Daytona Beach, FL – Hilton Daytona Beach Resort, one of Florida’s largest beachfront properties, has implemented KeyNest Lockers in its back-of-house security operations to modernize its key management process. With 744 rooms, the resort faced the constant challenge of managing physical key access, creating unnecessary work for the security team and posing potential security risks.
Before KeyNest, the resort relied on a manual, paper-based logbook to track keys, leading to recurring problems such as cleaner congestion during shift changes, human error from illegible entries and missed signatures, and operational fatigue during peak periods.
Robert Garvey, Director of Safety and Security at Hilton Daytona Beach, stated, “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 on admin tasks rather than their actual job – security. In a 744-room resort like ours, that kind of manual bottleneck is a clear vulnerability.”
To address these challenges, the resort integrated KeyNest Lockers into its back-of-house operations. The automated collection via user badge, RFID-tagged keys, and a centralized dashboard provided real-time visibility into on-site contractors and empty key compartments.
Garvey further explained, “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 trail that tells us exactly which workers are on our property at any given second.”
Since implementing KeyNest, the resort reports zero unaccounted-for key cards and has regained 15+ hours per week in administrative time across hotel and security staff. This experience reflects a common challenge faced by hotels of all sizes, where guest room keys are tightly controlled, but staff and master keys, which open multiple rooms or entire floors, often lack structure.
KeyNest Lockers address this gap by tying access to individuals rather than physical keys. This allows for easier revocation of permissions for departing staff, scoped access for contractors and vendors, and streamlined onboarding and offboarding of seasonal teams. The result is less time spent on manual key administration and a verifiable, real-time record of access across the property.
In addition to time savings, automating key management has enabled Hilton Daytona Beach to redeploy security officers from desk duty to active patrol, increasing physical security presence throughout the resort grounds. For properties managing constant contractor and vendor turnover, an automated, timestamped audit trail provides critical security measures that a paper logbook cannot.
KeyNest operates in 30 countries and is a practical solution for hospitality groups managing security at scale. To read the full case study, visit https://www.keynest.com/casestudy-hilton-daytona-beach.
About KeyNest
Founded in London in 2016, KeyNest is a key management platform operating in over 30 countries with over 100,000 clients and 10 million key movements logged. Its products include KeyNest Points, a network of 7,000 secure key exchange locations worldwide, and KeyNest Lockers, wall-mounted smart key storage for unmanned access management. KeyNest has a 4.9 rating on G2 and is rated Excellent on Trustpilot.
