Creating rooms and checking in guests in Nebula Hospitality
Descripción general
You must be a manager or an owner to be able to create a room.
To create a room, go to the Rooms section in the main navigation bar.
- Select Create and enter the name of the room, for example "Room 301".
- Once created, you can navigate to the specific room view within your installation.
If you have access to multiple rooms, these are listed when you select the Rooms section in the main navigation bar.
Checking in rooms
Once you've created the room, you can check in guests using the Check in button, available both on the room list view and on the room detail page. Checking in sets the room status to Occupied and, if desired, enables encoding of key cards for guests.
Room status
Rooms can have the following statuses:
- Vacant: the room has not been checked in. No guests or keys belong to the room.
- Occupied: the room has been checked in. Guests and keys are active.
The check-in form
The check-in dialog is a single form which you access via the Check in button from the rooms list. It contains the following elements.
Check-in date
The check-in date is set automatically to today's date and time. It is not editable.
Stay duration
Use the nights counter to set the length of the stay. The Checkout date and Checkout time fields update automatically based on the counter, or you can set them directly. Quick options (Tomorrow, 2 nights, 1 week) are available to speed up the selection.
Number of guests
Use the guest counter to set the amount of guests checking in. A maximum of 10 guests can be checked in to a single room.
Guests are created automatically at check-in and assigned a generated identifier, for example "Guest SZRKJ". Unlike staff users, guests do not have individually assigned names.
Assigning physical keys during check-in is optional, but enabled by default if you have a connected encoder. Use the Assign physical keys now toggle if you want to disable encoding key cards as part of this check-in. If you leave the toggle off, you can encode key cards later from the room detail page.
When the toggle is enabled, and an encoder is connected, it will automatically display in the Encoder field. You can select different encoders if you have more than one in your installation.
Access rights
The access rights section shows the access rights that will apply to all guests in this room. There are two types:
- Room access right: the access right that gives guests access to the room door. This is set when the room is configured and is required. It can be considered as the default access right for the room.
- Additional access rights: optional extra access for shared facilities such as the gym, car park, or main entrance. Select Add additional access right to add up to 9 additional access rights.
A room can have a maximum of 10 access rights in total (1 room access right + 9 additional).
Encoding key cards
If the Assign physical keys now toggle is enabled, the check-in form transitions to the encoding screen after you select Check in. The system encodes one key card per guest.
The number of guests determines the number of key cards encoded. If not every guest needs their own key - for example, a family of four that only needs two cards - set the guest count to match the number of keys required rather than the number of people staying.
Place an empty key card on the encoder when prompted. A progress indicator shows the amount of keys that have been encoded and the amount that remain. Once all keys are encoded successfully, the screen displays Keys encoded: Keys are ready for use. Select Finish to complete the check-in.
Possible encoding errors
| Error | Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| Key not found | The encoder did not detect a card. | Place the card correctly on the encoder and select Retry. |
| Key already in use | The card contains data belonging to another user. | Select Overwrite key data to reuse the card and clear its previous data, or select Use another key to present a different card. |
| Overwrite error | The card's data could not be overwritten. No changes were made and the card remains valid for its previous user. | Select Retry to try again, or select Use another key to present a different card. |
| Encoder not available | The encoder is not connected. | Check the encoder connection and select Retry. |
| Key encoding failed | The key was not encoded due to an unexpected error. | Select Retry to try again. |
Encoding keys after check-in
If you skipped encoding at check-in, or if a guest needs a replacement card, you can encode cards at any time from the room detail page. The replacement card receives the same access and validity window as the original.
When a replacement key card is encoded, the previous card is automatically added to the denylist and will be rejected at all access points. At offline locks, the old card may still work briefly until it is next presented at an online access point.
Creating room access rights
Before checking in guests, a room access right must exist for the room. The room access right defines which doors the room key card opens - typically the guest room door itself.
You can also create additional access rights for communal areas such as the main entrance, gym, or car park. These are assigned as additional access rights during check-in.
The room access right is created automatically when you create a room, and is named "[room name] access right" by default. You can edit the access right to change its name and the access points it gives access to at a later stage if required.
Access points
Only users with management roles at the installation level (managers, owners) can create and configure electronic locks and their associated doors.
When creating a new electronic lock, use the Room access points option in the main Access points menu to associate the device with a specific room.
One of the main advantages of creating access points at the room level is that when a room is checked out, guests and their keys become invalid, but the access rights and the associated access points that belong to the room remain in place, ready for the next guest.
See also the section for installers on configuring devices using the Salto Nebula app.