Keycafe Enables Reliable Self Check-In at LUXE TECH VILLA ASHITOKU

LUXE TECH VILLA ASHITOKU’s villa-style rooms are designed for ultimate privacy, allowing guests to enter directly from outside. Initially, each door was equipped with a numeric touchpad lock, but repeated malfunctions — unresponsive buttons and unexpected errors — became a serious problem. The island’s hot and humid climate, which is harsh on electronics, was identified as the issue. It led to condensation and frequent failures with the electronic lock.

When a new building with a common lobby area opened in summer of 2024, the team decided it was time to upgrade to a more reliable key system. They switched to traditional door locks and keys to avoid the risk of electronic lock failure, and looked for an indoor locker solution that could work alongside their self-check-in system. Integration with their reservation platform, HotelSmart, was also crucial to ensure a fully automated and smooth guest experience.

To meet their needs, LUXE TECH VILLA ASHITOKU adopted Keycafe’s SmartBox key management system, using the integration with HotelSmart. This setup allows guests to handle everything themselves along their entire stay, from booking and check-in to picking up and returning keys, and finally, checking out.

Guests check in at a tablet in the lobby area and receive an automatically-generated access code to retrieve their room key from the SmartBox. Returning keys is just as simple: guests scan the fob attached to their keys at the SmartBox and deposit them in the bin that opens.

Cleaning staff are assigned access permissions to all rooms, while the management team can monitor logs, check key access histories, and control the SmartBox remotely as needed.

Since implementing Keycafe, key-related issues and guest complaints have dropped dramatically. With no more electronic lock failures, room access is no longer a worry for guests. The ability to monitor key return status in real time has also streamlined checkout operations, reducing staff workload significantly.

"When it comes to self-check-in, reliability and ease of use are everything. A single malfunction can ruin the guest experience and add extra work for staff. That’s why we chose a system we could fully trust," says Mr. Ikeda from the management team.