Originally Posted by
Dr. HFH
The keys (regardless of whether magnetic stripe of RFID) usually work based on a randomly generated code, which is assigned simultaneously to the lock on your door. So, yes, there is no info about you coded into the key.
This potentially depends on the exact system in use, but...
Generally the keys do have information about the room number, check-out date, and some additional information that the lock can use to lock-out other keys. The locks themselves are generally NOT linked to a central system, so have no way of validating information, or of receiving any information about which keys are in use. The better systems (especially those using RFID) will include a mechanism for "signing" the information so that the lock can confirm it's legitimate.
The fact that information is there doesn't mean that the front-desk staff can actually read it, nor that they should use it over an ID check when issuing a new key...