The tool’s role
Keycafe handles key drop-off and pickup in SmartBoxes. For Calensi to receive drop-offs and pickups, the connected account must be the one the keys are registered on: your own SmartBox, or a key on your account.
Keycafe × Calensi
A key drop-off tells housekeeping.
Connect the Keycafe account that owns the keys, link each key to a property, then let Calensi notify the team on drop-off and record the pickup.
Available
On drop-off, the host and the assigned Cleaner are notified. If the key comes back early on checkout day, Calensi moves the actual checkout earlier. On pickup, nobody is notified: the time is recorded and the scheduled check-in does not change.
Villa SerenaK1
Loft CentralK2
Casa AuroraK3
Keys and events
API
sync
CCalensi
Coordinated access
Casa Aurora11:00
Villa Serena14:30
Loft Central16:00
Keycafe and access coordination
Official website
In the tool
Keycafe provides key exchange infrastructure, access codes and exchange history. It remains the source of truth for keys and SmartBoxes.
With Calensi
Calensi creates the account webhook on connect, links each key to a property and notifies the host and the Cleaner on drop-off. An early drop-off on checkout day moves the actual checkout earlier. Pickup is recorded, with no notification and no change to the check-in time.
From the tool to the field
- 1
The host connects the Keycafe account that owns the keys. Calensi creates that account’s webhook.
- 2
Each key is linked to its matching Calensi property.
- 3
On drop-off, the host and the assigned Cleaner are notified. If it happens on checkout day, before the scheduled time, the actual checkout moves earlier.
- 4
On pickup, nobody is notified. The pickup time is recorded; the scheduled check-in time does not change.
Direct API
The connection is direct. Calensi creates the Keycafe account webhook and receives drop-offs and pickups for keys registered on that account. A key that is not linked to a property is ignored.
What Calensi imports
The keys on the Keycafe account, so they can be linked to properties.
Drop-offs: a notification, and an earlier actual checkout if the drop-off is early on checkout day.
Pickups: the pickup time recorded on the arrival booking, with no notification.
How updates arrive
On connect, Calensi creates the Keycafe account webhook. Drop-offs and pickups for that account’s keys then arrive on this webhook. Calensi does not change keys, codes or SmartBoxes: those stay in Keycafe.
Set up and use
- 1
The connected Keycafe account must own the keys: your own SmartBox, or a key registered on your account.
- 2
In Keycafe, open the account menu at the top right, then My Account → Advanced → API Settings, and choose Generate Key.
- 3
In Calensi, open Integrations, the Access tab, then Connect. Enter the Keycafe account email and the API key, then Connect. Calensi creates the account webhook.
- 4
Link each key to a property. The Link your keys to properties dialog opens after you connect; later, the button is Link keys. For each key, choose Link to a property.
When the key is dropped off
The host, the property’s other managers and the assigned Cleaner are notified that the key is in the locker. If no Cleaner is assigned, only the property managers are notified.
On checkout day, before the scheduled time: Calensi moves the actual checkout earlier, on the booking and on the mission window, so housekeeping can start sooner. The message says the property is free.
Before checkout day, during the stay: a neutral “key dropped off” alert. Calensi does not say the property is free and does not change the time.
At the scheduled time or later: a “free” alert. The mission time is not pushed back.
A drop-off by the host or the Cleaner, using the same email as their Calensi account, is ignored: they are returning the key, not checking out.
When the key is picked up
Nobody is notified. The pickup time is recorded on the arrival booking. The scheduled check-in time is not changed.
Turn off drop-off notifications
You can turn off drop-off notifications for one key without disconnecting Keycafe. On the account card, the switch next to the linked key does that. Pickup recording stays on.
Good to know
If the key is registered in someone else’s Keycafe organization — for example a locker rented in an operator’s SmartBox — the host account webhook does not receive the real drop-offs and pickups. Keycafe’s “Test Integration” can still succeed.