Key for the bathroom door?

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Morticia

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We now have an exterior lock on the bathroom in the hallway vs just a latch on the inside. The key works to lock/unlock either from the inside or the outside. The question is...how do we provide the key to the guest? On the keyring with the room key? Separately? If separately, how? Some of the possible problems are one half of the couple is out with the room keys and the other half can't get into their bathroom; in the middle of the night, trying to open the door while banging a set of keys around; walking off with the bathroom key if it is not on a big enough 'key ring'.
So, what do you think? For those with a plague room, what have you done? What works?
 
We have a key that works for both the room door and the bath door, and that has seemed to work well - it is in the control of the guest so they can leave them in or out. I have thought that hanging an extra key on the wall would be a good idea, but haven't done it yet.
 
This is for a guest room which uses the hallway bath...correct? No one else uses it.
I would just have a key in the room clearly marked HALL BATHROOM KEY. Be sure to keep this in the room. Maybe hang it on their entry door or on the door trim molding, so they can access it easily.
Make sure the bathroom is clearly marked...PRIVATE BATH for XXX Room ONLY.
Muirford's idea is a good one. Key to both doors are the same..if you can do that.
I don't see any reason why they should tote around a bathroom key with their door key. They are adults and can figure out its use:)
 
I would do like El said. Put the key on a ring by itself and hang just inside the room where it is easy to grab and clearly visible. The ring should be big enough that it doesn't go into a pocket easily or they might get locked out and key go home with someone.
 
This is for a guest room which uses the hallway bath...correct? No one else uses it.
I would just have a key in the room clearly marked HALL BATHROOM KEY. Be sure to keep this in the room. Maybe hang it on their entry door or on the door trim molding, so they can access it easily.
Make sure the bathroom is clearly marked...PRIVATE BATH for XXX Room ONLY.
Muirford's idea is a good one. Key to both doors are the same..if you can do that.
I don't see any reason why they should tote around a bathroom key with their door key. They are adults and can figure out its use:).
It's a skeleton key so it wouldn't work in both doors. The other worry is it's 'novelty' and someone might walk off with it for that reason. I was thinking of a big ribbon and hang it from the inside of the room door, but hubs thinks it'll go walking if it's only a ribbon. He assures me he won't hang it from a license plate like a gas station bathroom key.
wink_smile.gif
But he thinks it needs something more than a ribbon. I just don't want something that is going to clank in the night time as they're trying to unlock the door.
Altho, I really think few people will continually lock the door, they might. I'll look around the house, we got a bunch of key fobs with all the keys when we bought the place, maybe I have something I can use that is large enough, but not noisy.
 
This is for a guest room which uses the hallway bath...correct? No one else uses it.
I would just have a key in the room clearly marked HALL BATHROOM KEY. Be sure to keep this in the room. Maybe hang it on their entry door or on the door trim molding, so they can access it easily.
Make sure the bathroom is clearly marked...PRIVATE BATH for XXX Room ONLY.
Muirford's idea is a good one. Key to both doors are the same..if you can do that.
I don't see any reason why they should tote around a bathroom key with their door key. They are adults and can figure out its use:).
It's a skeleton key so it wouldn't work in both doors. The other worry is it's 'novelty' and someone might walk off with it for that reason. I was thinking of a big ribbon and hang it from the inside of the room door, but hubs thinks it'll go walking if it's only a ribbon. He assures me he won't hang it from a license plate like a gas station bathroom key.
wink_smile.gif
But he thinks it needs something more than a ribbon. I just don't want something that is going to clank in the night time as they're trying to unlock the door.
Altho, I really think few people will continually lock the door, they might. I'll look around the house, we got a bunch of key fobs with all the keys when we bought the place, maybe I have something I can use that is large enough, but not noisy.
.
Hmmmm skeleton key....I am thinking I would rekey that bathroom with a new lock..sorry.
What have you been doing up until now??? Has it worked? Or what has changed that this is now an issue???
 
This is for a guest room which uses the hallway bath...correct? No one else uses it.
I would just have a key in the room clearly marked HALL BATHROOM KEY. Be sure to keep this in the room. Maybe hang it on their entry door or on the door trim molding, so they can access it easily.
Make sure the bathroom is clearly marked...PRIVATE BATH for XXX Room ONLY.
Muirford's idea is a good one. Key to both doors are the same..if you can do that.
I don't see any reason why they should tote around a bathroom key with their door key. They are adults and can figure out its use:).
It's a skeleton key so it wouldn't work in both doors. The other worry is it's 'novelty' and someone might walk off with it for that reason. I was thinking of a big ribbon and hang it from the inside of the room door, but hubs thinks it'll go walking if it's only a ribbon. He assures me he won't hang it from a license plate like a gas station bathroom key.
wink_smile.gif
But he thinks it needs something more than a ribbon. I just don't want something that is going to clank in the night time as they're trying to unlock the door.
Altho, I really think few people will continually lock the door, they might. I'll look around the house, we got a bunch of key fobs with all the keys when we bought the place, maybe I have something I can use that is large enough, but not noisy.
.
Hmmmm skeleton key....I am thinking I would rekey that bathroom with a new lock..sorry.
What have you been doing up until now??? Has it worked? Or what has changed that this is now an issue???
.
catlady said:
Hmmmm skeleton key....I am thinking I would rekey that bathroom with a new lock..sorry.
What have you been doing up until now??? Has it worked? Or what has changed that this is now an issue???
It hasn't worked up until now, it's just that we're now getting to fixing the problem! The problem being that other guests routinely use this bathroom even tho it is not their bathroom to use.
Prior to this, we left the door open and told guests not to use it as it belonged to guests in another room. That made absolutely no difference to them. Then we closed the door (it has a 'Private' sign on the outside) but that blocks all the light in the hallway and guests still used the bathroom but then we didn't know because the door was closed.
So, the idea now is to leave the door open until we have guests on that floor and then lock it and give the key to the guests who have that room. Still blocks all the natural light in the hallway, which means lights are on 24x7 now, but at least we won't have to clean that bathroom all the time when we haven't been paid for the room.
 
how about one of those shower scrubbies? they would know what the key was for but they're made of nylon so no noise. and the scrubbie has a loop to hang it. or would the guest use the scrubbie?
 
This is for a guest room which uses the hallway bath...correct? No one else uses it.
I would just have a key in the room clearly marked HALL BATHROOM KEY. Be sure to keep this in the room. Maybe hang it on their entry door or on the door trim molding, so they can access it easily.
Make sure the bathroom is clearly marked...PRIVATE BATH for XXX Room ONLY.
Muirford's idea is a good one. Key to both doors are the same..if you can do that.
I don't see any reason why they should tote around a bathroom key with their door key. They are adults and can figure out its use:).
It's a skeleton key so it wouldn't work in both doors. The other worry is it's 'novelty' and someone might walk off with it for that reason. I was thinking of a big ribbon and hang it from the inside of the room door, but hubs thinks it'll go walking if it's only a ribbon. He assures me he won't hang it from a license plate like a gas station bathroom key.
wink_smile.gif
But he thinks it needs something more than a ribbon. I just don't want something that is going to clank in the night time as they're trying to unlock the door.
Altho, I really think few people will continually lock the door, they might. I'll look around the house, we got a bunch of key fobs with all the keys when we bought the place, maybe I have something I can use that is large enough, but not noisy.
.
Hmmmm skeleton key....I am thinking I would rekey that bathroom with a new lock..sorry.
What have you been doing up until now??? Has it worked? Or what has changed that this is now an issue???
.
catlady said:
Hmmmm skeleton key....I am thinking I would rekey that bathroom with a new lock..sorry.
What have you been doing up until now??? Has it worked? Or what has changed that this is now an issue???
It hasn't worked up until now, it's just that we're now getting to fixing the problem! The problem being that other guests routinely use this bathroom even tho it is not their bathroom to use.
Prior to this, we left the door open and told guests not to use it as it belonged to guests in another room. That made absolutely no difference to them. Then we closed the door (it has a 'Private' sign on the outside) but that blocks all the light in the hallway and guests still used the bathroom but then we didn't know because the door was closed.
So, the idea now is to leave the door open until we have guests on that floor and then lock it and give the key to the guests who have that room. Still blocks all the natural light in the hallway, which means lights are on 24x7 now, but at least we won't have to clean that bathroom all the time when we haven't been paid for the room.
.
I don't think I would be leaving it open ever when there are any guests in the house. You never know who will use it and then it needs cleaned again ....just in case...when guests do check in. You know from experience, people will go into an open room:-(
 
how about one of those shower scrubbies? they would know what the key was for but they're made of nylon so no noise. and the scrubbie has a loop to hang it. or would the guest use the scrubbie?.
That's sound like a cool idea. If they use it...just wash it:) But if there was a key securely attached..I doubt they would use it.
 
This is for a guest room which uses the hallway bath...correct? No one else uses it.
I would just have a key in the room clearly marked HALL BATHROOM KEY. Be sure to keep this in the room. Maybe hang it on their entry door or on the door trim molding, so they can access it easily.
Make sure the bathroom is clearly marked...PRIVATE BATH for XXX Room ONLY.
Muirford's idea is a good one. Key to both doors are the same..if you can do that.
I don't see any reason why they should tote around a bathroom key with their door key. They are adults and can figure out its use:).
It's a skeleton key so it wouldn't work in both doors. The other worry is it's 'novelty' and someone might walk off with it for that reason. I was thinking of a big ribbon and hang it from the inside of the room door, but hubs thinks it'll go walking if it's only a ribbon. He assures me he won't hang it from a license plate like a gas station bathroom key.
wink_smile.gif
But he thinks it needs something more than a ribbon. I just don't want something that is going to clank in the night time as they're trying to unlock the door.
Altho, I really think few people will continually lock the door, they might. I'll look around the house, we got a bunch of key fobs with all the keys when we bought the place, maybe I have something I can use that is large enough, but not noisy.
.
Hmmmm skeleton key....I am thinking I would rekey that bathroom with a new lock..sorry.
What have you been doing up until now??? Has it worked? Or what has changed that this is now an issue???
.
catlady said:
Hmmmm skeleton key....I am thinking I would rekey that bathroom with a new lock..sorry.
What have you been doing up until now??? Has it worked? Or what has changed that this is now an issue???
It hasn't worked up until now, it's just that we're now getting to fixing the problem! The problem being that other guests routinely use this bathroom even tho it is not their bathroom to use.
Prior to this, we left the door open and told guests not to use it as it belonged to guests in another room. That made absolutely no difference to them. Then we closed the door (it has a 'Private' sign on the outside) but that blocks all the light in the hallway and guests still used the bathroom but then we didn't know because the door was closed.
So, the idea now is to leave the door open until we have guests on that floor and then lock it and give the key to the guests who have that room. Still blocks all the natural light in the hallway, which means lights are on 24x7 now, but at least we won't have to clean that bathroom all the time when we haven't been paid for the room.
.
I don't think I would be leaving it open ever when there are any guests in the house. You never know who will use it and then it needs cleaned again ....just in case...when guests do check in. You know from experience, people will go into an open room:-(
.
catlady said:
I don't think I would be leaving it open ever when there are any guests in the house. You never know who will use it and then it needs cleaned again ....just in case...when guests do check in. You know from experience, people will go into an open room:-(
It's a certain type of guest who wanders around the house. It's a whole different animal that will go into another room, use something in the other room or take something from the other room and then go back to their own room! I have guests who have been coming here for years and who always take the same room on one side of the house. I had to move them last year and they marveled at the 'rest of the house, we never knew.' 5 years and they had never even set foot in the other part of the house.
Other guests grab their cameras and take pix of everything. A good reason to keep doors locked on rooms that are not clean. Last thing you need are those pix showing up online. 'And this is the Rose Room.' And no explanation that they took these pix without my knowledge and when the rooms were not ready.
 
We have a shared bath. All my doors are old and had the skeleton keys (if we could find them). We installed deadbolt locks on all doors upstairs (except my storage room) that look old-timey on the hall side. I have the only keys to the shared bath because I do not want anyone being able to enter while someone is in there.
I understand that yours is a Private bath. You can install a deadbolt lock that will look good. With the "interesting" people you get, there is an almost certainty of getting a key collector or an antiques nut who will want to add that skeleton key to the collection. The deadbolt keyed the same as the room key is your best answer.
 
We have a shared bath. All my doors are old and had the skeleton keys (if we could find them). We installed deadbolt locks on all doors upstairs (except my storage room) that look old-timey on the hall side. I have the only keys to the shared bath because I do not want anyone being able to enter while someone is in there.
I understand that yours is a Private bath. You can install a deadbolt lock that will look good. With the "interesting" people you get, there is an almost certainty of getting a key collector or an antiques nut who will want to add that skeleton key to the collection. The deadbolt keyed the same as the room key is your best answer..
Sorry everyone missed the point that this lock is NEW, just installed, NOT going to be replaced again.
regular_smile.gif
I guess I should have asked yesterday what kind of lock should we install.
wink_smile.gif

Now all I need is what kind of key ring or how should we give the key to the guest? We HAVE to give the key to the guest so they can unlock the door! They don't have to lock themselves in as there is still the latch on the inside.
I guess I should get spares right now before the keys are all gone!
 
This is for a guest room which uses the hallway bath...correct? No one else uses it.
I would just have a key in the room clearly marked HALL BATHROOM KEY. Be sure to keep this in the room. Maybe hang it on their entry door or on the door trim molding, so they can access it easily.
Make sure the bathroom is clearly marked...PRIVATE BATH for XXX Room ONLY.
Muirford's idea is a good one. Key to both doors are the same..if you can do that.
I don't see any reason why they should tote around a bathroom key with their door key. They are adults and can figure out its use:).
It's a skeleton key so it wouldn't work in both doors. The other worry is it's 'novelty' and someone might walk off with it for that reason. I was thinking of a big ribbon and hang it from the inside of the room door, but hubs thinks it'll go walking if it's only a ribbon. He assures me he won't hang it from a license plate like a gas station bathroom key.
wink_smile.gif
But he thinks it needs something more than a ribbon. I just don't want something that is going to clank in the night time as they're trying to unlock the door.
Altho, I really think few people will continually lock the door, they might. I'll look around the house, we got a bunch of key fobs with all the keys when we bought the place, maybe I have something I can use that is large enough, but not noisy.
.
I have skeleton keys on many of my french doors. I went to the hardware store and bought some new ones. They work on all but 2 of the doors. They are silver color and don't look antique. I bought tassels and tied them onto the keys and just put them in the locks for looks.
But you might check and see if you can get a new key that will work in that lock. If so, then if someone walks with it, no problem.
 
Bree...do you have driftwood where you are at? I don't know if you are in the right location for that but I have have collected a lot of small pieces of driftwood and I attach those to the room key rings. Each one is unique and not too big so the guest can put them in their pocket. For your bathroom I would get a large longer piece of driftwood for that and drill a hole in it and attach it to the key ring so that way it will be big enough someone won't walk off with it and it won't make a lot of noise either. If driftwood doesn't work maybe something else that is natural or unique to your area?
 
Bree...do you have driftwood where you are at? I don't know if you are in the right location for that but I have have collected a lot of small pieces of driftwood and I attach those to the room key rings. Each one is unique and not too big so the guest can put them in their pocket. For your bathroom I would get a large longer piece of driftwood for that and drill a hole in it and attach it to the key ring so that way it will be big enough someone won't walk off with it and it won't make a lot of noise either. If driftwood doesn't work maybe something else that is natural or unique to your area?.
Just don't want it so unique that the guests walks off with the key ring but leaves me the key!
 
Our house only has the private bathrooms inside of each guest room, so this isn't an issue for us, but a couple of related issues seem worth exploring.
Last week, we had a couple and their friend book spontaneously after seeing them at the nearby gas station with maps, guide books, etc. spread out on the hood of their rental car looking bewildered. Being the helpful and outgoing types we are, I asked them if they needed help finding something.
They were on a roadtrip and hadn't booked anything in advance and needed a place to stay for the next three nights. Seemed nice enough and our place offered exactly what they were looking for.
We didn't have any other guests for that three days, so it was a nice little boost, or so we thought.
We generally leave all of our vacant rooms open to allow air to move through and so the curious won't have to ask to look at the rest of the house for future reference.
Well, the problems began with the bouncing ball of "we probably won't want breakfast most of the mornings because we're avid hikers and want to get out there at the crack of dawn."
It was like pulling teeth every night getting them to decide if they'd want breakfast or not. With their desire for pre-dawn coffee each day, if other guests had been here, it would have been a nightmare with these three traipsing through the whole house regularly really early.
After just one of my wife's now legendary breakfasts, we kind of knew we'd have them for breakfast each day, which is of course the point of staying at a B&B.
The biggest problem was these three were all huge drinkers by even my own liberal consumption standard. I mean, at least 12 beers per day per the two males and 1.5 or more bottles of wine for the woman.
After their check out, we started cleaning their room and while cleaning the full house noticed that every stinkin' bathroom in the house had been used.
And the guys weren't the best aims if you know what I mean.
So here we are, getting up earlier than normal to cater to their schedule, doing extra cleaning, worrying each night one of them would trip and fall in a drunken stupor, and they got a discount like most guests have since the economy tanked.
No thank you comment in the book, no "sorry for sullying more of the house than we were paying for", no tip, nothing.
Then the other day, some couple drives in and says "We'd like to tour your place, somebody we know stayed here once and we'd like a brochure for next year's visit to the area." When asked, "Oh, who may we thank for telling you about us?" they went blank.
So, after about 20 seconds of the tour, the woman beelines it for one of the rooms and we're thinking she just wants to take a look around. Five minutes later, out she comes and once they're gone, we see she has left us a nice present in the room's toilet. No, "Hey, I really had to go and sorry for leaving you a mess"
This locked rooms idea seems to be a very good one, if this kind of stuff keeps up.
 
Our house only has the private bathrooms inside of each guest room, so this isn't an issue for us, but a couple of related issues seem worth exploring.
Last week, we had a couple and their friend book spontaneously after seeing them at the nearby gas station with maps, guide books, etc. spread out on the hood of their rental car looking bewildered. Being the helpful and outgoing types we are, I asked them if they needed help finding something.
They were on a roadtrip and hadn't booked anything in advance and needed a place to stay for the next three nights. Seemed nice enough and our place offered exactly what they were looking for.
We didn't have any other guests for that three days, so it was a nice little boost, or so we thought.
We generally leave all of our vacant rooms open to allow air to move through and so the curious won't have to ask to look at the rest of the house for future reference.
Well, the problems began with the bouncing ball of "we probably won't want breakfast most of the mornings because we're avid hikers and want to get out there at the crack of dawn."
It was like pulling teeth every night getting them to decide if they'd want breakfast or not. With their desire for pre-dawn coffee each day, if other guests had been here, it would have been a nightmare with these three traipsing through the whole house regularly really early.
After just one of my wife's now legendary breakfasts, we kind of knew we'd have them for breakfast each day, which is of course the point of staying at a B&B.
The biggest problem was these three were all huge drinkers by even my own liberal consumption standard. I mean, at least 12 beers per day per the two males and 1.5 or more bottles of wine for the woman.
After their check out, we started cleaning their room and while cleaning the full house noticed that every stinkin' bathroom in the house had been used.
And the guys weren't the best aims if you know what I mean.
So here we are, getting up earlier than normal to cater to their schedule, doing extra cleaning, worrying each night one of them would trip and fall in a drunken stupor, and they got a discount like most guests have since the economy tanked.
No thank you comment in the book, no "sorry for sullying more of the house than we were paying for", no tip, nothing.
Then the other day, some couple drives in and says "We'd like to tour your place, somebody we know stayed here once and we'd like a brochure for next year's visit to the area." When asked, "Oh, who may we thank for telling you about us?" they went blank.
So, after about 20 seconds of the tour, the woman beelines it for one of the rooms and we're thinking she just wants to take a look around. Five minutes later, out she comes and once they're gone, we see she has left us a nice present in the room's toilet. No, "Hey, I really had to go and sorry for leaving you a mess"
This locked rooms idea seems to be a very good one, if this kind of stuff keeps up..
Well that truly stinks. We also leave the room doors open to keep the rooms fresh. When we have lookie lous I will often step away so they can talk. No longer. I hadn't thought to go back and look at the bathrooms, but I bet the ones who take the longest are doing just that.
There are times I have sensed that locking the doors to the other rooms would be a good move. Each time I have ignored that feeling, I've been bitten. Now, even if it means prowling the house in my jammies, I will get up and go lock the doors.
 
OK, I thought I'd give the shower scrubbie a try. It's cute, but hubs said, 'No guy will ever stay in that room again.' He might have a point there, so I'm still looking for other ideas.
 
I think I would do both...have one key to the bathroom on the keyring with the room key, and keep a second bathroom key in the room itself. That way they can always access it. Am I reading correctly that they need the key to lock themselves IN the bathroom as well? If so, you might want to hang a key inside the bathroom as well, just in case.
Geesh, just hang a sign on the bathroom when no one is using that room..."Quarantined"...then see if PITA's still use it!
We have one detached bath...there is a sign on it which says it is for the "X Room guests only" but of course when the door is left open everyone uses that bathroom. When guests are staying in that room I tell them to keep the bathroom door pulled closed if they like...and it also blocks out most of our natural light in that hallway.
 
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