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Comment by Symbiote | Hacker News Reader

> They warn that the deadbolt on the room is also controlled by the keycard lock, so it doesn't provide an extra safeguard.

That is the biggest surprise to me. I had assumed getting around the deadbolt would require a locksmith or breaking the door. (What's the point of it otherwise?)

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People lock themselves in hotel rooms and refuse to leave more often than you'd think.

A lot of hotels I've been to also have a latch you can physically lock the door with which would prevent someone from actually entering, but I bet you may be able to slowly pry that open with a jig of some sort.

https://foleybelsawlocksmithing.com/products/hotel-door-hing...

It's called a "swing bar". It's easy to open from tho2e outside with some duct tape and a rubber band, unfortunately. Plenty of easy instructions on YouTube.

I assume/hope the newer versions in hotels that are a little l bracket that flips are little harder to get open?

There are tools specifically designed to open these. At best, they make an attempt to break in more conspicuous.

>> I had assumed getting around the deadbolt would require a locksmith or breaking the door.

Look into what happens when someone pulls a fire alarm. Some building-wide lock systems will actively unlock doors during a fire scenario.

Good feels and security theater

> (What's the point of it otherwise?)

How else would the hotel staff enter the room when the current occupant is locked in the room, but dead or some lesser medical emergency condition?

Being dead isn't urgent, they could call a locksmith.

A medical emergency would justify breaking the door.

The same applies to my apartment door.

Once the hotel is big enough this will occur so frequently that all those locksmith bills and new doors incur a notable cost, enough that for your next lock system you choose something that lets hotel employees override the deadbolt. Most customers won't care or notice, and those that do are offset by those that got inconvenienced by someone breaking down the door next to them.

It only becomes non-urgent once you can get in the room to confirm they’re dead.

Schrödinger's Hotel Guest.

Imagine how much faster it would be with an emergency key unlocking the security deadbolt rather than just the door lock. Housekeeping keys do not have the ability to unlock the security bolt, but management does that can used by the appropriate emergency responders. Police doing an investigation with a warrant would be appropriate, but a cop with a hunch would not

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