Master Key System Setup

Project Overview

A twelve-room boutique hotel juggled guest keys, housekeeping keys and a manager's ring of twelve — with no record of who held what. We designed a three-tier master system: guest keys open one room, staff keys open their floor, and the manager's key opens everything.

The Challenge

The hotel couldn't close for renovations, so all work happened between 10am checkout and 3pm check-in. Half the doors had mismatched brands, and two suites needed to stay keyed differently for long-stay guests.

Our Approach

We standardized every cylinder to one restricted keyway, pinned the three-tier hierarchy on our bench, then swapped door by door during the midday window. Each key was logged, stamped and signed for — the manager finally has one keyring and a complete audit trail.