Key Summary

The Partner: Hilton Daytona Beach Resort, a high-volume oceanfront property with 744 rooms.
The Challenge: Obsolete manual logbooks caused staff congestion, "logbook liability," and admin burnout, creating security gaps across the resort.
How did Hilton use KeyNest?: Deployed KeyNest Lockers back-of-house to transition from paper logs to a 100% automated, badge-access digital system.
Key Results:
- Total Accountability - Zero unaccounted-for keys thanks to a real-time, tamper-proof digital audit trail.
- Time Reclaimed - Saved 15+ hours per week by eliminating manual check-in/out bottlenecks.
- Enhanced Security - Shifted staff from admin desks to active floor patrols, boosting physical property safety.
- Frictionless Access - Seamless key collection for cleaners and contractors, removing peak-time congestion.

The Hilton Daytona Beach Resort needed to modernize its obsolete manual key management to reduce admin bottlenecks, enhance accountability across all hotel grounds, and increase the security standard for its key handling. Through implementing KeyNest Lockers, the resort has managed to transition from a paper-based log system to a 100% automated digital audit trail - saving hotel and security staff a collective 15+ hours per week in administrative tasks.

“KeyNest helped us transform a disruptive, manual process into a silent, automated partner. It’s the smartest upgrade we’ve made to our operational security in years.”
Robert Garvey, Director of Safety & Security, Hilton Daytona Beach

The Logbook Liability

Managing access for a 744-room resort is a constant, 24/7 security challenge, with the security team facing three major issues above all else:

Cleaner Congestion: Cleaners use the lockers to keep track of exactly who has which key card and to make checking-in and out at the end of shifts a streamlined process, rather than waiting in a queue to return the necessary keys.
Human Error: When a hotel with 700+ rooms still relies on paper logs for master keys, mistakes were understandable but frustrating - illegible entries and missed signatures created gaps in key custody.
Operational Fatigue: During peak times, the sheer volume of key handovers created an admin burden that risked operational burnout.

“Before KeyNest, our security window was a constant friction point. We were diverting highly trained staff to a logbook and key cabinet, forcing them to work admin rather than their actual job - security! In a 744-room resort like ours, that kind of manual bottleneck is a clear vulnerability.”
Robert Garvey, Director of Safety & Security, Hilton Daytona Beach

Hardware Meets Intelligence

Hilton Daytona Beach integrated the KeyNest Locker system directly into their back-of-house operations. The transition focused on:

Automated Collection: Staff needing specific keys would tap their user badges to instantly collect it.
RFID Tracking: Every key is equipped with an RFID fob, meaning every key movement was automatically logged with a precise timestamp.
Centralized Dashboard: Thanks to the real-time updates, management could witness which contractors were on site and which key compartments were empty.

“We needed a solution that completely removed the chance of human error from the logging process, while still giving us full control. The transition to an automated, digital ledger gave us something paper never could: a real-time, tamper-proof audit rail that tells us exactly which workers are on our property at any given second.”

Robert Garvey, Director of Safety & Security, Hilton Daytona Beach

Data-Driven Security

The benefits of implementing KeyNest Lockers as a mass key distribution tool were immediate, and measurable. By completely eliminating the admin weight of manual key management, security operations could shift from reactive, to proactive.

100% Accountability

Zero unaccounted-for key cards since the integration of KeyNest’s digital ledger.

Efficiency Gains

Extra hours have been regained from removing the out-dated, manual check-in-and-out process.

Increased Patrol Time

Security officers switch focus from the desk to the hotel grounds, boosting the physical security presence across the resort.

Improved Vendor Relations

Recurring contractors can now access the property completely seamlessly without compromising their busy schedules.

“Through automating the check-in process altogether, we’ve regained hours of staff time every month. So streamlining key management operations enabled an increase in our physical presence throughout the hotel, while completely removing the headache around ‘missing key’ situations.”
Robert Garvey, Director of Safety & Security, Hilton Daytona Beach

From Manual Logs to Digital Certainty: Strengthening Hilton’s Security Infrastructure thanks to KeyNest’s smart key management