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RFID hotel lock opens doors

Guests at a new 5-star hotel and spa complex in the Czech Republic can now experience the latest in contactless access technology.

Guests at the RRC Hluboká, a new 5-star hotel and spa complex located in the heart of South Bohemia in the Czech Republic, can now experience the latest in contactless access technology with SALTO’s new AElement RFID hotel lock.

The first hotel in Eastern Europe to install AElement, the RRC Hluboká provides 36 elegant and luxuriously appointed rooms where guests can relax alongside spectacular countryside, renowned for its famous Rustic Baroque architecture, pine forests and innumerable castles and chateaux’.

For those wanting a more active stay, a comprehensive range of spa treatments is available as well as a swimming pool, aroma sauna, a Finnish sauna, infrared cabins, a steam bath, a Kneipp spa and a cooling pool.

Working in consultation with the architects and hotel owner, the installation was carried out by local SALTO business partner EVVA. Martin Kopfstein from EVVA says, “AElement was the ideal choice for this project as it has been specifically designed for the hotel market, providing a fully integrated real-time security solution that allows hoteliers to combine their entire guest hospitality needs into one stylish, energy efficient and reliable wire-free locking system.

“We have now fitted 43 AElement units to the main guest room doors, six XS4 E9450 handle set units and two KPB02IM panic bars to the spa area and fitness centre, staff rooms and other back of house doors and one WRM9001 wall reader point for card updating.”

Agnieszka Filipowicz, SALTO business development manager for Eastern Europe, explains, “Advanced security and convenient access control are its core values enabling simple management of guest cards and doors as well as staff cards and back of house doors in a single system. And thanks to its new Wireless DNA technology, the day of the off-line hotel lock is over. All AElement locks are designed to be wireless ready right out of the box, users decide whether the function is activated or not.

“All they have to do is choose the mode of operation they want, wireless on-line or wireless ready. If they choose wireless on-line, their locks are on-line and communicate in real-time with the server. This gives them real-time control over the entire building. If they chose wireless ready, their locks communicate with the server daily on differed-time communication mode. Wireless ready locks can be switched to real-time mode by plugging in the USB-sized RF communication antenna.”

How it works

The backbone of the system is a series of gateways and repeaters that act as antennas, collecting and sending information from the server directly to the AElement wireless locks. One gateway can manage several electronic locks and repeaters, minimising infrastructure costs and maximising flexibility. It operates on a 2,4 GHz wireless network over an 802.15.4 protocol and works with all popular mainstream RFID technologies including Mifare and Desfire, the latest versions of Mifare Plus and Desfire EV1, as well as standard hotel guest cards.

The locks also incorporate a double safety net feature. Thanks to their automated capabilities, if the RF network fails or connection is lost for any reason the locks will automatically scan for a new connection to an alternative gateway or repeater, restoring communication and maintaining security. And to ensure access is never compromised, the locks incorporate SALTO’s patented data-on-card SVN (SALTO virtual network) technology as standard. This distributes all the latest access information to the standalone locks simply by guests and staff using their RFID cards in the hotel, ensuring all locks are kept updated and secure at all times.

Lenka Havlova, manager of the RRC Hluboká Hotel, said: “One of the great strengths of AElement is the fact that it is wireless right out of the box. At the moment we have gone for a wireless ready configuration where our guest room locks communicate with the server on a daily differed-time communication mode. In the future, when we are ready, we can simply switch to real-time wireless on-line mode just by plugging in a USB-sized RF communication antenna.”

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