Three Reasons You Need a Spare Key for your Home

A spare house key seems unneeded in your daily life but will be a life-saver when you lose or break your primary key. From reducing locksmith costs to giving you an easy way to provide home access to your friends and family, having an extra key stored in a secure location has a variety of benefits. Surprisingly, many people still don’t have a spare key, and those that do often store it in their house, making it useless if they’re locked out!

1. Protect Yourself from Being Locked Out

The most obvious use-case of a spare key, protection against locking yourself out of your home is the primary use-case of a spare key. Whether you lost your key, it broke during the day, or you somehow managed to leave it inside your home while you’re locked outside, a spare key will save you from the inconvenience of having to immediately call or visit a locksmith for help.

There are few feelings worse than arriving at your front door and realising that you’re unable to get inside without an expensive locksmith bill. It’s always recommended to have a spare key that’s securely stored with a neighbour or somewhere near your house in order to avoid these situations and be able to access your home even if you’ve lost or broken your main key.

2. Easier Home Access for Friends, Family, and Guests

While a spare key is mostly thought of as a backup for home lockouts, it’s also helpful for managing your everyday property access. Rather than waiting at home for your Airbnb guests or your family to arrive, having a spare key allows you to give them access without affecting your daily schedule. Having a friend stop by when you’re away from home becomes much easier with a spare key rather than them having to wait until you return home.

If you’re welcoming Airbnb guests they can often run into travel delays, and having an automated method to share a key can cut down on your wasted time spent waiting for their arrival. A spare key also makes providing access to regular home services like dog walkers and cleaners easy, giving you the freedom to be elsewhere while they access your property.

3. Replace your Keys More Easily with a Spare 

Copying your spare key is much easier and less expensive than having to call up a locksmith to re-key your lock on-site. Having a spare key on hand will save you a lot of time waiting for that expensive house-call, allowing you to go direct to the locksmiths to cut a new key.

Store your Spare Key Securely with Keycafe

While having a spare key is important, storing it in a safe location near your home that you can easily access is just as vital. Using a nearby Keycafe key locker, called a SmartBox, you can store your spare key and give friends, family, or Airbnb guests access simply through their email address or phone number. The Keycafe mobile app allows you to easily manage and track your guest’s journey to pick up your keys.

You can find a Keycafe key locker near you on our locations page, and more information about our key exchange services on our website.