Beyond the Lock | A rapid-fire Q&A with CEO Nolan Mondrow

A vendor needs into a mechanical room at one property, then has to fix an air conditioner at another. Nobody wants to hand off keys at a central office or send on-site staff to open the door. It's a small moment, and it shows how much access control has changed.

In this rapid-fire Q&A, RemoteLock CEO Nolan Mondrow answers the questions operators ask most, from what to plan before switching systems to what happens when the internet goes down.

Why access control is now the foundation

Ask most people about access control and they'll picture a keypad or a badge reader. Nolan says that mental model is out of date. Locks and readers are the endpoints, and they matter, but what you can do once you can give and take access at the right times and places matters more.

He traces the shift from cloud-based access a decade ago to mobile credentials about five years ago. Today, he sees access control as a foundation for automating property operations, from self-guided tours to vendor visits to the guest and resident experience.

What to plan before you switch

Nolan's advice starts with three steps. First, survey the property and map where you want access control. Second, list your use cases: vendors, cleaners, guests, and residents, plus the areas and times each one needs. A pool might open from 6 a.m. to midnight, for example.

Third, look at the systems you already use, such as your PMS, self-guided touring, channel management, or cleaning software. Choose access that connects to them, so no one types the same person into two systems.

That planning often takes longer than the install. In many cases you won't rip out any doors. Hardware-agnostic platforms can control many of the locks you already have, and pointing them at a new system takes minutes per lock.

If you do need new hardware, phase it in. Start with entrances and the garage gate, then the pool, gym, and elevator, and save unit doors for last. You can even swap those as units turn.

Matching credentials to people

There's no single right credential. Nolan lists PINs, cards, fobs, mobile, and QR codes, and says the choice depends on the use case and the hardware. A vacation rental guest might get a PIN that expires after the stay. A more secure area might call for a card, or a card paired with a PIN.

It comes down to the age-old tradeoff between convenience and security. Within one property, different people can and should use different credentials: a PIN for a hotel guest, a card that opens only assigned rooms for a cleaner, and a mobile credential for a vendor that you retract when the job ends.

Tech comfort rarely gets in the way. Anyone who uses a phone or a PIN already knows what's required, and offering more than one credential type lets you match the experience to the person. For residents specifically, mobile credentials come with tradeoffs worth weighing.

When the internet or power goes down

Nolan calls the fear of being locked out a misconception. Most locks store who's allowed in and when, so schedules keep working without a connection. Batteries add redundancy, and the only thing an outage stops is making changes.

Most systems also send low-battery alerts, a month or two weeks ahead if you choose. If a guest's PIN fails, a backup PIN stored on the lock still works without connectivity. When a lock is connected, a manager can unlock it remotely or send a new PIN, and some systems even notify the guest automatically.

He also argues that cloud-based control is often more secure than a local system. You can remove someone from anywhere, instantly. Keys get copied with no way to know, and an on-site server adds maintenance work and room for error.

Making the case to ownership

Nolan splits the return into hard and soft savings. Hard savings include no rekeying, no locksmith visits, and no lockouts. Soft savings include leasing agents who cover more buildings, faster unit turns, and better guest reviews.

In multifamily, a quicker turn means rent starts sooner and NOI rises. Residents who love controlling access from their phone may also stay an extra two or three years.

He's just as clear that this isn't only for large portfolios. Even one unit makes sense, and he calls remote access the most efficient first technology to buy, before a property management system.

Vendor lock-in is a valid worry, and he says the industry created it. Hardware-agnostic platforms like RemoteLock remove it by working with most major lock brands. Even if you pick the wrong lock, your next door can use a different one on the same cloud system.

How automation changes daily work

When a resident signs a lease, an integrated system can pull their details from the PMS and set their access: the front door and unit door around the clock, the pool from 6 to 11. The credential goes out by mobile or PIN, so no one stops by the office for keys.

Hotels and vacation rentals follow the same pattern. A guest books on Booking.com or Airbnb, the credential goes out, and it works only when the stay starts. At checkout it expires, and the cleaner gets access to turn the unit. When the unit is marked ready, that access ends. Connecting turnover software to access is what makes the handoff automatic.

Nolan also sees low-staff and no-staff hotels as a real trend, already growing worldwide, with QR code access and no front desk. He expects it to become the norm rather than the exception soon. Many guests prefer heading straight to their room over waiting in a check-in line, and he leaves the right mix of in-person and self-service to each operator.

Where it's headed and how to start

Five years out, Nolan expects natural language to be the norm. Instead of clicking through menus, you'll type something like “Add Suzy to door group one” or “Let my plumber in next Tuesday at 5.” Getting answers will work the same way, such as asking how many people used the back door last Tuesday between 5 and 6.

For teams that feel behind, his advice is to stop thinking about locks and start thinking about access control as the connective tissue of operations. You don't have to do it all at once, and he says it will pay for itself.

Start with one high-friction door or workflow, such as a main entrance, and automate just that. Try offering self-guided tours as a low-risk next step. Once the time savings show up, move on to the pool, elevator, and gym, and keep going deeper into the building.