Leisure and business travellers increasingly want the stress-free convenience of a frictionless journey. Flexible, secure PIN-powered hotel locking can help provide the flow they crave, door-to-door, combining round-the-clock keyless, queue-less access with powerful, cost- and time-efficient management for staff.

A 2025 survey of 12,000 travellers across 14 major European markets found that guests increasingly expect seamless, queue-free hotel stays, with self-service check-in becoming a standard preference. In the 2026 Global Hotel Alliance Travel Trends survey, nearly 80% of brands said they were investing in frictionless check-in to meet these growing guest expectations.

Providing guests with the convenience of round-the-clock check-in and the safety of contactless arrival, then, is an increasing priority as the market evolves with the needs of a new generation of travellers. TESA Hotel’s Check-In PIN solution offers hospitality businesses a system which is easy to implement and simplifies day‑to‑day operations for staff.

Boosting business, increasing guest satisfaction

With the TESA Check-In PIN solution, guests enter their room when they choose, without keys, keycards, or queues at the reception desk. Prior to the stay, they receive an email with their PIN. They can then arrive friction-free and independently at their own pace: no keys or cards to carry, no apps to download. On checkout, they just pack their bags and head for home. Every stage of their digital journey happens without hassle or hitch.

Property owners and managers enjoy significant benefits. TESA software automatically sends the guest PIN email. No reminders need to be set. The same code automatically expires on scheduled checkout – or managers can change the validity period with a few clicks in the software. For small hotels or B&Bs, Check-In PIN can be a game-changer, enabling 24/7 guest arrivals without additional staffing costs. For every business, it reduces the use of plastics and frees hotel staff from endless reception queues.

The unique, secure PIN also becomes the guest’s digital companion during their stay. It unlocks their room and authorized common doors such as main entrance or gym. Hotel managers can tailor access on a guest-by-guest basis. Late checkout is also offered with a couple of clicks in the TESA Hotel software. Check-In PIN simplifies hotel operations, enabling faster service and delivering a smoother experience for both staff and guests.

A complete access management solution for the hospitality sector

Check-In PIN is just one option within the TESA Hotel ecosystem, and part of a suite of connected digital solutions from the access experts at ASSA ABLOY. The TESA Hotel solution is custom-built to streamline access management for hotels, rental apartments, campsites, guesthouses, and hospitality businesses – of every size and type.

Compatible TESA locks with keypad are quick and wire-free to install at almost any door. For enhanced site security, every PIN may be cancelled instantly and all communication between system and locks is encrypted. The TESA hardware range includes a choice of robust battery-powered locks for doors and in-room devices, available in multiple finishes and designs. As well as PIN, hotel managers can offer guest access with RFID keycards or mobile keys on their smartphone – without changing their locks.

Staff manage the stay from user-friendly TESA Hotel software. With real-time, remote control over all doors, they can react instantly to any unexpected incident. If a keycard is lost, or a PIN compromised, it is quick to generate a new one within the software, simultaneously cancelling the missing one. There is no need to change locks or waste time and money with rekeying. With minimal training, any staff member will find TESA Hotel a breeze.

The Check‑In PIN solution also integrates seamlessly via API with PMS systems, self‑check‑in kiosks, and online booking platforms, enabling managers to streamline operations and manage bookings and access more efficiently.

A PIN-powered guest experience at Spanish holiday apartments

Harpazul, an apartment complex in Galicia, chose Check-In PIN to make late guest arrivals stress-free. Booking confirmation and follow-up messages provide each party with their unique PIN to enter Harpazul; move through common areas; and unlock their room. Stylish, wire-free digital devices secure all main access points, recreation areas, and individual apartments.

“This way we offer a better service to the customer because they don’t have to queue at reception,” explains Harpazul’s Roi Casal. “It is as easy as sending the PIN via email.” Their TESA devices are already fully compatible with keycard and smartphone unlocking, if Harpazul introduce either option in future.

To learn more about this project, visit: https://www.assaabloy.com/group/emeia/solutions/topics/access-control/tesa-hotel

Salto Systems has launched the new XS4 Double Reader wire-free locking solution, designed to monitor and record both entry and exit through a single door. The system integrates two readers into one electronic lock and is compatible with Salto’s XS4 Original+ and XS4 One S product lines. Thanks to its fully wire-free architecture, the solution delivers a high level of security without requiring additional cabling and can be easily retrofitted onto existing locks and doors. The new model is intended for facilities that require bidirectional access control, such as gates, shared entrances, and secured areas.

Key features include anti-passback management, occupancy tracking, and real-time recording of all entry and exit events. The system supports RFID credentials, digital keys, and smartphone-based access, while also being compatible with the Salto BLUEnet infrastructure and the Salto Space, Salto KS, and Salto Homelok platforms. According to the company, the solution is suitable for a wide range of applications, including hospitality, healthcare, education, residential buildings, and critical infrastructure.

Designed for easy installation on standard doors, the XS4 Double Reader combines advanced security features with a modern design and the flexibility required for diverse user scenarios.

Many businesses and buildings need trustworthy, keyless door security without the expense and invasiveness of an advanced access control system. For these premises, PIN-based digital door access adds this security efficiently, freeing managers, employees, and visitors from the cost and hassle of handling physical keys.

In all kinds of workplaces, private rooms need separating – securely and reliably – from spaces where the public have free access. Their doors need a simple, standalone locking solution, whether for a stock or medicine store, staff breakroom, private office, or any similar room.

A Code Handle PIN lock is an elegant device designed for precisely these use-cases. A Code Handle keeps a space secure, while admitting authorized employees via a digital PIN code on its discreet handle-keypad. Designed to add valuable door security to any private room facing interior public areas, it is already proven across multiple applications and environments to keep unauthorized people out.

Fitting is simple, only requiring a change of handle. The existing mechanical locking cylinder stays in place and may still be operated with the existing key. Staff need no specialist knowledge or outside help to manage their doors with Code Handle. This flexibility has seen it deployed successfully in a wide range of small and medium-sized settings, including all of the following.

Small Healthcare Facilities

In a busy medical facility – surgeries, dental practices, pharmacies, or physiotherapy suites – it is easy to accidentally leave a door unlocked*. With expensive equipment or controlled drugs on the other side, any opening invites opportunists. With a Code Handle digital PIN lock, practice managers need never worry again.

Doctors and patients expect privacy during consultations. With Code Handle, they get it. To secure controlled drugs and hazardous waste bins, a Code Handle is quicker and safer than tracking a physical key – with no need to change the lock when one goes missing. Many treatment and examination rooms have expensive or dangerous equipment such as X-ray machines, dental tools, and physiotherapy equipment. With Code Handle, all this gets the extra level of security it deserves, without the expense of a software-based access system.

Shops and Retail Environments

Every store has doors from the retail floor where the public should not go. Managing keys for these openings creates unnecessary workload and distracts staff. At the same time, a bulky mechanical PIN lock can ruin carefully thought-out aesthetics. Retail managers can instead secure these doors with a slimline, contemporary handle. Code Handle adds reliable, aesthetic, digital security to almost any interior door. It is easy for shop staff to operate, no training required. When an employee moves on, it is straightforward to cancel their PIN in seconds without removing the handle. In a shop, outlet, petrol station, or car dealership, Code Handle is a convenient, low-cost solution for stock rooms, staff toilets, or offices facing any space where the public is free to roam.

Small Offices, Including Home-Based Workspaces

The contents of an office may be sensitive, valuable, private… or all three: not everyone at a workplace should have free access. Staff should be able to grab a coffee without worrying about the laptop or handbag left inside. Designed for office doors of any kind, Code Handle keeps such stuff safe and private. When the door shuts, Code Handle locks it automatically – staff do not even need to put down whatever they are carrying.

The growth in work-from-home (WFH) and hybrid working strategies has also led to an increase in private workspaces within the home and other communal settings such as co-working premises. These require their own security and privacy, whether to make video calls or have a sensitive conversation. Commercial security is always desirable. In many industries, it is required by law: the physical security of documents, data, and conversations may be the responsibility of those who keep them.

As experience across sectors and locations has demonstrated, the most elegant, seamless way to put an effective barrier between a residence and a private workstation is with a Code Handle digital door lock.

Primary Schools and Other Education Settings

Staff and school administrators can relax when they know private rooms and equipment stores are properly secured. Currently, many teachers carry cumbersome key bunches to ensure pupils do not enter rooms which could put themselves or school equipment at risk. With Code Handle, this is possible without having to constantly lock and unlock by key.

Fitting a Code Handle brings a sense of security and privacy to the staff room: teachers can leave marked work or mobile phones where no pupils can enter. A Code Handle makes it easy to separate pupil toilets from PIN-protected staff toilets. With Code Handle fitted to just a few important doors around the building, school principals ensure sports equipment, musical instruments, cleaning stores, and kitchens are protected against unauthorized access or theft.

Health and safety are also part of the package. Code Handle is fire-door compliant (EN 1634) and with a certified lifetime of at least 100,000 operations. Product design makes disinfecting easier. Unlike mechanical push-button PIN locks, a Code Handle has a smooth surface without corners or ridges. Germs have fewer places to hide. A disinfected damp cloth is all a caretaker needs to keep a handle hygienic – and school doors and storerooms secure.

Easy Installation, Even Easier Management

Code Handle devices are easy for any small organization to retrofit to their existing doors: the cylinder or lock remains in place and its handle simply swapped for the new device. For power, two standard batteries (CR2) slot inside the handle, typically lasting 30,000 lock/unlock cycles before replacement. Installation needs no wires, specialist tools, or drilling. Two screws attach it to almost any interior door up to 80mm thick.

Door management becomes easy and keyless. Every Code Handle comes with a Master Code and 9 different user PINs, making it simple to abandon the inconvenience of carrying and keeping track of keys. PINs are easy to set and to change whenever an office manager decides. It is this easy to transform the security of private rooms which face public spaces.

To learn more visit: www.assaabloy.com/group/emeia/solutions/topics/access-control

Salto Systems delivers advanced smart access control solutions tailored for the residential sector, enabling operators to manage resident access, staff permissions, and building security through a unified and fully integrated platform. Leveraging keyless, electronic locking technology, SALTO replaces traditional mechanical keys with flexible digital access, enhancing security while streamlining property operations and elevating the resident experience

Salto delivers a broad portfolio of smart building solutions, including Access Control, Face Recognition, Door Intercom, ID Management, and Energy Efficiency and Control. These solutions form an integrated ecosystem that enables secure, seamless, and scalable access management across properties. In hospitality and rental living environments, this approach supports frictionless guest journeys—from arrival to departure—while enhancing comfort, security, and operational efficiency.

Challenge

AFI Home projects across Poland and Romania – including  AFI Home Dajwór, AFI Home Europejskie, AFI Home Czyżewskiego in Kraków, AFI Home Metro Park, AFI Home Metro Szwedzka, AFI Home Metro Zachód in Warszawa and AFI Home Długa in Wrocław, as well as AFI Home North in Bucharest—are modern residential rental communities designed to offer fully furnished apartments and a high-quality living experience aligned with contemporary urban lifestyles.

These projects required a reliable and scalable access solution capable of supporting a dynamic residential environment with multiple user profiles, including residents, short-term tenants, staff, and service providers. Managing these varied access needs while maintaining security and operational efficiency posed a key challenge. At the same time, the operator needed to deliver a seamless and convenient user experience aligned with modern hospitality expectations—minimizing friction in access while ensuring full control over the property.

Solution

Salto implemented an integrated smart access solution across the different AFI Home locations, enabling secure and seamless movement throughout all areas of each property, from main entrances to private apartments and shared spaces.

The installation includes a combination of electronic smart locks, Neo cylinders, and wall readers, ensuring consistent and secure access control across all entry points. This enables residents, guests, and staff to move effortlessly throughout each building while maintaining clearly defined access permissions. Bicycle storage areas, fitness rooms, meeting rooms, coworking rooms, and guest parking garages are also equipped with Salto locks.are all equipped with Salto electronic locking solutions.

In Romania, at AFI Home North in Bucharest, the solution includes the deployment of Neo cylinders integrated with the SALTO Space platform, providing a robust and flexible access control infrastructure tailored to the needs of residential living.

The system allows operators to manage and adapt access rights in real time, providing the flexibility to respond instantly to operational needs while maintaining full visibility and control. A robust network of nodes and gateways ensures continuous communication and reliable online functionality. Each location operates with its own dedicated server and Salto Space application, enabling independent system management while ensuring a consistent technology standard. This setup provides both operational autonomy at site level and flexibility to scale as needed.

The implementation and ongoing maintenance of the system were carried out by NETROS, a specialized Salto partner in Poland responsible for system deployment, integration, and long-term support, ensuring stable operation and continuous performance optimization. As a result, these AFI Home locations benefits from a scalable solution that enhances operational efficiency while delivering a seamless, hotel-like living experience for residents and guests.

Conclusion

Residents of AFI Czyżewskiego benefit from seamless, card-based access to a wide range of shared amenities, including a fully equipped gym, a dedicated co-working space, and a community room. Access to these areas is exclusively granted via the Salto smart card, ensuring that only authorized tenants can utilize the common spaces at any time. This approach not only enhances security and convenience but also elevates the overall living experience by giving residents frictionless, around-the-clock access to premium facilities.

By combining advanced digital access solutions, the system provides a secure, flexible, and user-friendly experience across the entire property. At the same time, centralized management and real-time control enable operators to streamline operations and maintain high service standards.

This approach not only enhances security and efficiency but also elevates the overall resident and guest experience, creating a seamless, convenient, and future-ready living environment.

Our era of rapid digital transformation needs data centers which are not only efficient and secure, but able to adapt quickly and securely to a changing landscape. To prepare their infrastructure for the challenges of the future, Heidelberg iT Management GmbH & Co. KG implemented KentixONE, an integrated platform which unifies security, environmental monitoring, and energy management within a single system.

By: Thomas Schulz, Director & Head of Marketing DAS EMEIA

B2B Product PR & Media Relations EMEIA

E-Mail: thomas.schulz@assaabloy.com

Founded in 2007, Heidelberg iT has become a leading IT service company and digitalization partner in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. They successfully combine, under one roof, the roles of cloud and data center provider, ISP, and IT services with their own data centers. They sought a solution to monitor and secure newly completed or upgraded “server hotels”. The goal was to create data center infrastructure that met the highest security standards while controlling costs and complying with TÜV NORD CERT’s strict Trusted Site Infrastructure (TSI) criteria.

Traditional siloed systems always run the risk of inefficiencies, higher operating costs, and potential compliance gaps. Heidelberg iT management identified that a unified approach is now essential.

Maximize efficiency and security together

Heidelberg iT deployed KentixONE as its central platform. The system consolidates eight critical functions, monitored holistically via a connected network of multi-sensors. These enable centralized configuration and management of all security-relevant parameters.

KentixONE’s integrated protections include access control with IP wall readers and multi-level authentication; environmental monitoring tracking temperature, humidity, and air quality; and energy monitoring via SmartPDUs and calibrated electricity meters. Leakage sensors in raised floors and critical areas detect potential water damage – and trigger an alarm on detection. Network video cameras document any security incidents.

The platform’s intuitive web interface and mobile app give Heidelberg iT’s operations team 24/7 access to critical data, whether they are on-site or remote. This access ensures rapid identification of potential threats – and significantly reduces response times.

KentixONE strengthens data security by directly linking physical infrastructure and IT operations management. Sensitive operational data remains under local control, while granular access management, full audit trails, and real-time alerts ensure only authorized site-users gain access.

“KentixONE’s integrated approach to risk management across multiple factors can help a data center to achieve important security certifications such as EN 50600 and ISO 22237, should they wish to pursue it,” explains Joachim Mahlstedt, Managing Director at Kentix GmbH. “The software platform also integrates with data center infrastructure management (DCIM), ticketing systems, EAC solutions, and more.”

“It is designed to adapt as customer needs and the security landscape both evolve.”

KentixONE: security, transparency, efficiency, and scalability

By controlling and monitoring all devices within KentixONE, Heidelberg iT achieved full visibility of security and environmental systems. Automated energy billing and load monitoring, with customizable reports to track consumption, further streamline their operations. “KentixONE has significantly reduced operational risks across our data centers,” explains Steffen Merz at Heidelberg iT. “By combining security and environmental monitoring in one dashboard, we gain full visibility of all critical systems – making our workflows faster and more transparent.”

KentixONE’s scalability ensures Heidelberg iT can quickly adapt to evolving requirements: its REST API enables seamless integration with existing or new systems. Its analysis functions can work to continuously improve the security and efficiency of a data center based on environmental and energy data, or other historical measured values.

“Our data center is not only technologically state-of-the-art, but also future-proof and flexible,” adds Merz. “With Kentix, we have a partner at our side who supports us with innovative solutions that both meet the highest security standards and increase our efficiency.”

Heidelberg iT’s implementation of KentixONE demonstrates how unified physical security and monitoring can drive efficiency, compliance, and scalability. It ensures optimal performance for years to come.

Travellers and residential renters increasingly prefer the convenience of digital access. These solutions also offer commercial benefits to businesses operating in these fast-growing sectors: it becomes faster and more cost-efficient for them to roll-out new sites and to manage access to them remotely without the need for expensive 24/7 front-desk operations.

City Pop is one short-let furnished apartment rental provider operating in both these sectors. Their growing portfolio of design-led properties covers European cities such as Zurich, Berlin, Prague and Milan. They previously relied on an RFID access-card solution. However, manual handling of credentials created a major challenge to achieving their ambitions. They needed a scalable alternative which would simplify access management and enable their business to grow cost-effectively across international boundaries.

For this reason, they adopted card-less, mobile access across their portfolio of serviced apartments – installing Aperio® wireless locks integrated natively with an Incedoä Pro access management system. Doors to City Pop apartments and some common areas are equipped with these contemporary-styled wire-free, battery-powered Aperio escutcheons. “We were looking for a future-proof, reception-less access solution that could scale with our growth across Europe,” explains Pawel Gawor, City Pop’s CEO.

Integrating access with the booking system automatically distributes entry permissions to customers without manual staff handling. Guests can arrive at convenient times without any need for a reception check-in and have a choice of secure mobile access via the City Pop app or a PIN code to enter directly on the Aperio escutcheon’s keypad.

Choosing to standardize locks with the Aperio E100 Wireless Keypad Escutcheon gave City Pop the ability to retrofit buildings without wiring or door damage.

In addition, because reservations software is also integrated with their Incedo Pro system, City Pop automates centralized, real-time, and remote control over time-limited access at multiple sites dispersed around Germany, Czechia, Switzerland, and Italy. Digitalizing access in this way gives them the flexibility to offers apartment stays by the month or, at an expanding number of locations, from one night and up. Their ongoing ASSA ABLOY installation project now totals over 2,500 doors… and is still growing.

Energy-efficient access solution for modern apartment rentals

Choosing this ASSA ABLOY solution also contributed towards City Pop’s sustainability goals. With no key or smartcard management infrastructure, they use less plastic. Eliminating the need for a 24/7 reception reduces unnecessary staff travel: they manage access remotely.

City Pop have also limited their energy use: wireless Aperio locks are powered by standard batteries and draw much less power than equivalent wired access devices. In addition, ASSA ABLOY Signo Readers, installed at external doors, sliding doors, elevators, and some high-traffic interior doors, have an Intelligent Power Mode (IPM) which saves 41% in energy compared to equivalent readers without IPM.

“With Aperio wireless locks and Incedo Pro, we now have a fully digital, mobile-first access experience for our guests with no need for staff on-site,” adds Pawel.

Demand for data centers is growing at a remarkable rate. Data’s strategic importance, for both commercial and non-commercial organizations, makes physical security fundamental at these sites. In addition, national and regional regulations place ever more stringent requirements on in-house and co-location operators to take a secure approach to data management and protection.

By: Thomas Schulz Director & Head of Marketing DAS EMEIA ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions 

E-mail: thomas.schulz@assaabloy.com

Data’s sensitive nature also brings data centers within the scope of the EU’s NIS2 and Cyber Resilience Act. Penalties may be severe for organizations which get data security wrong: the projected cost of an average data breach is 3.8m EUR, according to IBM’s 2025 annual report. The penalty in terms of reputation and/or regulator fines could be even more.

Because staff, contractors and visitors all require varying levels of access at different times, physical security depends on flexible, scalable access management. Systems must enforce strict, least-privilege access policies and prevent the misuse of credentials. Multiple layers must work together seamlessly, with every event logged and traceable. Integration between security, HR, and visitor management systems can ensure access rights stay current as people join or leave projects. Remote and real-time oversight are essential.

The goal is not only to prevent unauthorized access. Data centers aim to maintain a clear audit trail which satisfies ISO 27001, NIS2 and other standards. Intelligent security management underpins the data center’s resilience and operational efficiency – deterring hybrid physical & cyber-attacks in the process, for example.

“As a powerful new addition to our stable of digital solutions, the KentixONE platform was designed specifically from the ground up for the white space of data centers,” explains Jochaim Mahlstedt, Managing Director at Kentix GmbH, part of ASSA ABLOY. “It performs eight critical security tasks within its one intuitive, integrated platform. With KentixONE, we can equip data center white space with the security and monitoring capacity it needs – now and well into the future.”

KentixONE: control and convenience from a unified interface

A recent addition to ASSA ABLOY’s portfolio of digital solutions, KentixONE is an integrated platform for physical security and critical monitoring. This unique solution combines 8 different data center functions within one system, all accessible from a single, unified interface:

• access control
• intrusion detection
• video surveillance
• external fault report
• early fire detection
• environment monitoring
• power monitoring
• network monitoring

KentixONE strengthens data security by creating a direct link between physical infrastructure and IT operations: it supports seamless integration with data center infrastructure management (DCIM), ticketing systems, and EAC solutions. It can keep sensitive operational data under local control while enabling granular access management, full audit trails, and real-time alerts. At rack level, integrated cabinet access control, intelligent PDUs, and environment sensors allow operators to set temporary permissions, track interventions, and monitor energy usage by rack. Its integrated functionality and approach to risk management across multiple potential factors also helps a data center to achieve important security certifications EN 50600 and ISO 22237. The platform is designed to scale from small technical rooms to multi-site data-center estates, helping an organization’s infrastructure to grow, evolve, or become more geographically spread without adding complexity.

KentixONE’s early fire detection monitoring capability – before a fire breaks out – goes beyond conventional smoke-based systems by correlating thermal imaging, gas detection, temperature trends, and air-quality data to identify risks much earlier. This is especially important in high-density computer environments and battery-powered infrastructure where traditional alarms often activate too late to be effective. Indeed, KentixONE offers real-time overview for more than 40 potential physical risk factors, from unauthorized entry and perimeter breaches to overheating, humidity changes, water leaks, and power anomalies. Everything the security manager needs is accessible on dashboards or via the convenient mobile app.

“According to many of our customers, KentixONE makes significant operational cost savings when measured against traditional siloed solutions,” adds Joachim Mahlstedt. “This also helps to explain why its wide adoption in a range of settings, including a co-location facility in Heidelberg, an on-premise solution for a major utility, and for a provider of modular, container-based solutions. Its flexibility and cost-efficiency are a major plus for data center managers.” “Data centers deserve a digital security management solution built entirely with their needs in mind,” he adds. “Now they can have it.”