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Vest BilutleieHow Vest Bilutleie Automated 24/7 Car Rentals with Keycafe
“Keycafe has turned key handovers from a time-sensitive manual task into a flexible 24/7 process, and with its simple API, it has become a great tool for helping us scale our business.”
Thomas Tufta Løberg
Co-Founder & CEO at Vest Bilutleie
About Vest Bilutleie
Vest Bilutleie offers flexible car rental services to private customers and businesses across Western Norway, with six locations along the country’s west coast.
Nicole Arasaki Moromisato is a Marketing Coordinator at Keycafe, specializing in the auto dealership and fleet management industries. She focuses on how dealerships and fleets use key management to streamline service, sales, and vehicle access workflows.
Challenge
Vest Bilutleie provides vehicle rental services across Western Norway. Before Keycafe, the company relied on staff to hand over keys in person, meaning every pickup and return required an employee to be available at the right place and time.
Handling rentals outside normal business hours was particularly difficult, as staff often had to drive to vehicle locations just to assist customers. Additionally, their existing key cabinets slowed down pickups because access details could only be shared once the vehicle was ready and the key was physically in the box. As the company planned to grow and develop its own rental platform, it needed a completely new key management strategy.
Pain Points
- No Service Outside Opening Hours — Helping customers after hours meant physically driving to the vehicle location, which limited availability and used up staff time.
- Time-Sensitive Handovers — Pickup information could only be sent once the key was in the cabinet, so every booking became a last-minute task.
- Staffing Bottlenecks — Manual key exchanges required an employee present at a specific time, which made it hard to serve multiple customers at once.
- Lack of Fleet Return Visibility — Without automated tracking, employees lacked immediate insight into key returns, requiring manual follow-ups to coordinate vehicle inspections.
Solution
Vest Bilutleie chose Keycafe as a modern alternative to its existing key cabinets. Its intuitive interface and individual key compartments make pickups simpler and faster for both customers and staff.
Customers now book through the Vest Bilutleie website and receive an SMS with their pickup details as soon as their booking is created. Staff simply place the vehicle key in the SmartBox once preparations are complete. Furthermore, Keycafe is integrated directly into Vest Bilutleie's booking system via API, automatically syncing statuses when keys are collected or returned, and triggering email alerts to staff.
As Co-Founder and CEO Thomas Tufta Løberg explains, “We can see exactly when the car was picked up and dropped off, no guesswork.”
Vest Bilutleie Car Rental's Implementation
- Automated SMS Handovers — Customers receive a Keycafe booking link by SMS to independently pick up and drop off keys via the SmartBox without staff on site.
- Advance Booking Setup — Keycafe bookings and pickup instructions are sent before the vehicle is ready, which makes handovers far less time-sensitive.
- Automatic Return Alerts — Email notifications tell employees when a key is returned, so they can plan the inspection and preparation straight away.
- Rental Platform API Integration — Booking status syncs automatically on pickup and return.
“Keycafe allows us to give better service, get a great audit trail, better control over our vehicles, and it's given us more precision in our work.”
Result
Vest Bilutleie started seeing the operational benefits of Keycafe within the first one to two weeks. Because customers can now collect and return vehicles at any hour, staff no longer waste time driving to locations for late-night or early-morning handovers. The team is now able to serve multiple customers at once, allowing the company to scale its rental volume without hiring additional headcount.
The automated workflow has also transformed internal team coordination. With real-time syncing and automated alerts, the team has an accurate, real-time view of every vehicle across its locations. This removes a significant amount of administrative work and guesswork from daily operations, leaving Vest Bilutleie perfectly positioned to support continued growth across Western Norway.
The Outcome
- 24/7 Rental Service — Customers can pick up and return vehicles at any hour, with no staff required on site.
- Scaling Without Added Headcount — The team serves multiple customers at once and grows rental volume without hiring staff for key exchanges.
- Fast Time to Value — Operational benefits appeared within the first 1–2 weeks of using Keycafe.
- Real-Time Fleet Visibility — Live booking updates completely eliminated the need for manual cabinet checks, giving the team an accurate, real-time view of every vehicle’s status across all locations.
- Full Audit Trail — Every key transaction is logged with a precise date and time, giving complete control and accountability.
Customize Your Solution Now
Configure and purchase your smart key management system in minutes. Our onboarding specialists will work with you to set up your solution and ensure it's a success. If Keycafe is not the right fit for your business, you may return it for a full refund for up to 45 days!
