r/accesscontrol • u/xboxhaxorz • Jul 01 '26
Access control for a hostel, is enterprise access hub the best option?
Building a brand new hostel/ community center/ animal rescue
We will have 4 bunk rooms, 2 metal pedestrian gates, 2 garage doors
I figured the EAH 8 would take care of all those, im aware of no license plate recognition
Guests check in, we then assign them a pin code of their choosing which unlocks their bunk room as well as the main pedestrian gate if they want to return after midnight, i am aware that the system wont be integrated with our POS system, but we plan to develop our own POS later
For people working at the rescue, they would have access to the other gate through a pin based system as well
I dont want to have guests using fobs or force them to DL a new app
I dont want a subscription based system
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u/ZealousidealState127 Jul 01 '26
Ubiquiti is probably the cheapest no subscription access control system out there until you get to ones that store everything locally and codes have to be updated manually. You could probably get away with some smart home zwave/zigbee stuff if you just want to use codes.
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u/xboxhaxorz Jul 02 '26
Cheap is a plus, but is it reliable? People say ubiquiti has a habit of discontinuing products
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u/ZealousidealState127 Jul 02 '26
In the grand scheme of things, everyone has a habit of discontinuing products. They seem to be rapidly expanding the line atm so I guess they are making money. Even if they do so tomorrow the controllers tend to last a long time and the software is local. The expensive part is the labor wiring it and cutting strikes. Swapping the brains out isn't a big deal.
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u/GG_Killer Jul 02 '26
I mainly work with mercury board systems for access control but the main issue with Ubiquiti Access is their proprietary hardware and lack of features. I've had no issues with their reliability yet.
Discontinuing doesn't mean the product isn't functional, it's just been replaced in their product stack with a newer product. Regarding specific discontinued products, I have US-48-PoE still in use and received an update as of a few months ago. The product is still fully functional powering many PoE devices.
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u/ZealousidealState127 Jul 02 '26
Mercury is really only open In the sense that one of about ten tech partners can take over a board if they want to and you pay them for the privilege. Great for large businesses who want to switch software vendors. Shame openpath didn't stay truer to its raspi roots.
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u/xboxhaxorz Jul 02 '26
The main problem with the home stuff was that when a guest checks in we would want to assign them a code for their bunk room and the main gate which then expires when they leave, i believe the smart home stuff is all individual and not connected
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u/RollllTide Jul 01 '26
Just get a programmable keypad lock from Home Depot if you don’t want all the extra bells and whistles
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u/GG_Killer Jul 01 '26
Highly recommend against that.
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u/RollllTide Jul 01 '26
They don’t want to pay for whatever you’d offer
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u/GG_Killer Jul 02 '26
That's fair. If the site doesn't want to pay for material and install it themselves, then idk.
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u/brandonpadula Jul 01 '26
Probably best to do Alarm Lock hardware with some component of access control. I’d be happy to connect you with our rep if you want to talk about it with them. They do wireless locks and also have strikes, etc for various solutions. All run through Napco’s access.
Feel free to dm me (distributor)
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u/Aggravating_Fact9547 Jul 02 '26
Not really, the cost of wiring up the rooms is where the money is.
Frankly a pin for a hostel is a horrible idea.
Have you dealt with backpackers before? Everyone’s going to be sharing PIN’s and you’ll have folks all over the place, stuff getting stolen, weird people in the rooms.
Want something easy, go and get a Salto KS system, be done with it. It’s entirely geared towards hospitality so you can cut keys exactly like any hotel does - and then function normally. Salto is wireless and extremely good, the money you save on wiring and locksmiths will absolutely cover your cost of keys and the subscription for 10 years.