We all love going on vacations and traveling as much as we can. But while traveling it matters a lot how you decide your accommodation and where you choose to stay.
Most people love to book comfortable hotels that are close to the must-visit destinations of the place.
But you must understand that the better hotel you choose, the more you have to pay for its services and facilities.
One of the many facilities that almost every other hotel has these days is a hotel key card. It is used to enter and access the room. Let us find out more about it in this article and whether it can get wet and how you can ensure that it stays protected.
What Is Hotel Key Card For?
You must have visited hotels during your vacations and stayed for a considerable period to know that most hotel chains and firms ensure that safety is paramount.
Thus, they include a safe hotel key card which they issue to the guests and collect back when they vacate the room.
Most hotels also ensure that they keep the spare master key cards in the rooms which they can use to open the room in case of fire or other emergency.
The reason hotel key cards are used extensively is primarily because they allow the facility of check-in and unlocking the door of your room without the intervention of the hotel staff.
It allows you privacy and access to everything in the hotel room and functions as an identification of the room’s occupancy.
Can Hotel Key Cards Get Wet?
If you are booking a hotel during the monsoon or heavy rains, you might be worried about a lot of things including your hotel key card getting wet.
It is indeed a genuine concern as when it is raining, and you are not carrying an umbrella or rain protection, your luggage including the key card may get wet.
On getting wet, you can expect some amount of damage to the card and you may have to check in with the hotel staff as to what can be done ahead.
Although most of the time, the hotel staff is cooperative and understands your concern, and simply replaces the card and removes the previous RFID chip.
Nevertheless, it is strongly advised that you should keep the card dry as much as possible as in many reputed hotels, you may be asked to pay a fee for its reimbursement.
Why Do Hotel Key Cards Stop Working?
There could be many reasons for the hotel key cards to stop working. One of the most common reasons include magnetic stripe or chip damage, wear and tear, or expiry.
In case of stripe or chip damage, the RFID chip or the magnetic stripe present in the card which helps to get it scanned and detected may be affected.
This can happen due to rough use or continued exposure to water and dirt, which can severely damage these two components.
As for wear and tear, it may simply mean that there are large scratches on the card and it is not getting detected.
Furthermore, in case of expiry, you simply need to update the card or renew it, which can be easily done at the reception or with the help of hotel staff.
How Can You Protect Your Hotel Key Card?
If you wish to protect your hotel key card, you must be aware of some basic steps which you should follow while carrying it.
The first is to never bend or step on your card. Doing so may not only affect the chip and stripe inside but can also lead to the card breaking and splitting into pieces.
If your card is exposed to water and you are not doing anything about it, it may quickly spoil the electronic inference system in the card and may have it damaged permanently.
Thus, you should keep the card inside a carry bag or in a protective cover so that it is not exposed to dust or water.
Moreover, if you keep your hotel cards in proximity to heavy electric gadgets, they may stop working for a while or lose their power. Thus, always ensure there is some partition or gap between both.
Is it a Good Idea to Keep Your Hotel Key Card in Your Phone Case?
Many people may feel that if they keep their hotel key card in their phone case, it is not only going to be protected from dirt and water but will also not be lost.
However, there are some serious reasons why you must not consider doing so. Primarily, as mentioned earlier, the electronic inference of your card may be affected due to its proximity to an electronic device.
Moreover, the magnetic power of the hotel key card is considerably weaker than your mobile phone and it may become weaker or get corrupted due to the exposure to your phone.
Thus, make sure to keep your hotel key card away from your phone.
How Much Does a Hotel Key Card System Cost?
Although the hotel key card system is generally different in each hotel chain and branch, depending on the location, size of the hotel, and ranking.
But you can estimate the price of an average hotel key card system for a medium-sized hotel to be around $10,000. The price may vary depending on the kind of features it involves.
Moreover, there might be some additional charges for installation and maintenance, which you can consider adding. Besides, the hotels charge a commercial fee for safety and security from the customers as well, thus it may depend on the services provided in the card.
Conclusion
Therefore, in this article, we learned that hotel key cards can get wet and are extremely susceptible to damage, wear, and tear.
Thus, you must be alert all the time and ensure that your hotel key card is kept safely in your backpack or a carry bag you are taking with you.
It is best to keep it in a separate compartment inside the bag and keep checking for it now and then.