Keyless check-in with Nuki: one door code per booking, no keys
It is 23:40 on a Sunday in September. A new tenant has just landed, her phone is at 4%, and she is standing at the building door of your 120-room coliving while someone on your team drives across town with a key. Keyless check-in exists to end exactly this. Across the 25-40 arrivals of a busy intake month, key handovers quietly become one of the most expensive parts of running coliving, student housing or mid-term rentals.
VIVIN's Nuki Smart Lock Integration takes the key out of the process. You connect your Nuki account once and tell VIVIN which lock sits on which door. From then on, every booking gets its own keypad code that works only during the stay, follows any date change and reaches the tenant by email and in the tenant portal.
Why physical keys cost more than you think
- Staff time - a handover is rarely under 30 minutes once you count the trip, the wait for a delayed flight and the tour of the house. At 30 arrivals a month, that is 15-25 hours.
- Lost and copied keys - a lost key usually means a new cylinder and new copies for every housemate, typically €80-150 each time.
- Codes that never expire - a door code shared by WhatsApp in January still opens the door in June, for a tenant who left in March.
- The same message, again - "What is the code for the main door?" arrives the night before, on arrival and the next morning.
How keyless check-in works with Nuki and VIVIN
1. Connect your Nuki account
In Settings > Integrations, click Add under Platform Integrations, choose Nuki Account, paste your API Key and click Add Integration. VIVIN reads the locks on your account so you can pick them by name.
2. Tell VIVIN which lock opens which door
A stay can involve up to three doors. In the property editor, under Setup > Access Lockers, set the Building Door and the Property Door to Nuki Locker and choose the lock in Select locker. In the unit editor, Unit Door Access does the same for the room or apartment door. Doors without a smart lock can stay on Manual, with a fixed Tenant code and an entrance hint, or on Disabled.
3. One code per stay, valid only for the stay
For each booking, VIVIN creates a 6-digit keypad code on the booking's Nuki doors and an invitation to the Nuki app, both valid from the check-in date and time to the check-out date and time. If a lock refuses keypad codes, VIVIN retries lock by lock, and a scheduled job retries any code that could not be created.
4. Dates change, the code follows
When the check-in or check-out date or time changes on the booking, VIVIN updates the keypad window on the lock. If a booking is handed over to another tenant, the previous tenant's access for that stay is withdrawn and new codes are issued for the new one.
5. The tenant gets the codes at the right moment
The codes and the Nuki app invitation travel with the check-in email, which you time in Settings > Emails (for example After paid & contract signed or X Days before check-in). If you write your own arrival email as a communication rule, switch on Send Nuki invite and This is the check-in email. In the portal, the Entry codes card on Home lists Building access, Property access and Unit access with Show code, Copy code and your hint, from the check-in email until check-out, and never on a cancelled booking.
Can tenants open the door from their phone?
Yes, if you want them to. Two switches in Settings > Portal settings, both off by default:
- Allow to open Nuki doors from the portal - an Open door button for each Nuki door, from the booking's check-in time until check-out, with an "Open this door?" confirmation. VIVIN checks the stay again on every press.
- Allow to open the Nuki app from the portal - an Open the Nuki app button for tenants who prefer the app they were invited to.
Cleaners and technicians can have their own Internal code per door, turned on in Settings > Global Settings > Access codes and never shown to tenants.
Keyless check-in vs key handovers: the numbers
An illustrative month for a 120-room operator with 30 arrivals and 30 departures, with staff time at €20-25 per hour:
| Item | Keys and shared codes | VIVIN + Nuki |
|---|---|---|
| Staff time on handovers | 15-25 hours | 2-4 hours (exceptions only) |
| Lost keys, cylinders and copies | €100-300 | Close to €0 on Nuki doors |
| Code still working after check-out | Until someone changes it | Ends at the check-out time |
| "What is the code?" messages | 30-60 | A handful |
| Monthly cost of the door | €400-900 | €40-100 |
The bigger gain does not fit in the table: your team stops planning evenings around flight times, and a late arrival is no longer an emergency.
How to set up keyless check-in
- Add your Nuki Account in Settings > Integrations.
- Set each smart-lock door to Nuki Locker in Access Lockers (property) and Unit Door Access (unit), with a hint for each door.
- Choose when the check-in email goes out in Settings > Emails.
- Decide what the portal shows in Settings > Portal settings: entry codes, Open door and the Nuki app button.
- Run one test booking on your own phone, then add a digital check-in and check-out checklist for the rest of the arrival.
Running a coliving operation with dozens of doors? Book a demo and see keyless check-in on a real booking.
Frequently asked questions
What is keyless check-in?
Keyless check-in lets a tenant enter the building and the room without collecting a physical key. With VIVIN and Nuki, each booking gets a 6-digit keypad code and a Nuki app invitation that work only from the check-in date and time to the check-out date and time, so nobody has to meet the tenant at the door.
Do Nuki door codes expire after check-out?
Yes. VIVIN sets every keypad code and app invitation to end at the booking's check-out date and time. When the stay is extended or shortened on the booking, the window on the lock is updated, so the code always matches the stay recorded in VIVIN and never outlives it.
When does the tenant receive the door code?
With the check-in email, which you time in Settings > Emails, for example after the contract is signed and the move-in payments are made, or a set number of days before check-in. From that moment until check-out, the codes also appear on the Entry codes card of the tenant portal.
Can I mix Nuki doors and doors without a smart lock?
Yes. Each door is set to Nuki Locker, Manual or Disabled. A manual door keeps a fixed tenant code and an entrance hint, shown on the same Entry codes card, so a building with one Nuki door and one ordinary keypad still gives the tenant every code in a single place.
The best key handover is the one nobody has to drive to. With Nuki and VIVIN, each tenant gets a code that starts at check-in, ends at check-out and follows the booking in between.
