TTLock + Airbnb, Booking.com and Agoda: automatic door codes for every booking

Why hosts outside the US can’t rely on Airbnb’s smart-lock feature

Airbnb added smart-lock management to the host app in 2024, but its own help page says the feature is “only available for listings located in the US and Canada”. It supports a short list of Wi-Fi locks from Schlage, August and Yale. TTLock, one of the most common lock platforms for apartments and hostels outside North America, is not on it.

The same help page notes that hosts who use property management software may be able to use that software’s lock integration instead. That is the route most operators in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America take.

How TTLock connects to booking platforms

TTLock does not plug into Airbnb, Booking.com or Agoda directly. Every working setup we found uses a third party, usually a PMS, that talks to the TTLock Open Platform, TTLock’s cloud API. The PMS sees a new booking, asks TTLock for a passcode valid for that stay, and makes sure the guest receives it.

TTLock passcode types you will meet in a PMS

Two rules from the TTLock API documentation matter for guests. Validity is set in whole hours, so a 15:00 check-in starts at 15:00, not 14:45. And period and permanent codes must be used at least once within 24 hours of their start time, or they become invalid.

Booking.com and Agoda: codes can go out automatically

When a channel manager connects to Booking.com or Agoda by API, each reservation arrives with booker details, including an alias email address that forwards to the guest. That is what lets a PMS email the door code without you copying anything.

Two settings decide whether the email arrives. Booking.com only forwards mail from sender addresses you have registered in the extranet under Security Settings, Email Address Settings, or when that list is empty. Agoda masks links in messages sent to its alias addresses, so send the code as plain text, not as a link.

Airbnb: the code is created, then you send it

Most PMS tools outside Airbnb’s preferred partners connect to Airbnb through iCal, a calendar feed. Since December 2019 each Airbnb iCal event contains the word “Reserved”, a reservation link and the last four digits of the guest’s phone number. It does not include the guest’s name or email.

So the software can still create a TTLock code for the exact Airbnb stay, but it cannot email the guest directly. The usual workflow is to copy the code into your Airbnb check-in message. Some tools use the last four digits of the guest’s phone as part of the code so the guest can recognise it.

Set it up in Ribat

1. Connect your channels The table at the top of this guide shows each channel and what it syncs.
2. Sign in to TTLock from Ribat Link your TTLock account and assign a lock to each room or unit.
3. Bookings create codes Each booking gets its own passcode for its stay dates, and the code expires at checkout.
4. Guests receive the code When a channel shares a guest email, the code goes out automatically. For Airbnb bookings, copy the code from Ribat into your Airbnb message.
5. Watch the locks Ribat flags low-battery and offline locks before arrivals, and you can issue or revoke any code by hand.

Want codes sent by WhatsApp? Tell us in your demo and we’ll set it up with you.

Gateway or no gateway?

You can run TTLock codes without a Wi-Fi gateway. Period codes are generated by algorithm, so the lock accepts them without being online. What you lose is remote control: TTLock’s API removes codes “via WiFi gateway”, and without one, changing or deleting a code needs someone near the lock with Bluetooth.

For a cancelled booking that matters. A gateway lets you revoke the code from anywhere. Without one, the code simply runs until its end time.

To control locks remotely from Ribat, you need a TTLock lock and a G2 or other TTLock-approved gateway connected to the internet. You link your TTLock account, map each lock to its room, and control it from Ribat.

With that setup, after a code is generated for a booking, you can extend or shorten it, or change its check-in or check-out time, and the guest keeps the same code.

Checklist before your first automated stay

• Set the code start time at the real check-in time. If a guest may arrive a day late, remember the 24-hour first-use rule.
• Register your PMS sending address in the Booking.com extranet so code emails are delivered.
• Send codes as plain text, since Agoda masks links and Booking.com strips unapproved ones.
• Keep a physical spare key with someone on site for the rare dead-battery or hardware failure.
• Change lock batteries on a schedule, and act on low-battery alerts before the next arrival.
• Test one booking end to end: create it, check the code arrives, open the door, and confirm it stops working after checkout.