With hundreds of rental vacation listings in Kitsilano and the summer rental season fast approaching, Kitsilano residents will be very pleased with the arrival of the key exchange service to neighbourhood cafes.
Vancouver based tech startup Keycafe is a secure key exchange service to help you manage access to your home. With the high cost of real estate, you may find yourself looking to websites such as Airbnb.com and Homeaway.com to rent out your home for extra revenue. The issue with renting out your own home is the hassle of managing access to your guests, or cleaning service while you are away.
Keycafe’s approach is simple: you attach an RFID key fob to your keys and digitally “check in” the keys at your nearby Keycafe location. For Kitsilano, that is Vinoteca and Waves Coffee House on West Broadway, and Culprit Coffee on West 4th.
Your keys are then stored in a lockbox and are anonymous to everyone but yourself. You may then go on that trip to Mexico knowing that if you get a guest while you are away, you can simply assign access to your keys from your phone or computer. Your guest is then able to “check out” your keys at their convenience using a secret PIN, while experiencing the friendly hospitality of the local cafe staff.
Imagine being able to track who has your keys and when they picked them up or dropped them off. You will be assured when your cleaning service has finished getting your apartment ready and the keys ready to be picked up by your guest. With no upfront costs, no installation and you can use your existing set of keys, it can be a great alternative to buying an expensive keypad or digital lock.
Last modified: January 4, 2017
