free it is an add-on. Smart locks are included from the Pro plan; on lower plans they are an add-on billed per lock. Door codes reach guests only through the self check-in page, so both need to be on.