Who This Is For
This page is for hotels, resorts, serviced apartments, conference centres and hospitality chains that need a reliable, cost-effective source of blank key card stock compatible with their installed lock platform. It is equally relevant to lock integrators and property technology consultants who procure credentials on behalf of managed portfolios.
If your property uses dormakaba Saflok, Onity, ASSA ABLOY VingCard, Salto, CISA, Häfele, MIWA or similar hospitality lock systems, you are likely already issuing 13.56 MHz smart cards — and the blank credentials used in those systems are available as compatible supply. Housekeeping cards, contractor cards and temporary access credentials fall under the same product lines.
Procurement managers sourcing bulk card stock, and integrators setting up new-build properties or migrating lock firmware, will find the ordering, lead-time and format details below directly relevant. Office building and commercial tenant access buyers will find a parallel resource covering commercial readers.
Lock Systems and Blanks We Cover
Each major hotel lock platform specifies one or more smart card formats that its encoder will recognise. Supplying the wrong chip variant — even within the same frequency band — results in failed enrolments, so matching the exact blank to the lock system is the foundation of any bulk order. Our hotel lock key cards range maps directly to the formats below.
Dormakaba Saflok installations — including Quantum, MT, Messenger and RT series locks — typically use a 1K contactless smart card or 3DES memory-card blank. Onity locks (HT, Advance, Ambiance and related families) span 13.56 MHz smart card and AES 2K smart card blanks depending on firmware generation. For Onity integrators, the hotel key card compatibility guide details how to confirm the active encoder protocol before ordering.
ASSA ABLOY VingCard (Vision, Essence, Allure, Classic) runs across several generations: earlier installations use a 1K contactless smart card, mid-generation systems moved to VingCard 2K key card or VingCard 4K key card, and current deployments use VingCard secure 2K or VingCard secure 4K blanks, with some sites using VingCard AES memory-card compatible cards for cost-sensitive card tiers. Salto systems predominantly use a 1K contactless smart card or an AES-secured smart card per platform generation.
Specialty lock lines handled separately include CISA (CT6, Aero) — supplied as CISA CT6 Aero compatible cards — Häfele Dialock, Messerschmitt HM1 compatible hotel key cards and MIWA PR-series hotel key cards. These are lower-volume formats other suppliers rarely stock; we maintain inventory precisely because this long tail is where procurement teams most often get stuck.
Why Compatible Blanks Work with Your PMS
Hotel PMS encoders — including those integrated into Opera, Protel and dedicated lock-vendor front desk units — write guest stay data to the card's RFID memory sectors during check-in. The encoder communicates with the chip over the ISO 14443 protocol; it does not validate card origin or manufacturer branding. What matters is that the blank presents the correct chip type, memory configuration and sector layout the encoder expects.
Compatible blanks built on genuine, licensed silicon — a genuine 1K contactless smart card, a genuine AES 2K smart card, a genuine AES-secured smart card — present identical responses to the encoder as OEM-supplied stock. The smart card family guide covers why chip generation and memory capacity are the specification variables that actually determine compatibility, and why sourcing on those variables rather than on brand name is technically correct practice.
For secured platforms where the PMS holds the sector keys (AES-secured smart cards), compatible blanks ship without factory keys loaded — the lock system's own enrolment process writes the keys during first use, exactly as it would with OEM blanks. There is no manual key loading step required on the procurement side.
Properties currently using apartment and multifamily building access systems alongside hospitality locks will recognise this same mechanism: the reader and encoder own the keys; the blank is simply the substrate.
Bulk Ordering, Lead Times and Reorders
Hotel card stock is a consumable: cards are demagnetised on check-out, reprinted for room changes and replaced whenever physical damage occurs. A mid-size property (100–250 rooms) typically turns over several hundred blank cards per month across guest, staff and maintenance credential pools. Bulk purchasing in case quantities reduces per-unit cost and eliminates the delay risk of ordering card by card.
Standard bulk quantities start at 200 cards per format SKU. Multi-format orders — for instance, a property with a mix of VingCard AES memory-card and AES-secured 4K card tiers, or a portfolio spanning both Onity and Saflok locks — can be combined on a single purchase order with per-SKU quantity breaks applied independently. Substrate options (plain white PVC, pre-printed custom artwork, or cards with a signature panel or magnetic stripe for secondary systems) are available; print specifications are confirmed at quote stage.
Lead times for stocked formats are typically 5–10 business days ex-warehouse. Custom-printed cards or orders exceeding standard stock levels carry a production lead time confirmed at the time of order. For procurement teams managing seasonal inventory — resort properties with high-season surges, conference centres with block-booking peaks — we recommend establishing a standing reorder schedule. Our bulk compatible card purchasing guide outlines the documentation and format-confirmation process for first-time orders.
Security ID Systems is an independent manufacturer and supplier of compatible access-control credentials and is not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by dormakaba, Onity, ASSA ABLOY VingCard, Salto, CISA, Häfele, or MIWA.
Request a Quote
To receive an accurate quote, submit your lock system brand and model (or firmware generation if known), the chip format currently in use (visible on your existing card stock or confirmable via your PMS supplier), required quantity, and any substrate or print requirements. Contact our team with these details and we will respond with format confirmation, pricing tiers and estimated lead time within one business day.
If you are unsure which blank format your system requires, our technical team can assist with format identification based on lock model and firmware version. Providing a sample card from your existing stock is the most reliable confirmation method for first-time orders from a new lock platform. Browse the full hotel lock key cards catalogue or the 13.56 MHz HF smart cards range to review available SKUs before requesting a quote.
Hotel lock platforms and compatible blank card formats
| Lock System / Brand | Common Models | Compatible Blank Format | Chip Specification | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dormakaba Saflok | Quantum, MT, Messenger, RT | Saflok 13.56 MHz smart card / 3DES memory card | Genuine licensed 1K smart card or 3DES memory card | Confirm encoder generation; Classic and 3DES memory cards are not interchangeable |
| Onity | HT, Advance, Ambiance, DirectKey | Onity 13.56 MHz smart card / AES 2K smart card | Genuine licensed 1K smart card or AES 2K smart card | Newer Advance firmware may require Plus SL1 or SL3 blank |
| ASSA ABLOY VingCard | Vision, Essence, Allure, Classic | VingCard Classic / Plus / Secure / AES memory | Classic 1K, Plus 2K/4K, AES-secured, AES memory | Six format variants; match to installed firmware version |
| Salto Systems | XS4, Neo, Vitro, SALTO KS | Salto 13.56 MHz smart card / AES-secured | Genuine licensed 1K smart card or AES-secured smart card | SALTO KS cloud installations typically use an AES-secured smart card |
| CISA | CT6, Aero | CISA CT6 Aero compatible card | AES-secured 4K smart card | Specialty European format; stocked format available |
| Messerschmitt | HM1 | Messerschmitt HM1 compatible card | ISO/IEC 15693 vicinity smart card | ISO 15693 HF, not ISO 14443; distinct from the 14443-A smart card family |
| MIWA | PR Series | MIWA PR-series hotel key card | Proprietary HF format | Japan-market specialty; confirm model before ordering |
All referenced brands and all other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective owners. Security ID Systems is an independent manufacturer and supplier of compatible access-control credentials and is not affiliated with, authorized by, sponsored by, or endorsed by these companies. Brand and format names are used only to identify the systems our products are compatible with.