Built by hosts who needed
this to exist
We're not hospitality outsiders building "another proptech tool." We're hosts who got tired of unreliable access codes, app overload, and midnight "how do I get in?" texts.
Managing a vacation rental from 5,000 miles away
When I bought my first short-term rental in Park City while living in Brazil, everything had to work remotely—cleaning, heating, lighting, and most importantly, getting guests through the front door.
I wired everything through Home Assistant. Smart locks, thermostats, garage doors. The tech was there. But guest access? Still stubbornly unreliable.
- ✗Airbnb's automated codes felt like rolling the dice
- ✗Guests hated downloading yet another app (August, MyQ...)
- ✗Multi-platform listings had no unified access flow
- ✗Garage access meant lost remotes and extra invites
2:47 AM - Guest message
"The code isn't working. We're standing outside with luggage. Please help!"
Every check-in day
"Do I send the August app invite? The MyQ link? Wait, which lock is this property again?"
Everything was getting smarter except the moment a guest needs to get inside.
Guest's phone
Aloha Retreat
Check-in instructions
Welcome! Tap the button below to open the gate:
✓ Gate opened
One link. One tap. No app required.
A phone call from Hawaii changed everything
My brother was staying at an Airbnb in a gated community. The host didn't send an app invite, a PDF with instructions, or a complicated code sequence.
They sent one link. He tapped it. The gate opened. That was it.
That's when it clicked: We had all the smart home tech. What didn't exist was a clean, universal, guest-friendly way to use it. Guests didn't need more apps. They needed one simple link.
Staykey was born from that realization.
The solution we needed as hosts
Staykey takes all the complexity of smart home access and turns it into the simplest experience possible—for you and your guests.
One simple link
No app downloads, no account creation. Just tap and go.
Automated codes
Generated and tied to each reservation automatically.
Works everywhere
Airbnb, VRBO, direct bookings—all in one place.
Complete control
Locks, garage doors, thermostats, lights—all managed.
Home Assistant powered→
You stay in full control. No proprietary lock-in.
Peace of mind
Set it up once. Access runs itself, booking after booking.
How we think about hosting
These aren't corporate values. They're lessons learned from managing properties ourselves.
A simple link that works 100% of the time beats a fancy app that works 95% of the time. When guests arrive tired at 11pm, reliability matters more than anything.
Hosts care about efficiency. But guests care about simplicity. We optimize for their experience because happy guests mean better reviews and fewer support messages.
Set it up once, then forget about it. Good automation shouldn't need babysitting. It should run itself so you can focus on what matters—or actually get some sleep.
Meet the founders
Hosts first, builders second. We built Staykey because we needed it ourselves.
Founder & Product Lead
Solution Engineer and STR host
Ran a Park City rental from Brazil. Wired everything with Home Assistant, but guest access kept failing. Built Staykey so no host gets woken up at 2am by "the code doesn't work" texts.
Co-founder & Infrastructure
Senior DevOps Engineer · Cloud + automation
Stayed at a Hawaii Airbnb where one link opened the gate. Called Ammon: "Why doesn't everyone do this?" DevOps engineer who makes cloud systems run themselves—now applies that to guest access.
Built by hosts, for hosts
We're still hosts. We still use Staykey for our own properties. And we're obsessed with making guest access work perfectly, every single time.
30-day free trial • Built by vacation rental hosts • Cancel anytime