RemoteLock provides keyless entry to your venue by providing customers with temporary access codes that activate at the start of each booking and expire at the end. All the customer has to do is type the code into an electronic door lock to gain access. You can forget about needing to issue and monitor keys, and ensure your customers can only access the venue during the times they have booked.
The RemoteLock software emails your customer a few days before each booking with their temporary access code. They can then share it with attendees of their event, helping to keep your premises secure from unauthorised access. Regular users and venue staff can be issued with permanent door codes which can restrict access to certain days and times if necessary.
The RemoteLock software is compatible with a variety of locks. If you need to purchase a keypad or lock, visit smartlock..shop.
Using MyHallWizard with RemoteLock #
Our integration uses iCal feeds to tell RemoteLock about your bookings 7 days in advance. Before you can use MyHallWizard with RemoteLock, you need to set it up. Details of how to set it up are given lower down this page.
Note that only Confirmed bookings are sent to RemoteLock. PIN numbers are not issued for Provisional bookings.
Regular users #
For regular users such as clubs which meet every week, may not want to receive a different PIN for each booking. In this case, we recommend that you set the customer up as a User within RemoteLock, so that you can issue them a permanent door code or issue them a keyfob. This can optionally be restricted to prevent access out of their normal hours.
Once you have set them up as a User, go to their Customer record in MyHallWizard. At the bottom of the page, you will find a control labelled Issue RemoteLock PINs. Change this to ‘Do not issue PINs’, then click Save. This will suppress the generation of a PIN when a booking is made for the customer.
Overriding PIN generation for a booking #
When a booking is created for a customer, it determines whether or not to issue a PIN based on the Issue RemoteLock PINs setting in the Customer record. So if you set the customer to ‘Issue PINs for each booking’, the booking will issue a PIN, and if you set the customer to ‘Do not issue PINs’, the booking will not issue a PIN.
In both cases, you can override this for specific bookings. At the bottom of the create or edit Bookings page, you will see a control labelled “Issue a RemoteLock PIN”. Simply change this switch to change the behaviour of the booking. For example, if you don’t want to issue a PIN to an ocassional user, or you want to issue a PIN to a regular user who is meeting at an unusual time.
Late bookings #
By default, RemoteLock will check MyHallWizard’s iCal feed every hour. So any late bookings will still unlock doors. If you need to enter a booking within the next hour, you should unlock the doors directly from RemoteLock. You can change the update frequency from within the RemoteLock software.
Setting up MyHallWizard to work with RemoteLock #
Before you begin #
If you have multiple locks (e.g. different locks on different doors), you need to think about how you want to control them. Do you want to allow customers to be able to access all parts of your building, or do you want to restrict them only to the rooms they have booked?
Allowing access to the entire building is easiest to set up. Simply create a single feed from MyHallWizard to RemoteLock valid for all rooms; in RemoteLock add all doors to this feed (excluding any private areas such as offices). One PIN will open all appropriate doors, allowing customers easy access to other rooms to collect equipment, etc. However, there is the risk that customers may choose to use rooms they haven’t booked.
Alternatively you could create separate feeds for each of your rooms (or groups of rooms), allowing customers to only be able to open those doors necessary to access the rooms booked. This provides additional security, but may restrict them from accessing equipment stored in other rooms. If they have multiple rooms booked, they may be issued with multiple different access codes, each of which only works in certain locks.
One thing to be sure – make sure you have feeds for every room. And don’t list the same room in multiple feeds (or else your customers will get multiple PINs for each booking).
Step 1 – configure the RemoteLock feed in MyHallWizard #
Once you have decided what feeds you need to create, you can set them up in MyHallWizard.
- Click on Settings in the navigation bar then click on Integrations.
2. In the Integrations screen, click on the RemoteLock card.
Warning: You must use the RemoteLock card when connecting with RemoteLock, not the iCal card. Although both generate an iCal feed from MyHallWizard, the information passed is different, and certain features (e.g. ‘Do not issue a PIN’ on a booking) will not work with the generic iCal feed.
3. This will display the RemoteLock screen, which lists each of the feeds you have set up. To set up a new feed, click the New Feed button.
4. Complete the New iCal Feed form to tell MyHallWizard what information to include in the iCal feed.
| Field | Description |
| Name | If you are allowing access to the entire building, you can leave the default value in this field. If you are setting up multiple feeds, you should give each feed a name which helps you easily understand what it handles. For example, include the name of the rooms(s) the feed is set up for. |
| Including bookings in which rooms in this feed? | If your feed is for all rooms in your building, you can leave this field blank. If your feed is for certain rooms only, tick which rooms which apply. |
| When do you want to unlock / lock the doors? | People often arrive a few minutes early for their booking, or leave a few minutes late. If you unlock the doors dead on the time booked, or lock them dead on the end of their booking, you may leave them standing out in the rain, or they may pop out to the loo and then find their belongings locked in their room! We recommend you unlock the doors a few minutes before their booking begins, and that you allow a few minutes after the booking for them to finish clearing up and leaving the building. |
5. Once you are happy with the setup of the feed, click Save. The next screen summarises how the feed is being set up and tells you the URL of the feed. You need to copy this, as you will need to input the URL into the RemoteLock software.
Important: The iCal feed includes the names of private bookings and also your customers’ email addresses. Do not give the URL of this iCal feed to other people, as you may breach data protection regulations such as GDPR if you do.
Step 2 – Subscribe to the iCal feed in the RemoteLock software #
Please see https://support.remotelock.com/hc/en-us/articles/360024551691-iCal-Feed-Integrations for detailed instructions on setting up RemoteLock to work with iCal feeds.
- In the RemoteLock software, click on Integrations
- Click on the iCal card
- Click the Add iCal Feed button
- Complete the form
Name – we suggest you use the same name you used in MyHallWizard
URL – this is the URL you copied from the feed when setting it up in MyHallWizard
Synch Interval – decide how often you need EdgeState to update its bookings calendar - Click Create
- Next you need to associate the doors with the feed. For each door you need opening when there is a booking, click Add Door and select the corresponding advice.
- Next review the settings you want to use for this feed.
- Finally cllick Activate.
We recommend you review the wording on the email templates within RemoteLock. The default wording “Here is your access code for your upcoming stay with us. ” is aimed at B&Bs and holiday rentals rather than village halls.
Troubleshooting #
Some users have reported they get a 403 – Forbidden error when trying to access MyHallWizard’s iCal feed. This happens because our firewall occassionally blocks access to the feed. If this happens, please contact HallWizard Support, who will be happy to add the feed and your IP address to our whitelist. Please mention the URL of the iCal feed and the date and time of the error.