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Boutique hotel access — PMS, virtual lobby, and gate preservation

Boutique hotels (~50–120 rooms) need enterprise-grade audit and automation without legacy chain infrastructure. Typical requirements:

  • PMS-driven check-in / check-out access windows
  • Virtual lobby directory — visitors call front desk or room from a phone
  • Preserve perimeter gate vendor where possible (integrations — not always Wiegand retrofit)
  • Phased room-key migration may keep Salto / VingCard for RFID or mobile wallet keys

Guest rooms with mechanical inside-retract fit the ingress-only envelope. Hotel corridors, stairs, and fire doors must not be electrically locked via OpenApp. See Life safety and egress.

OpenApp orchestrates lobby, gates, staff policies, and guest portal links. It is not a replacement for in-room lock credential systems — see OpenApp vs Salto / Brivo.

Do I still need ButterflyMX?

Section titled “Do I still need ButterflyMX?”

Usually no for software-first lobby flows. OpenApp Virtual Access provides directory, call, message, and unlock on the same portal surface. Compare: OpenApp vs ButterflyMX.

Choose dedicated lobby touchscreen hardware only when branded panel UX is a deliberate amenity.

Architecture

Section titled “Architecture”
PMS (Opera, Mews, Cloudbeds, custom)
        │ reservation lifecycle webhooks
        ▼
Your integration service
        │ staff roles, guest invites, checkout disable
        ▼
OpenApp
        ├─ Virtual Access directory (lobby QR/NFC)
        ├─ Staff / housekeeping time-bound policies
        ├─ Guest invite links (browser, no app)
        └─ Gate / relay entities (parking, service entrances)
Room locks (optional): Salto / VingCard — parallel stack during migration

Gate path: pick a provider from the integrations catalog (cellular gate cloud, relays, and others — not only Wiegand perimeter panels).

RFP evaluation (OpenApp column)

Section titled “RFP evaluation (OpenApp column)”
RequirementOpenApp approach
PMS integrationInbound webhooks → your middleware → OpenApp invite API
Group guest sharingmax_devices supports the booked group while limiting forwarded-link abuse; max_uses remains an independent total-use limit
Phased RFID + mobile keysRoom keys on lock vendor; OpenApp for lobby + gates
Existing gate vendorMatch to integrations catalog
Audit deliveryDashboard review + invite usage; log switchable.open in your layer — no outbound audit webhooks
Virtual lobbyIncluded — not a separate intercom SKU

Staff and guest flows

Section titled “Staff and guest flows”
  • Guest: Time-bound invitation from PMS check-in. The PMS can set max_devices to the booked occupancy—for example, 4 for a family booking—while using max_uses independently for a total-use policy.
  • Housekeeping: Time-scoped roles or invites per shift
  • Visitor: Lobby portal directory → call front desk or room — virtual intercom guide
Section titled “Related”