Stop texting the gate code to every guest.
If you host in a gated community, every single turnover involves the same message: here is the code, please do not share it. That code has now been in a hundred text threads, and your HOA has no idea who is coming through the gate.
The shared code is the whole problem
A permanent gate code handed to every guest is the reason boards are hostile to short-term rentals. It cannot be traced, it never expires, and it circulates long after the stay ends.
A per-stay arrival pass fixes it for everyone at once. Your guests get a smoother arrival, you stop repeating yourself every Friday, and the community gets a record of who actually came through instead of a code with no owner.
How it works
Three steps, and you are running. No procurement, no implementation project.
Create a pass for the stay
Guest name, arrival, departure. It is valid for that window and nothing else.
Send it with your check-in message
One link. Guests open it on their phone with no app to install and no account to create.
It expires on its own
When checkout passes, the pass stops working. There is no code to rotate and nothing to remember to revoke.
What you get
Everything below is included from the start.
A pass per stay
Time-boxed to the reservation window, tied to a name, and useless the day after checkout.
Recurring and back-to-back stays
Set up repeating arrivals for cleaners and turnover crews instead of re-sending codes weekly.
Arrival instructions built in
Gate directions, parking rules, and quiet hours ride along with the pass, so guests stop calling you at 11pm.
A record you can show the board
Every pass you issued, for which stay, and when it was used. The opposite of an untraceable code.
Cleaners and contractors too
Service visits get their own passes, so your turnover team is not using the guest code either.
Nothing for guests to install
It opens in the browser. Guests who want it can save it to their phone wallet.
What your HOA gets out of this
Hosts usually start this on their own, and that is fine: coordinating your own guests is your business. What is worth knowing is that boards tend to like the result, because the alternative is a shared code nobody can audit.
When an association adopts Lantern officially, guest passes become real gate credentials with staff verification and a full entry log. Many boards get there because their hosts went first.
Common questions
Do I need HOA approval to use this?
To organize your own guests, no. Note that credentialed gate entry, where a pass actually opens the gate or is verified by staff, unlocks when the association officially adopts Lantern. Until then this replaces your code-by-text routine and gives you a clean record.
Is it free?
Yes to start. If the HOA later adopts Lantern for the whole community, that is a conversation with the board.
Do guests have to download an app?
No. The pass opens in their browser, and they can add it to their phone wallet if they want it handy at the gate.
Can I set up recurring passes for my cleaner?
Yes. Recurring schedules cover weekly turnovers, landscapers, and anyone else who comes on a regular cadence.
Will this help me with a board that dislikes short-term rentals?
It usually helps. Most board complaints are about untraceable access and unknown vehicles. Being the host who can show exactly who was issued a pass and when is a materially better position than defending a shared code.
What happens when a guest checks out?
The pass expires on its own at the end of the window you set. You can also revoke it immediately at any time.
Replace the gate code for good
Tell us about your rental and community and we will help you get set up, free.
- Help setting up your first arrival pass
- Recurring passes for cleaners and crews
- A record of every pass you issue
- No cost to start
Ready in about a minute. Prefer we set it up with you? Leave your details instead:
Further reading
Other ways neighbors start
Same platform, different starting point. Pick whichever problem your community feels most.