Late check-ins are an expensive challenge for hotels and small inns — staffing, skilled-labour shortages, an unsolved key handover. kolula automates the entire process without any extra personnel.
Key handover for late guests
‘Damn, we’re going to be late!’ — for hotel guests, a late check-in is always annoying. For small hotels and B&Bs, it’s more than that: it’s one of the biggest operational challenges. No surprise — staffing the front desk after hours is expensive. Even harder hits the skilled-labour shortage: it’s getting harder and harder to find qualified people willing to greet guests in late evening or night-time hours and grant access to their rooms.
Standard solutions for key handover
Granted, the flowerpot as a key drop is an extreme example. There are plenty of access solutions on the market that try to bridge the gap between desk closing and re-opening. Bluetooth/NFC-controlled door locks, for instance, often need a native app if the lock isn’t connected to Wi-Fi. Smart key lockers aren’t exactly compact and can be tricky to operate. Electronic key safes are the best option on the market — but their PIN has to be updated manually over and over again.
Worry-free: key handover with kolula
Thanks to kolula, guests and hosts never have to deal with these issues again. The smart end-to-end solution combines wall-mountable key-storage stations with a highly innovative web app that fundamentally rethinks the key handover. As soon as the guest realises they’ll be late, they contact the front desk, which sends them a link to the web app and drops the key in the station. When the guest arrives, they open the web app, unlock the station, and take the contents. Stations support remote maintenance and an offline mode — in which a numeric pad on the front opens the locker.
Benefits at a glance
- Key handover for hotels and inns made easy
- Practical web app, no download required
- Happier guests, fewer complaints
- No extra staff needed at the front desk
- Simple implementation, significant cost savings
- Hardware from a renowned safe manufacturer
From key handover to digital service centre
With its simplicity and intuitive handling, kolula is a natural fit for key handovers in hotels and B&Bs. But the web app can do more: late-arriving guests are often exhausted. Why not let them reserve a refreshing drink via kolula? Or a relaxing massage the next day, or a guided tour of a local landmark? The range of use cases is open-ended — all just a few clicks away.
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