There's no single "best" access automation tool for short-term rentals — there's a best one for your situation. A solo host with one condo, a developer building a property app, and a manager running 200 doors all need different things, and a roundup that pretends one product wins for everyone isn't worth reading. So this is an honest survey of the leading options — RemoteLock, Seam, Operto, PointCentral, the lock brands' own apps, DIY Home Assistant, and Staykey — with a fair note on who each one actually fits. Yes, we make Staykey, and we'll tell you plainly where it isn't the right pick.
The tools at a glance
| Tool | Pricing | Lock support | Cloud dependency | Cleaning/turnover | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RemoteLock | Per-door subscription, scales with features | Curated list + RemoteLock-branded hardware | Cloud-dependent | Scheduled staff credentials | Hands-off hosts wanting one vendor |
| Seam | Per connected device + usage (developer billing) | Many brands via unified API | Cloud API by design | You build it | Developers embedding access in their own software |
| Operto | Tiered subscription, ops-suite pricing | Supported integrations | Cloud-dependent | Built-in ops/staff tooling | Portfolios wanting a broad operations suite |
| PointCentral | Per-unit, enterprise/PM pricing | Z-Wave hardware, often bundled | Cloud-dependent | PM-oriented staff access | Large managers and PM-bundled portfolios |
| Lock-brand apps (August/Schlage/Yale) | Free with the lock | That brand's own locks only | Codes on lock; cloud for remote mgmt | Manual codes for staff | One property, one lock, manual entry |
| DIY Home Assistant | Free software, buy a hub once | Z-Wave/Zigbee/Matter/most Wi-Fi | Local-first (you configure it) | You build it | Tinkerers who enjoy the build |
| Staykey | Flat $15/mo per property ($25 ProHost), unlimited devices | Z-Wave/Zigbee/Matter/most Wi-Fi via Home Assistant | Local-first on your hub | Booking-aware; ProHost crew mgmt | Hosts wanting local-first, flat-priced, open-stack automation |
Now the honest paragraph on each.
RemoteLock
RemoteLock is a mature, single-vendor access platform. It sells the hardware, the software, and the support as one package, which is exactly what some hosts want — one throat to choke and nothing to assemble. Pricing is primarily per door and scales with the features you turn on, so a one-door condo is cheap while a multi-entry property or growing portfolio costs more over time. It's cloud-dependent, and its closed, RemoteLock-branded hardware is built to stay in its ecosystem. Best for: hands-off hosts who value a managed single-vendor bundle and don't mind per-door pricing. For the detailed head-to-head, see Staykey vs RemoteLock.
Seam
Seam isn't a host product at all — it's a developer API that gives software teams one unified way to control many lock brands. If you're building a PMS, a co-hosting platform, or any app that needs to manage locks for your own customers, Seam is an excellent layer to build on. If you're a host rather than a developer, you'd be writing and maintaining the application yourself, which is a lot of work to recreate what turnkey products already do. It's a cloud API by design. Best for: developers embedding smart-lock control into their own software. More in Staykey vs Seam.
Operto
Operto positions itself as a broader operations suite for rental portfolios — access plus guest experience, staff tooling, and property ops in one platform. For a mid-to-large operator who wants more than locks and is happy to standardize on one ops vendor, that breadth is appealing. It's cloud-dependent, and its guest portal and lock management are somewhat separate products, so adopting (or leaving) it is a two-part exercise. Best for: portfolios that want a wide operations suite, not just access automation.
PointCentral
PointCentral is an enterprise-grade access system most often seen bundled with large property managers (Vacasa, Evolve, and similar). It's built for scale and the locks are usually Z-Wave under the hood. The trade-offs are that it's cloud-dependent, pricing is enterprise/PM-oriented rather than host-friendly, and some hardware is proprietary or contractually tied to the PM. Best for: large managers and hosts already inside a PM that standardizes on it.
Lock-brand apps (August, Schlage, Yale)
Don't overlook the obvious: the free app that came with your lock. August, Schlage Home, and Yale Access all let you create and schedule access codes by hand, at no extra cost, with codes stored on the lock. For a single property with one lock and a relaxed booking pace, that's genuinely enough. The limits show up as you scale — no booking-calendar sync, no automatic per-stay codes, no guest portal, and a separate app per brand. Best for: one property, one lock, manual code entry. Full breakdown in Staykey vs the lock's own app.
DIY Home Assistant
Rolling your own on Home Assistant is free, open, and powerful — and it's the same platform Staykey is built on. A capable tinkerer can script per-stay codes, parse booking feeds, and run everything local-first. The cost isn't software; it's your time, both to build it and to maintain it when firmware, integrations, or Airbnb's feed change. Best for: tinkerers with one or two properties who enjoy the build. The honest build-vs-buy is in Staykey vs DIY Home Assistant, and the architecture rationale is in why we built Staykey on Home Assistant.
Staykey
Staykey is a turnkey host product built on Home Assistant, aiming for the middle ground between "free app that doesn't scale" and "expensive cloud platform that locks you in." It's local-first — codes live on the lock and automations run on a hub in your property, surviving outages — and priced as a flat $15/mo per property ($25/mo ProHost) with unlimited devices and a 30-day free trial. It syncs Airbnb/VRBO bookings into automatic per-stay codes, gives guests a single portal link (no app or account), and handles booking-aware cleaner access, with ProHost adding turnover crew management. Where it's not the best pick: it's overkill for a single manual-entry door (use the free app), and it asks you to run a hub, which a fully managed single-vendor shopper may not want (consider RemoteLock). Best for: hosts who want local-first reliability, flat predictable pricing, and an open ecosystem they don't have to maintain themselves.
How to choose
A quick way to narrow it down:
- One door, slow calendar, no budget? Use the lock's free app.
- You're a developer building software? Use Seam.
- You want a managed single-vendor bundle and don't mind per-door cost? Look at RemoteLock.
- You're a large manager or inside a PM? PointCentral or Operto likely fit your contracts.
- You want a broad ops suite beyond access? Operto.
- You love tinkering and have a property or two? DIY Home Assistant.
- You want automation, a guest portal, and local-first reliability at flat pricing on an open stack? Staykey.
See the detailed comparisons
If you've narrowed it down, the head-to-head guides go deeper:
- Staykey vs RemoteLock
- Staykey vs Seam
- Staykey vs the lock's own app (August, Schlage, Yale)
- Staykey vs DIY Home Assistant
- Switching from RemoteLock, August, or PointCentral to Staykey
Try Staykey free
If Staykey looks like your fit, the fairest test is your own calendar. We offer a free 30-day trial — connect a property, point it at the locks you already own, and watch a real per-stay code program onto the door before you change anything you're paying for today. No surprise charges, cancel anytime. When you're ready, see pricing and start your trial. And if one of the other tools above is the better fit for you, use it with our blessing — a fair roundup is the whole point.