Granting access, then withdrawing it, without a key ring
The real benefit fits in a sentence: you open an access and close it again remotely, with nothing physical changing hands. For a let on the rue du Poilu handed to different guests every week, that removes the key safe bolted to the façade and the trips back and forth to recover a set left with the previous occupant.
Then comes traceability. Most models keep a time-stamped log of openings and of the credentials used. When the cleaner, the gardener up on the corniche and the concierge service let themselves in while you are away, knowing who came and at what hour has concrete value, particularly if a dispute arises with a short-stay guest.
Three families exist side by side, and in Villefranche the choice usually turns on reversibility. A motor mounted on the existing cylinder comes off without a trace and leaves the key working from outside: that is what suits a tenant. A smart cylinder replaces the barrel without touching anything else. A full smart lock, mechanism and electronics in one, offers the most but cannot be reversed.
The limits you meet here
The walls are thick. In the old village stone and vaulting cut the signal: a model that talks to a phone through a metre of masonry will not behave as the brochure says, and the router is rarely anywhere near the front door. That point is checked before buying, not once the escutcheon is on the door.
Electronics take badly to sea air and to long closures. An escutcheon exposed to spray above the bay corrodes, and a battery drains even when nothing is used. In a property shut from November to March, the power is checked on every visit, and the emergency cylinder must stay workable from outside with a physical key.
Always keep a mechanical way in. A smart lock removes neither the inspection on site nor the need for a door in good order: mounted on an old rue du Poilu leaf that rubs in winter, it will force exactly as a key would, and its motor will give before the timber does. The door is put right first, then motorised, never the other way round.
How does this service work?
Techniques, typical situations, standards and things to watch out for: it is all on our smart lock page. This page focuses on what the service involves in Villefranche-sur-Mer.