How to let members access the venue without a booking

Some memberships need a way into the venue without booking a bay first. For example, members who only use the lounge, or who book elsewhere but need the front door.

This is separate from Has 24/7 access, which only controls which hours members can book. See How to offer 24/7 access on a membership.

It is also separate from the unlock buttons on a booking. Booking access still follows your early-entry and late-exit settings under Settings, then Doors. Membership door access works any time while the membership is active, with no booking required.

Before you start

Your venue needs an access control integration. See How to integrate an access control system with Alba.
Doors must exist under Settings, then Doors.

Turn on venue access for a membership

Go to Products, then Memberships.
Create a membership or open an existing one.
Turn on Allow members to access the venue without a booking.
Under Doors, select at least one door. You cannot save with the toggle on and no door selected.
Save.

If a door you selected is removed from the venue later, Alba warns you on save and drops that door from the membership.

What members see

Members with a current membership period see a Door access section with an unlock button for each door you selected.

On the customer site, go to Products, then the Memberships tab. The buttons sit on the active membership card.
The membership purchase receipt shows the same buttons.

Unlock uses the same phone verification rules as booking-based door access. Venues in New Zealand and Australia skip phone verification for door access.

A membership sold before its start date can appear in Products, but the member cannot unlock a door until the start date.

When access stops

If a member cancels a recurring membership at period end, door access stays until the end of the paid period.
If you cancel a membership immediately, or a one-time membership ends, access stops when that period ends.
If a recurring payment fails and the membership is stopped, door access stops with it.

Editing a live recurring membership

Changing which doors are included counts as a change that affects people who are already subscribed. Alba asks you to confirm that you have notified them before you save, the same as for other member-impacting edits. See How to edit a live recurring membership.