California Vacation Villas Improves Guest Safety and Convenience with Oracode Electronic Locks and Smart Controller for a ‘Connected’ Experience

“We upgraded to dormakaba’s Oracode networked keyless locks because we wanted greater unit security, guest entry control and convenience for our management. Oracode locks enable us to give guests their own unique code that activates only during specific, configurable time ranges each day and communicate with the locks wirelessly to control thermostats, lights and other settings, which saves us hundreds of dollars each month.”

— Quinn Tamm, President, California Vacation Villas  

Background 
California Vacation Villas (CVV) is a full-service leasing and property management company that specializes in short-term vacation rentals. It manages a 70-unit inventory in Southern California’s beach and low desert resort areas. The company strives to provide a safe enjoyable experience to its guests as it maximizes revenue and asset protection for property owners. CVV prides itself on the use of the latest vacation rental technology to deliver a high-quality stay and an efficient operation. 

The Challenge 
The company’s desert properties are subject to high temperatures. Therefore, these units often have high utility costs from frequent air conditioner use. CVV’s beach properties are exposed to salt air and beachfront weather conditions, which may lead to corrosion. Further, company President, Quinn Tamm, knew that operators who use metal keys in lock boxes for guest and vendor access had concerns about lost keys and unauthorized duplication. He became interested in the growing ‘connected home’ technology movement and its benefits for temperature control, security monitoring, and overall guest convenience. Tamm wanted to work with his owners to implement a technology solution that would make its units more secure with flexible, convenient guest access, and guarantee a long-lasting product life. He also wanted to install networked energy management controls that would monitor and reduce unnecessary power use. 

The Oracode Solution 
Oracode 480i and 660i keyless entry locks 
Oracode Smart Controllers 
BeHome247 Enterprise Property Control integration 

The Benefit 
California Vacation Villas attained immediate benefits from its Oracode 480i keyless locks and Oracode Smart Controller integrated with BeHome247 Enterprise Property Control software. CVV now provides more secure, flexible unit access with reduced labor costs thanks to more efficient staff management. Additionally, in units where the 480i locks are wirelessly connected to the Oracode Smart Controller, managers can monitor real-time unit access remotely. The Smart Controller also permits CVV management to control thermostats, lights and other settings. This enables optimization of each unit’s temperature year around, which saves owners hundreds of dollars each month. Plus, Oracode locks are durable. They require less maintenance in high temperatures at the desert or beach. 

Secure, Flexible Vacation Rental Unit Access.  Reduced Labor Costs 
“The only concrete way to provide unit security is with Oracode keyless locks,” said Tamm. “Oracode locks let us give guests their own unique code that activates during specific configurable time spans each day. This saves us a great deal in labor expenses because we do not have to staff a front desk.”  

Oracode gives property managers the ability to provide a unique time-and date-sensitive code to each guest, vendor, housekeeper, and owner. Owners or property managers may grant remote access from any web browser or mobile device to guests or vendors for greater control and flexibility. For example, property managers can create a code for guests that only works during their stay; they can also monitor when the code is used. Access codes, programming, and entry audit trails are stored in the Oracode lock to keep properties secure.  

“We track when guests leave the unit to verify if a late check-out is billable. For safety, only the highest level management codes are set to override the deadbolt, not the codes we make for vendors and housekeepers. The Oracode lock also notifies us if an invalid code is used to attempt to open a door.” Tamm said.  For added security, the Oracode lock tracks and maintains an audit trail of the last 5,000 lock events including the date and time the lock event occurred. The lock records and identifies each person entering and exiting the doors.  

Guests can customize their code once they are in the unit to something easier for them to remember.  This makes it more convenient for them to enter with a personal code. CVV also programed emergency codes for guest safety. 

Greater Energy Efficiency 
Oracode 480i and 660i locks communicate wirelessly with the Oracode Smart Controller for a ‘connected environment’ and real-time unit monitoring. “When Oracode is integrated with the unit’s Smart Controller it can communicate with BeHome247. The Smart Controller lets us monitor and control thermostats, lights, spa, and other settings. We use this to optimize each unit’s temperature year around, which saves us hundreds of dollars a month.” CVV managers control unit thermostat temperatures within a specific configurable range when a unit is occupied. Guests can set their temperature within a range CVV designates. CVV also programmed a cooling setback temperature when the room is unoccupied in the summer. 
Reliable Lock Performance 

Tamm said, “The Oracode battery life is excellent. We have had no failures due to the battery draw down. When comparing Oracode locks to a competitive lock, we found Oracode quality and battery life to perform much better, providing greater long-term durability and reliability. They stand up to high desert temperatures, and the salt air at our beach units very well.” The locks feature a vandal-resistant numeric keypad with solid metal pushbuttons. To simplify Oracode installation, operators can quickly mount the 480i electronic lock in existing doors with only a Philips screwdriver. Oracode’s time-sensitive entrance code eliminates keys and saves property management a significant amount of time. The lock sends notifications through the website to property managers and owners informed in real-time of occurring events such as guest first arrival, early checkout or if the Internet is down.  

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