Currently staying at a R.I. and the keycards they use are complete junk - been here 2 nights (5 more to go) and I have needed to have them re-coded 3 times already
... I was at this same property last month and the month before - and had issues then, but it seems to be getting worse.
(the cards they are currently using appear to be very generic thin and junky compared to the branded ones that seem a little thicker in the past)
...needed to have it re-coded to get into the gym
this seems to be a growing problems that I have encountered at other lower end properties

I have heard that they get erased by things like iPod chargers and maybe phones..... come on?
the entire world carries phones - and keeping them separate is getting a little silly?

This sounds more like the FDA didn't code the keycard properly as opposed to an issue with the card itself.

bill - that was my assumption... the people at the front desk have been here since I started coming once a month for a week for the past few weeks and while I was working out, someone else tried - unsuccessfully- to get in (yes, I let her in)

I think these cards are junk

My experience is that magstripe keycards will be deactivated by electronics, such as my AirPods case, but that RFID cards generally are fine with electronics.

This is why I always ask for an extra keycard. It has been quite a while, years, since the last time I had a keycard get erased. Guess it is still happening at some properties.

--Jon

Jon - I always ask (or are given) at least 2
Elevator - yes, I first learned about this growing problem at a Hilton about 2 years ago.... I would think it would be the magnets in the headphones, but someone said it was the batteries in the chargers/case? Not sure I understand that.... but when I was discussing the topic with them (and they gave me a nice service recovery points bonus for complaining) they said the tech is old, the readers in the doors get dirty very easily and are flaky but the cost to modernize is - shockingly - too much.....

I just bought one of those MagSafe cases for the back of my iPhone - I wonder (assume so) if that will also trash the cards.....