Comments on: When Vacation Rental Lock Boxes Go Bad

By: Cathy

Cathy — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 07:51:13 +0000

One thing you haven’t considered is that guests who enter with a lockbox are completely on their own. If they’re in a house, they may ask the neighbors for help. In a condo, they won’t be sensitive to noise issues. I live in a condo with vacation rentals nearby. Many renters assume we are their staff. I’ve been stopped with questions about restaurants, sight-seeing, how to use the keypad, and more. I always refuse and tell them to call their agency, but it’s very annoying- like being asked for money on the street.

By: Terry Gronenthal

Terry Gronenthal — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 10:52:56 +0000

The 24/7 call centre is a new one on me. That’s absolutely perfect! The only thing I’d emphasize is that you convey the number to the renter as clearly as possible. Maybe send a text message to the renter with the telephone number in it.
Thanks Heather!

By: Heather

Heather — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 15:51:58 +0000

We manage 150 properties on behalf of owners, and because they are widely separated and very diverse properties, our owners have many different methods of providing access. Some will meet their guests; others use the lockbox method, and a few will hide a key somewhere on the property and let their guests know where to find it. We ensure all our owners have a spare key put in an easily accessible place but do not pass this information on as there are big security issues in properties that are vacant for long periods of time. We use a 24/7 call centre and if a guest has a problem with access they have the toll free number to call. They will be asked a security question to establish they are the expected guests and will then be provided with the information on the additional key.
Access issues are common and you are right how important it is to have a back-up plan.