Hotel and resort security: smart locks, virtual concierge and cameras
For hotel, motel and resort owners, general managers and property managers in Alberta and BC.
Updated
The quick answer
A hotel’s security system now runs the guest experience as much as it protects the building. It covers guest room smart locks with key cards or mobile keys, a virtual concierge for late arrivals, cameras on the lobby, lot and parkade, access control for staff by role and shift, alarms on exits that get propped open, and a network that keeps guest Wi-Fi apart from business systems. We install and support all of it, including MTech guest room locks.
Smart locks for guest rooms
| Option | What it means for your hotel |
|---|---|
| RFID key card locks | Guests tap a key card on the lock. The front desk encodes each card for the room and the stay, and it stops working at check-out, so a lost card is never a rekeying job. |
| Mobile keys | Bluetooth locks let guests open their room with their phone, so returning guests can skip the line at the desk when your hotel offers it. |
| Retrofit locks | RFID locks made to fit existing doors, so you can move off metal keys without replacing every door. |
| Key management software | Front desk software to issue, change and cancel guest and staff keys, and keep a record of the keys you’ve issued. |
| Entrances and amenities | The same guest key can open the side entrance, pool, gym or parkade for the length of the stay, and nothing else. |
| Staff and master keys | Housekeeping and maintenance get keys for their floors and shifts, and a lost master key is cancelled instead of rekeyed. |
We install and support MTech hotel locks: RFID guest room locks, retrofit locks for older doors, Bluetooth mobile keys and key management software from an Edmonton-based Canadian company.
Virtual concierge and after-hours check-in
A virtual concierge is a front desk on video. A guest who arrives after hours presses a button on a video intercom or kiosk at the entrance, and a real person answers on screen: your night auditor from the back office, a manager at home or at another property, or a remote concierge team. They greet the guest, confirm the booking, unlock the front door and point them to their room, so a small property doesn’t need someone at the desk all night.
We set up the video intercom or kiosk, the door release and the call routing behind it, with cameras on the entrance and lobby, and tie it into your guest keys so a late arrival can be let in and sent a mobile key where your lock system supports it.
Where it helps
- Late arrivals after the desk closes
- Motels and small hotels without overnight staff
- Groups of properties sharing one night team
- Deliveries and contractors after hours
- Guests locked out of the building
What we install
- Video intercom or kiosk at the entrance
- Door release and access control on the front door
- Cameras on the entrance, lobby and desk
- Calls routed to the desk, a phone or a remote team
- Mobile keys, where your lock system supports them
A guest’s stay, start to finish
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Arrival | The parkade gate opens for registered plates or from the intercom, and cameras cover the lot and entrance. |
| Check-in | At the front desk or through the virtual concierge. The guest gets a key card, a mobile key, or both. |
| During the stay | Their key opens their room, the elevator to their floor after hours, and the amenities they’ve booked. Nothing else. |
| Check-out | Keys stop working on their own. There’s nothing to collect and nothing to rekey. |
Where hotels need coverage
| Area | What we install |
|---|---|
| Guest rooms | RFID or mobile-key smart locks, managed from the front desk. |
| Lobby and front desk | Cameras on entrances and the desk, and a silent panic button for staff. |
| Front entrance after hours | A video intercom or virtual concierge, with a key card reader for guests. |
| Parking lot and parkade | Cameras, plate recognition at entrances and gate access for guests. |
| Back of house | Access control on kitchen, storage, laundry and office doors, by staff role and shift. |
| Elevators and guest floors | Elevator control, where your guest lock system supports it, so guest floors need a key card after hours. |
| Pool, gym and amenities | Schedules and entry logs for shared rooms. |
| Side and exit doors | Door alarms and alerts when an exit is propped open. |
Problems we solve
What we hear from managers
- Side doors propped open
- Car break-ins in the lot or parkade
- Master keys that never come back
- Late arrivals with no one at the desk
- Old metal-key locks on guest rooms
- Footage that takes too long to find
- Guest Wi-Fi on the same network as the front desk
What we set up
- One app for cameras and doors
- Alerts for doors held open
- Key cards and mobile keys that expire at check-out
- A virtual concierge for after-hours arrivals
- Fast clip export for incidents and police
- Staff access that changes with the schedule
- Separate networks for guests, staff and security systems
Resorts, lodges and multi-building properties
Resorts and lodges spread the same systems across a site: fibre or wireless links between buildings, cameras on paths, lots, pools and docks, and guest keys that open the right buildings and amenities. Parts of the property with no power or network can use solar and cellular cameras.
For resorts outside our main areas, our parachute team can travel. See remote site security for off-grid systems and wireless links.
Guest privacy
Alberta’s and BC’s private-sector privacy laws (both called PIPA) apply to video and door logs recorded by businesses. Keep cameras out of private spaces, post signs, limit who can view footage and keep it only as long as you need it. Not legal advice. Never place cameras in guest rooms, washrooms or change rooms.
Networks and Wi-Fi
Guest Wi-Fi, front desk systems, door locks, cameras and controllers should each sit on their own network. We design and install business networks, cabling and Wi-Fi that keep them apart and cover every floor, building and outdoor area.
After-hours monitoring
Remote video monitoring through our monitoring partner can watch parkades, lots and entrances overnight, warn people through a speaker and call police or your contact if it’s real.
Planning upgrades for a hotel or resort?
We’ll walk the property with your manager and give you a written plan you can phase over time, room locks included.
Related: MTech hotel locksvideo intercomaccess controlsecurity camerasnetworks and Wi-Fismall business security
Stuck with a system nobody will fix?
We repair and take over cameras, access control, intercoms and alarms installed by other companies, when your current provider has fallen short.
Help: Export Avigilon video
More industries we secure: Medical and dental clinicsRetail plazas and strip malls
Hotel and resort security questions
What is a virtual concierge?
A front desk on video. Guests who arrive after hours call from a video intercom or kiosk at the entrance, and a real person answers on screen, checks them in and unlocks the door. It can be your own staff from anywhere, or a remote concierge team.
Do you install guest room smart locks?
Yes. We install and support MTech hotel locks, including RFID key card locks, retrofit locks for existing doors, Bluetooth mobile keys and key management software.
Can guests use their phone as a room key?
Yes, with a lock system that supports Bluetooth mobile keys, such as MTech’s. Guests who prefer a card can still get one at the desk.
Can you replace our metal-key locks with key cards?
Yes. RFID retrofit locks are made to fit existing doors, so most hotels can move to key cards without replacing doors. We check your doors on the site walk.
Can one guest key open the side door, pool and parkade?
Yes, when the guest locks and access control are set up together. The key opens the guest’s room and the shared doors you choose, for the length of the stay.
Can you work with our current guest room lock system?
Often, yes. We plan access control, elevators and cameras to work alongside your lock system and confirm what can be linked during design. If you’re replacing locks, we install and support MTech.
Can staff access change with their shift?
Yes. Access control can set doors by role and schedule, and cancel a lost fob, card or master key the same day.
Can we be alerted when an exit is propped open?
Yes. Door alarms can alert staff, or our monitoring partner, when an exit is held open.
Where shouldn’t cameras go?
Never in guest rooms, washrooms or change rooms. Keep cameras to entrances, the desk, corridors, lots and back-of-house areas, and post signs.
Do you work on resorts and lodges?
Yes. We link buildings with fibre or wireless, cover paths, lots and amenities with cameras, and use solar or cellular cameras where there’s no power.
Can the parkade be monitored overnight?
Yes. Remote video monitoring through our monitoring partner can watch the parkade and lot after hours.
Can you take over our existing system?
Yes. We take over and fix systems installed by other companies, and regain admin access where you own the system.
More answers: Questions about working with HightowerGlossary: access controlIP camera
Get a hotel or resort security quote
Tell us about the property: rooms, entrances, parking, your room locks and what you have now. We’ll follow up to book a site walk.
Call and a real person answers, 24/7 for emergencies.