The Reservations feature in Akuvox SmartPlus Cloud allows community residents to reserve common areas (rooms, courts, pools, or gyms) from the SmartPlus app. Each reservation generates a temporary key (QR code and 8-digit code) that opens the door to the area only during the reserved time slot and up to the defined number of uses.
Four roles are involved: the distributor activates the feature plan; the installer configures the community (steps 1 to 4); the property manager creates and manages the areas (steps 5 to 7); and the resident makes reservations and accesses the area from the app (step 8).
Prerequisites
- Community-type project with the active feature plan (activated by the distributor).
- Akuvox access device with a QR reader, connected to the cloud, for the common area door. Validated in the laboratory with the AK-A15; according to Akuvox, S539, S535, X916, X915, X912, R29, E18, E16, and A05 are also compatible.
Step 1: Enable Reservations in the feature plan (installer)
- In the installer portal, go to Projects > Community, click the edit icon, and under Community feature plan, enable Reservations (1).
- Click Submit (2).
Important: if the Inactive label appears next to the title, the feature will not be operational (the administrator will see the message "Your feature plan is not activated"). Request activation from the distributor, specifying the community name and installer account.
Step 2: Add the common area device (installer)
Add the device as a public device: select Public Area (1), the Devices tab (2), and click New.
- Device type: for an AK-A15, Access control.
- MAC: the MAC address on the device label, without separators.
- Device name: an identifiable name.
- Relay 1: enable it and keep the access methods selected.
- Click Submit and verify that the device appears online (3).
Step 3: Create apartments and residents with active accounts (installer)
The resident can only log in to the app if their account is active. At no additional cost, this is achieved by associating an indoor monitor with the apartment; without a monitor, the account remains Inactive until the distributor activates a paid app license. In both cases, the Landline Phone Service must be disabled.
- Select the building, open the APT tab, click New, and complete Floor, APT, and APT Name (1).
- Under Indoor Monitor Requirement, select "Requires at least one indoor monitor" (2) and enter the monitor MAC address in the Device section.
- Verify that the Landline Phone Service is disabled (3).
- Under Resident, enter the first name, last name, email address (which will be the app username), language, and country (4). Click Submit.
If the apartment already existed without a monitor, add it under Devices > New > Indoor Monitor and also edit the apartment to change the requirement to "Requires at least one indoor monitor"; without this change, the account remains inactive.
Check the resident list to make sure the Active column shows Normal. If it shows Inactive, the app will display "Your account is not activated. Please contact your distributor."
Step 4: Create the property manager (installer)
- Go to Users > Property Manager and click New Property Manager.
- Enter the first name, last name, email address, and language (2).
- Under Project, move the community to the Selected column using Add (3).
- Click Submit (4). The property manager will receive their credentials by email.
Step 5: Create a common area (property manager)
In the administrator portal, go to Reservations > Services (1) and click New (2).
- Enter the Service Name and, optionally, the Description and image.
- Under Residents Available for Reservation, select all buildings or a specific selection.
- Under Amenity Device, select the door device (1). It is not selected by default.
- Review the Remove selected devices from the system access group option (2), which is enabled by default (see warning).
- Click Next.
Important: with this option enabled, the door can be opened only with reservations: residents will no longer be able to open it with facial recognition, a card, a PIN, or the app. Leave it enabled only in areas intended for exclusive use; if the door is also used as a regular passageway, disable it.
Step 6: Define the reservation rules (property manager)
- Business hours: reservable days and hours (by default, Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM).
- Maximum duration of each reservation. The app uses 30-minute time slots (60 minutes by default).
- Maximum booking period: the maximum advance reservation period (7 days by default).
- Maximum reservations: simultaneous reservations per time slot (10 by default).
- Maximum key usage count: the number of openings allowed per key (1 by default).
Recommendation: configure at least 2 uses if the resident may need to exit and re-enter. Click Submit to create the area.
Step 7: Activate and manage the area (property manager)
The area is created disabled and does not appear in the app. Enable the switch on its card (1); the Reserve button will appear (2), which also allows you to make a reservation on behalf of a resident.
To modify it, click the card and Edit; to temporarily remove it from the app, disable the switch.
Reservations > Service Reservations displays the history with the key (1) and QR code (2) for each reservation. It is retained for 3 months.
Logs > Door Logs records each opening attempt with the action "Service Reservation" and the reason for rejection in the Details column (retained for 30 days). The screenshot shows a successful opening (1) and attempts with an exhausted key (2).
Step 8: Make a reservation from the SmartPlus app (resident)
- Tap Me > Service Reservations, and then +.
- Select the area and tap Date to choose the day.
- Select one or more consecutive 30-minute time slots, tap Submit, and then Confirm.
When you open the reservation, the key is displayed: QR code (1) and 8-digit code (2). To access the area, present the QR code to the reader within the reserved time slot. Each opening consumes one use; once all uses have been exhausted, or outside the time slot, the key will no longer open the door.
To cancel, open the reservation and tap Cancel: the key is immediately invalidated.
Frequently asked questions
I can't find where to create the areas
Areas are created from the property manager portal (Reservations > Services), not from the installer portal. If the community does not have a property manager, create one (step 4).
The resident did not receive the welcome email
Check the spam folder or use Forgot password in the app. If scanning the "Registration QR Code" displays "This account is already registered," the resident must log in with their email address and password.
Does the orange icon in the apartment list activate the account?
No. It resets the apartment and deletes its data and accounts. If it was tapped by mistake, select Cancel.
The resident does not see any areas in the app
Verify that the area is enabled and that their building is included under Residents Available for Reservation.
The device does not appear under "Amenity Device"
Only devices registered in common areas appear, and each device can belong to only one area.
Since the area was created, the door no longer opens with facial recognition, a card, a PIN, or the app
The Remove selected devices from the system access group option is enabled. Edit the area and disable it; access is restored immediately. The door log does not indicate the reason for the rejection (2).
After replacing the door device, reservations do not open the door
The area remains active but has no associated device, and the portal does not display a warning. Edit the area and select the new device.
The message "No time slots are available for the selected date" appears
The date is beyond the Maximum booking period or is a day without scheduled hours.
The key does not open the door
Check the Details column in Door Logs: "Outside the reservation period" (attempt made outside the time slot) or "The number of uses for the reservation key has been exhausted" (make another reservation or increase the number of uses). If there is no log entry, verify that the device is online and associated with the area. Failed attempts are listed as initiated by "Visitor."
The reservation "Creation Time" does not match the actual time
This is informational data displayed in another time zone. Time slots and openings are governed by the local time configured under Settings > Time Settings (mainland Spain: "UTC+1:00 Madrid").
Note: validated in the laboratory with the AK-A15, AK-S563, and the iOS app. Opening with the 8-digit code, the simultaneous reservation limit with multiple residents, making a reservation from the portal on behalf of a resident, and the Android app have not been verified.