Let me add to the discusssion. As a manager of several motels in Oregon, I
am quite familiar with the different electronic locking systems. The answer is
'yes' and 'no'.
No. The keycard issued at check-in only contains data referencing the room
number, the time of check-in, and the time of check-out. Nothing else. A key
will 'talk' to a particular door lock. It will say "Let this guest into room
123 from now until tomorrow at noon. Do not let the guest into any other
room, and do not let them into room 123 after noon tomorrow." Since that is
all
the information the reader in the door lock can read, that is all that it
carries.
Yes. The keycard issued at check-in can be read by the computer at the front
desk. The computer verifies that it is a keycard from, say, room 123, and
the computer can THEN bring up on the front desk computer monitor all the
information for that particular guest, which very probably will include the
credit
card used to guarantee the original reservation or pay for the room, the home
address--in effect, all the information that the guest is willing to give the
front desk at check-in.
So, bottom line. If you lose your room key and someone finds it, it is
useless to them . . . unless they have access to the card reader at the
hotel/motel
front desk at that particular motel. (They may have access to another card
reader, but that reader doesn't link them to the information in the front desk
computer.) But anyone who has access to the card reader at the hotel/motel
front desk doesn't need the card, anyway. Any time they want to, they can
simply punch a key, and the information is there.
Sorry to be so long winded on this, but I deal with this 'phobia' almost
daily. Yes, if you are in a motel and you lose your key have the front desk
make
you a new one. No, it does not carry 'personal information' readable by
anyone who finds it. Yes, turn your key in when you check-out, because once
you
leave it 'links' to nothing--and it costs the motel to replace it.
Bob
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