CHANDIGARH INSTITUTE OF HOTEL MANAGEMENT KEY CONTROL

Key Control The control of guestroom keys is one of the cornerstones of the hotel security that
guests have a right to except under common law. Key control is the process of reducing guest
property theft and other security-related incidents by carefully monitoring and tracking the use
of keys in hospitality operation.

If there is no key-card lock system, the following policies should be considered for key control
few precautions to take while coding are as follows:

• Room keys must not have any form of tag that identifies the hotel.

• Keys must not have the room number on them. Keys must be identified by a numeric or
alphanumeric code. That code should not, in any way, directly correspond to the building or
room numbers. Issuing Keys Apart from the basic precautions for all the keys, there is more
stringent security for keys with higher access.

1) Guestroom Keys: These are the keys with minimum access, unlocking just the one room.
When keys are given to guests upon registration, the guest’s room no. must not be spoken
aloud if there are others within hearing range. Room nos. should be shown to the guests in
writing with a reminder that they should note it down if a guest check-in packet is not used.
Explain to the guest that the coding system is their protection. GRA’s and others who find keys
in unoccupied guestrooms or elsewhere should place them in their pockets or in the locked key
boxes provided, not on their carts (where they are accessible to others), and turn them in to
their supervisor to be returned to the front desk.

2) Master and sub-master keys: All section master keys, room master keys, grand master keys,
and emergency master keys (normally kept in a safety box) should be signed out each time
they are taken and their return noted in a key control sheet. All the keys should be stamped ‘do
not duplicate’.

Custody of Keys

These are the precautions to be taken while the key is with a guest or employee after being
issued as per the correct procedure.

• Employees should not be allowed to loan the keys assigned to them to one another.

• Employee should hand over keys whenever they leave the property, even the meal breaks.

B.SC H&HA 2ND SEMSESTER, ACOMMODATION OPERATION 1

• Individual who have been issued master or sub-master keys should be spot-checked from
time to time to ensure that they have them on their person. Changing locks and keys. Whenever
a new key is made or a new lock is fitted, certain precautions are necessary.

• A record must be kept of how many keys are made for each room and when they are made.
The general manager must review this record on weekly basis, installing and dating the key-
making log each time she or he reviews it.

• If required as a result of this review, the general manager must instruct the maintenance staff
either to re-key a lock or to exchange room locks around within a housekeeping section.

• If new room codes are to be used or locks are being switched, the code on the keys must be
adjusted accordingly and over stamped until the old code is illegible and the new code should
be stamped nearby if locks are swapped within a section. As a standard practice, it is
recommended that some locks in a section be moved quarterly.

• A log must be kept of all lock swaps and re-keying.

Key and Their Control Individual heads of departments are responsible for all the keys in their
areas. The housekeeper is usually responsible for more keys than any other departmental head.

❖ Types of Keys: The housekeeping department is primarily concerned with the following
categories of keys:

• Emergency Keys- This key opens all the doors in the property, even those the guests have
double-locked. In addition, it also double-locks the room against all the other keys. The emergency
key or ‘E-key’, overrides the catch or deadbolt put on by the guest for privacy in the room. Hence,
the emergency key should be well protected. It should be stored in a secure place such as the hotel
safe deposit box, or a metal cabinet that only the general manager or the security officer can access.
Some properties may also keep the E-key off the premises. Its use should occur only in emergency
situations such as a fire or when a guest or employee is locked in a room and needs immediate
assistance.

B.SC H&HA 2ND SEMSESTER, ACOMMODATION OPERATION 2

• Master Keys- These keys opens all guestroom doors that are not double locked. They are
separated into four levels of access:

i. Grandmaster Key: This key opens all hotel guestrooms and often all housekeeping
storage rooms as well. It can also double lock a room if access to it has to be denied.
This key can be used in emergency situations when it is vital for a manager to enter
some or all areas of the hotel. It is itself kept under lock-and-key at the front desk of
hotels.
ii. Pass Key/ Master Key: This key is kept by the deputy or assistant housekeeper and
will open any internal door that has not been double-locked.
iii. Sub-master or Section Master Keys: These keys open all rooms in one work section of
the hotel. A supervisor may be issued more than one key of this type as he or she may
be required to inspect the work of more than one GRA.
iv. Floor Master Key: A GRA is given this key to open the rooms he or she is assigned to
clean on a floor. The floor key opens all rooms on a particular floor that are not double-
locked. If the employee has rooms to clean on more than one floor or area, he or she
may need more than one floor key. Floor keys typically open the storeroom for that
floor too.

• Guestroom Keys- These are keys issued to guests upon their registration. The guestroom key
opens a single guestroom so long as it is not double-locked. Many properties do not list the
hotel’s name, address, or room no. on guestroom keys. That way, if a guestroom key is lost or
misplaced, it cannot be traced be traced back easily to the property for criminal use. A code
number representing the room number is typically stamped on the key instead. A master code
list is maintained at the front desk and is used to recycle keys by changing the codes. Guests
are asked to hand their keys when they go out and the keys are then put on a key board, which
should be kept out of view of passers-by as a security precaution. A guestroom key not hanging
on the key board should indicate that the guest is in the hotel.

• Supply Keys- These keys are used within the servicing sector of the hotel by the supervisory-
level staff to ensure that stocks and equipment are safety stored away when not in use. Store
keys, office keys, and linen room keys and are examples of such keys.

B.SC H&HA 2ND SEMSESTER, ACOMMODATION OPERATION 3

• Card Keys- Many hotels nowadays use the card key system. This type of room locking
mechanism uses regular door locks and special plastic cards that act as keys to unlock the
doors. The plastic cards look like credit cards with holes punched in them. Some have a
magnetic strip instead of the holes. The system uses a computer that codes the card to lock and
unlock the doors. Rather than re-keying the door locks in case of loss of keys, the computer is
used to create new room lock codes for each room. Master keys may be easily created and
destroyed through the computerized card system.

❖Loss of Keys

This is a time when particular vigilance must be exercised.

• If a section master key is lost under circumstances that may result in a guest being at risk, the
entire section should be re-keyed. If a section is being re-keyed, also consider re-keying a new
grandmaster and emergency key so that, in effect, a phased re-keying of the entire hotel is
accomplished if it has been some time since this was last done.

• If a master key or emergency key is lost under any circumstances, it must be reported to the
owner or the corporate office immediately by the general manager. After the circumstances are
discussed, they can decide whether the entire hotel should be re-keyed.

• As an additional step, the general manager or somebody he or she delegates the responsibility to
must cross index all incidents of theft, missing property, damage, and so on as follows: a. Room
no. or location. Watch out for locks that have been moved.

❖ Electronic Locks These are a precaution in themselves. Since the introduction of the recordable
electronic door locks in the late 1970’s, the hotel security has been virtually transformed. The
focus at the time of its invention was increased guest security. Now there are countries where
hotels that do not feature electronic locking mechanisms in guestrooms will be unable to obtain
insurance. Even the simplest of key card locks have been found to reduce break-ins by up to 80
per cent. Employee key-cards can even be coded to allow access only to their assigned units of
responsibility and only during the hours of their shift.

B.SC H&HA 2ND SEMSESTER, ACOMMODATION OPERATION 4

❖ Smart Cards: The future of security, however, lies in smart cards. ‘Smart card’ is a generic term
for a card the size and thickness of a credit or debit card that is embedded with a microprocessor
chip. The chip itself has ‘intelligence’ by way of computational power similar to that of early
personal computers. These powerful computing capabilities make smart cards much more secure
than the other types of cards presently in use.

B.SC H&HA 2ND SEMSESTER, ACOMMODATION OPERATION 5