Door Codes & Smart Locks

Every stay has one door code as far as the guest is concerned, and Haven delivers it the same way whichever way you produce it: in the guest's guide, and in its own Door code email and text, separate from the check-in instructions. This article covers where a code can come from, when the guest receives it, and how to connect a smart lock so Haven issues codes for you.

Where a guest's door code comes from

Haven looks for a stay's code in this order and uses the first it finds:

A code you entered on the reservation — the code you generated in your lock's own app, or the one a homeowner gave you for this guest. See Enter a code for one reservation.
A code from a connected smart lock — Haven creates a unique PIN per reservation and writes it to the device. See Connect your locks.
A code from your PMS — Guesty, Hospitable, Lodgify, and OwnerRez can expose the guest's door code on the reservation; Haven mirrors it. See Codes from your PMS.

When a stay has none of those, guests see the listing's own check-in details — the Keypad code, Lockbox details, or Gate or community code you typed under Edit Listing → Arrival → Check-in steps. Those fields accept the same shortcodes as emails ({guest_phone_last4}, a PMS {gate_code}, and so on), so a listing-level keypad can still be “the last four of this guest's phone.” A fixed number that never changes from guest to guest is still the right thing to type when that is how the lock works.

When the guest gets the code

Codes follow the listing's arrival details window. Under Edit Listing → Arrival → Guest portal access, When arrival details appear sets how early a guest can see Wi-Fi, entry codes, and directions (default 1 day; 0 means the morning of check-in). Everything that shows a code respects it:

The guide reveals the code from local midnight on that day, once any rental agreement, ID verification, or check-in-blocking guest form you require is complete.
The check-in instructions emails go out without the code before that day (they tell the guest it is coming) and with it on or after.
The Door code email and text go out the morning the window opens — at once if the code arrives after the window has already opened. A code from a connected smart lock is the one exception: it is sent the moment the lock confirms it is live on the device, so a guest is never told a code the lock would reject.
The reservation page and the trips dashboard show the same details on the same schedule, with a note saying when they appear.

The Door code message lives under Communication → Booking messages → Door code, where you can edit its heading and message and switch on its text, WhatsApp, and PMS thread legs. The PMS thread leg posts into the guest's booking conversation (Airbnb, Vrbo, and so on, through your PMS) — for a synced guest whose email the PMS never supplied, it is the channel that still reaches them. Its message links the guest's guide, which always shows the current code, rather than pasting the code into the OTA thread.

Enter a code for one reservation

Use this when the code is specific to a stay but not coming from a lock Haven controls — you made it in the lock's own app, a homeowner texted it to you, a lockbox was re-set for this guest.

Open the reservation (Reservations, the calendar, or the Home schedule).
In the Door code card, type the code — digits from the lock's app, or a shortcode such as {guest_phone_last4} from the Shortcodes pill — and, optionally, a label the guest reads above it (“Front door keypad”, “Lockbox on the railing”).
Click Save code.

A shortcode is stored as the template, not a snapshot. When this guest's phone is on the stay, {guest_phone_last4} becomes those four digits in the guide and the Door code email. If the stay has no number yet, the card keeps the token and guests are not shown or emailed a code until it resolves — Haven does not invent one.

The card then shows the code, where it came from, and its delivery status — Scheduled for … when the window has not opened yet, Sent … once the email went out. Send to guest now sends it immediately regardless of the window (and Send again re-sends a code that already went). Replace overwrites the code; a replaced code is sent again on the same rules. Remove takes it off the stay, cancels an unsent email, and the guest falls back to the listing's check-in details.

A code entered here wins over a smart-lock or PMS code for the same stay. It never changes anything on a physical lock — it tells the guest what you already set up.

Codes from your PMS

If the listing is synced from a PMS that manages guest codes — Guesty Locks Manager, Hospitable smart locks, Lodgify key codes, OwnerRez door codes — Haven reads the code the PMS assigned to each reservation and treats it like any other: it appears in the guide, the Door code email follows the arrival details window, and the reservation's Door code card shows it as From your PMS. When the PMS rotates or removes the code, Haven follows on its next sync; a new code is sent again.

Two things decide whether Haven can email a synced guest at all. The PMS has to give Haven the guest's email (the reservation's Door code card says No guest email on this stay yet when it has not), and the stay has to be opted into Haven's guest experience — turn on Auto-send the guide under OTA guests on Edit Listing → Arrival → Guest portal access, or simply save or send a code on the reservation, which opts that stay in. Without the opt-in, PMS codes still show in the guide but are not emailed automatically.

When the PMS supplies no guest email at all, switch on the PMS thread leg of the Door code message (Communication → Booking messages → Door code): Haven posts the message into the guest's booking conversation instead, on the same reveal schedule.

If a PMS code is not appearing, check that the PMS actually holds one for that reservation (for Guesty, this requires the Locks Manager add-on) and that the connection under Integrations is healthy.

Hospitable's reservation API often does not include the door code on the token Haven uses. Guests can still get Lock / Unlock on guidebook Home from Hospitable's smart-device API: reconnect Hospitable (so Haven receives devices:read and devices:write), then under Edit Listing → Smart lock pick the lock and turn on Let guests lock and unlock from the guidebook. Those buttons work during the stay even when no door code was mirrored.

Which locks work

Haven connects through Seam (Seam's stable provider catalog). After you sign in, Haven syncs every device on that account that Seam reports as a lock, and you assign one device per listing. Haven does not keep its own brand allowlist — if Seam classifies the device as a lock and it can take a PIN, Haven can provision codes for it.

Haven's guest workflow is a unique keypad PIN per reservation, so the lock needs to support access codes (not only remote lock/unlock).

Common keypad brands on Seam's API (examples, not a guarantee of every model):

Brand	Seam device type
August	`august_lock`
Yale	`yale_lock`
Schlage	`schlage_lock`
igloohome	`igloohome_lock`
Igloo	`igloo_lock`
Kwikset	`kwikset_lock`
Lockly	`lockly_lock`
Nuki	`nuki_lock`
Tedee	`tedee_lock`
Wyze	`wyze_lock`
TTLock	`ttlock_lock`
Ultraloq	`ultraloq_lock`
SmartThings	`smartthings_lock`
Hubitat	`hubitat_lock`
KoreLock	`korelock_lock`
Akiles	`akiles_lock`

If your lock appears after Sync and can take a PIN, Haven can provision codes for it. You keep the hardware and the provider account you already have — Haven adds reservation-aware code management on top.

Locks paired to a security system (Vivint, ADT, Ring Alarm)

A Z-Wave lock — including most Kwikset SmartCode and Home Connect models — pairs to exactly one hub, and it has no cloud account of its own. If yours is paired to a security panel like Vivint, ADT, or Ring Alarm, no outside service can reach it (Haven, or a PMS): those systems do not offer a public API. That is a property of the panel, not of your Haven or PMS plan.

Your options in that situation:

Kwikset Halo models (built-in Wi-Fi) don't need the panel at all — set the lock up in the Kwikset app and connect that account to Haven.
Re-pair the Z-Wave lock to a SmartThings hub instead of the panel. Haven connects to Kwikset, Yale, and Schlage Z-Wave locks through SmartThings. You lose lock control in the security panel's app.
Keep the panel and enter codes by hand — set the guest's code in the panel's app, then type it on the reservation's Door code card. Haven still shows it in the guide and sends the Door code email on schedule.

Not used for guest codes

Access-control panels, intercoms, and garage openers may exist in Seam (Brivo, ButterflyMX, Avigilon Alta, Salto ACS, 2N, Genie, and similar) but they do not run Haven's per-stay keypad workflow. Use a lock from the table above for automated guest PINs.

Thermostats on the same Seam account are set up separately — see Smart Thermostats.

Connect your locks

Smart locks are set up per property, on the property's Edit Listing page. Smart locks are available on any paid Haven plan.

What devices cost

Each connected device is $8/month, and that applies to locks and thermostats alike — a property with a lock and a thermostat is two devices, $16/month.

Devices are billed as their own monthly subscription, separate from your plan invoice, the same way mailboxes are. So if you pay for Haven annually, the device charge still arrives monthly on its own cycle.

The quantity follows your device count automatically. Connect a second lock and Stripe prorates the difference onto that cycle right away; remove a lock from your provider account and the charge drops off once Haven next syncs your devices (within a day, or immediately if you click Sync). Devices that need reauthorization still bill, because they are still provisioned. Your current device count and monthly total are on the Smart Devices tab in Settings.

Connecting devices requires a paid Haven plan and a card on file — the card has to be your default payment method, not just attached. If a device charge can't be collected, you get a 7-day grace window. After that the device assignment is suspended: Haven stops issuing and rotating guest codes, and guests stop seeing the code in their guidebook. Codes already programmed at the lock are never revoked, so nobody is locked out mid-stay — and updating your card restores the assignment automatically.

Open the property's Edit Listing page and go to the Smart lock section (you can search "smart lock" in the edit-property search bar to jump straight there).
Click Connect smart locks. You'll be taken to your lock provider to sign in and authorize access, then returned to Haven.
Once connected, Haven discovers the locks on your account. If you don't see a lock yet, make sure it's set up in your provider app and then click Sync.

Assign a lock to a property

After connecting, choose which device protects this listing:

In the Smart lock section, open Select a lock for this property and pick the device.
Click Assign to this property.

Each property has its own lock assignment, so multi-unit properties can each map to their own device under one connected account.

How smart-lock codes work

Once a lock is assigned, Haven manages codes automatically for confirmed reservations:

Auto-created per stay — every confirmed reservation gets its own unique code, so codes never overlap between guests. You can turn this off with Auto-create a code for each reservation on the Smart lock page.
Relative to check-in and checkout — Codes start and Codes end are offsets from this listing's check-in and checkout times (for example, 1 hour before check-in and 30 minutes after checkout). The clocks on that page show the resulting times. If you change check-in or checkout under Arrival, the codes move with them — you do not need to re-enter clocks here.
Sent when live — the Door code email and text go out the moment the lock confirms the code is on the device. The email shows the exact window the code works in.
Shown in the guest portal — the code appears in the guest's Haven trip hub with their Wi-Fi, parking, and check-in details. Unlock and Lock sit next to the signed-in row on guidebook Home and work only during that stay's access window (the same start/end you set on Smart lock). On the web guide, guests can unlock the door remotely during that window (not yet in the native mobile app).
Revoked automatically — at checkout Haven removes the code from the device. The next guest gets a fresh code; the previous one stops working.

You'll see the assigned device, Unlock / Lock, the code start and end settings, and the auto-create toggle in the Smart lock section once a lock is active. The Arrival guide preview shows the same Unlock / Lock pair beside the signed-in row so you can confirm guests will see them. Those preview buttons stay disabled until a real stay is inside the access window.

Test the lock, sync, and remove

Unlock / Lock — sends a real command to the assigned device so you can watch it respond while you are on this page. This is not a dry run.
Test sync — pulls the latest device list and status from your provider. Use this after adding a new lock in your provider app. It does not move the lock.
Remove lock — unassigns the device from the property. Haven stops managing codes for that property until you assign a lock again.

If a property is connected to a PMS

A listing with an active PMS connection has both routes side by side in the Smart lock section:

Codes from the PMS — if your PMS plan manages guest codes, Haven mirrors them; see Codes from your PMS. For Hospitable, this panel is also where you reconnect (if Haven is missing device permission) and enable guidebook Lock / Unlock.
Connect your locks directly to Haven — link your lock account under Or connect your locks directly to Haven, exactly as on an unsynced listing. Haven then creates a unique code for every reservation synced from the PMS — including OTA bookings — writes it to the device, shows it in the guest guide, and revokes it after checkout. You do not need the PMS's smart-device plan or add-on for this; the lock connection is Haven's own.

If a stay ends up with both, Haven prefers the code it wrote to the device itself; a code you type on the reservation still beats everything. To avoid two codes being provisioned for the same stay, use one route per property: either the PMS's device automation or Haven's direct connection, not both.

Thermostats are different: a PMS connection does not hide the Thermostat section. See Smart Thermostats and the PMS Integrations Overview.

Troubleshooting

The guest says they never got the code — open the reservation's Door code card. Scheduled for … means the arrival details window has not opened yet; Send to guest now overrides it. Not sent yet on a smart lock code means the lock has not confirmed it — check the device in your provider app.
A code isn't working — open your lock provider app to check the device's status and connectivity, then click Unlock or Lock on the Smart lock page to confirm the device responds, or Test sync to refresh the device list. For a code you entered by hand, confirm it on the lock itself; Haven only relays it.
Unlock or Lock does nothing — the device may be offline or may not support remote lock. Check it in your lock provider app.
No locks found — confirm the lock is set up and online in your provider app, then click Sync.
The listing is PMS-synced and you want Haven to manage codes — connect the lock under Or connect your locks directly to Haven in the Smart lock section; no PMS device plan is required. Or configure the lock in the PMS, or enter the code on the reservation by hand.