KeycafeReviews 255

This system works 3/4 times. I have used it for 3 days and have made 6 calls/contact to Key Cafe to resent the system and or get it back to functional. I lost showings, time with my family, time away from client's at at dinner to help get things working again. If you are thinking of installing this in your building, DO NOT! It will cost people lost showings and much frustration. Im on the line with them again right now trying to get it to work so an agent into see a home that is for sale. (pulled over at the side of the road) DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT use this system.

I dumped Keycafe after yet another "routine outage". Guests HATE this service and even though I'm a Superhost, my business was threatened when I moved over. They won't refund you either unless you go through Better Business Bureau and make public reviews. Unreliable and my guests wrote things like "Amazing place but key pick-up sucked". Recently moved to cheap solution Buzzly - now the buzzer automatically opens every time guest dials in and then picks up the keys in the lock box in the staircase hallway.

I was surprised to see some of the negative reviews here as I myself have had an amazing experience with this service. It's been super convenient and easy to use. Sharing access on the go from the mobile app is awesome. My cleaner and guests have also remarked on how easy it was to use. Very convenient to have it right at my 24/7 7-Eleven around the block too!

The concept of Keycafe is wonderful, but the execution is... truly, truly awful... I went to one of their locations to drop off my keys, then a bin opened up and there was someone else's key in it! I called customer service and they blamed it on user errors, saying that Keycafe did nothing wrong and this 'rarely happens'. Then a week later, they lost my keys. And I've only been using the service for two months! Again, they shamelessly blamed it on 'user errors' and the fact that my guest didn't call them for help and dropped off the keys twice. What kind of guest would want to wait 10 minutes on the phone just to drop off a key? Besides, the system does not even have the capacity to detect if a key has been dropped off or picked up, it simply tells you that your drop-off or pickup is successful even when it's not. I had to waste hours of my time speaking to their customer service, then even more time and hundreds of dollars replacing my key fob and lock. They assume no responsibility in case it affects your next guest's check-in, and will only reimburse you up to $100 ONLY IF they THEMSELVES determine that they were at fault for losing your keys. A simple google search will show you how many other Keycafe users have had similar problems with the service. They recently jacked up the price as well and I absolutely would NOT recommend Keycafe to anyone who cares about security and user experience.

Update: They offered to reimburse up to $100 'purely out of good customer service' as they determined that they were not at fault for the loss of my key. I emailed them the receipts and here is their response. Pure professionalism.

I've been using keycafe for 2 years and just cancelled. Too many problems. Your keys getting lost, keys that aren't yours showing up in your box, they never EVER answer requests for help by email... you have to pay everything upfront and then always worry what they are going to do to screw it up. Sometimes guests want to return a key but then the box is full. People on way to airport then have to hunt for another keycafe location. TERRIBLE. And these are the keys to your house.

They promise a simple service but it's a nightmare. They demand a year's payment in advance but when you discover the service stinks -- even a week or two later -- they only offer HALF back. My cleaning lady spent an hour trying to get my keys. Nobody told me regular guests have to "register" to pick up the keys MORE THAN ONCE. That's right -- if you add someone as a regular guest, with permanent access to your keys, and they don't register with KeyCafe, they will not be given your keys.

Ridiculous nightmare. Avoid like the plague.

We were debating using Keycafe for 2 rental properties. Just as we almost convinced ourselves to use this service (which we only needed 4 months of the year for tourism however they only offer an option of a 12 month subscription) we definitely said no way when they instituted a key pick-up fee of $4.00 every time someone picks the keys up. In our case that meant $20-$40 a month on top of their subscription fee.

So we went and asked the local business next door to handle our keys which they offered to do for free as we do business with them anyways.

Good luck KEYCAFE you'll need it. Ridiculous rates!

I love the idea of this service--to store your house keys at a business for another to pick up. It avoids the scheduling of a person-to-person meeting. Where it fails is its truthfulness on its website and customer service to resolve issues.

Specifically, as of April 2017, www.keycafe.com lists a monthly fee for the service along with the opportunity to 'hibernate' your service when you don't need it for a while. Since I expect to use this only 2-3 times per year, this sounded perfect. In truth, they bill you for the full annual cost at one time and the 'hibernation' option is no longer an option. So for 2-3 key swaps I have paid $72 plus a fees per swap. (Which is listed as $1.95 on one page and $3.95 on another.)

Customer service--After being charged the annual fee and despite following their online instructions on 'hibernating' my account and being unable to do so, I reached out to customer service. Their response what that they have recently changed their billing and hibernation policies. Convenient, don't you think? I would call it a bait and switch. When I asked for a refund so I could decide later if this is a service I would use, I was told I must first cancel my account before they could forward my request for consideration.

So my options are 1) Cancel my account and possibly forfeit the annual fee or 2) Keep the account and pay $72 for 2-3 key exchanges. Neither a good options.

I'm a big believer that if your product doesn't prove up to par, good service can remedy that and keep a customer. Keycafe has neither going for them.