Cannot open the doors?
If the guest cannot open the sliding doors, first check whether they have been able to open them in the past or this is their first time trying.
If this is the first time trying to open the door, it could be heavier than they expect and they might have to put a lot of force into it. The guest might be quite sure that it is locked with a key because they can see a keyhole, but we do not supply keys for the balconies, so this is very unlikely. These balcony doors can be very hard to open, especially near the ocean with salt water affecting the tracks, and sometimes due to air pressure.
Or, they could be pulling at a strange angle e.g. if they are lifting the handle or pushing it down while also trying to open the door, it may affect the way that the door slides.
Ensure the door is unlocked, this is normally a latch like below.
Occasionally there are also slide bolts at the top and/or bottom of the doorframe:
If they have double checked that it is unlocked, and are using enough force but it still won’t open, you will need to arrange a handyman.
If this is the first time trying to open the door, it could be heavier than they expect and they might have to put a lot of force into it. The guest might be quite sure that it is locked with a key because they can see a keyhole, but we do not supply keys for the balconies, so this is very unlikely. These balcony doors can be very hard to open, especially near the ocean with salt water affecting the tracks, and sometimes due to air pressure.
Or, they could be pulling at a strange angle e.g. if they are lifting the handle or pushing it down while also trying to open the door, it may affect the way that the door slides.
Ensure the door is unlocked, this is normally a latch like below.
Occasionally there are also slide bolts at the top and/or bottom of the doorframe:If they have double checked that it is unlocked, and are using enough force but it still won’t open, you will need to arrange a handyman.
Cannot close the doors?
If the guest says they cannot close the sliding doors, first clarify whether they mean close the doors or lock the doors. If they mean the doors are closed but won’t lock, jump to the next section. If they definitely mean they can’t close the doors, continue reading here.
Is it only a small gap? If so, this is normally because there are actually two doors that need pushed together. Only one of them may have a handle, make sure they have tried to pull the other side too.
In the photo below, you can see that only one panel has a handle on it, but the panel to the left also slides and they meet in the middle. You will really need to make this clear to the guest, they will not listen most of the time. Even if they are adamant there is only one sliding door, get them to push the other one just in case. You might find that it does move, and when they pull it back to it’s original spot, it will line up correctly.
If the above steps didn’t work, or the door is wide open and they can’t close it, check whether they have been able to open and close this door in the past. If this is the first time trying to close the door, it could be heavier than they expect and they might have to put a lot of force into it. Or, they could be pulling at a strange angle e.g. if they are lifting the handle or pushing it down while also trying to close the door, it may affect the way that the door slides.
If none of the above worked, there could be something wrong with the tracks and you will need to arrange a handyman.
Is it only a small gap? If so, this is normally because there are actually two doors that need pushed together. Only one of them may have a handle, make sure they have tried to pull the other side too.
In the photo below, you can see that only one panel has a handle on it, but the panel to the left also slides and they meet in the middle. You will really need to make this clear to the guest, they will not listen most of the time. Even if they are adamant there is only one sliding door, get them to push the other one just in case. You might find that it does move, and when they pull it back to it’s original spot, it will line up correctly.
If the above steps didn’t work, or the door is wide open and they can’t close it, check whether they have been able to open and close this door in the past. If this is the first time trying to close the door, it could be heavier than they expect and they might have to put a lot of force into it. Or, they could be pulling at a strange angle e.g. if they are lifting the handle or pushing it down while also trying to close the door, it may affect the way that the door slides.
If none of the above worked, there could be something wrong with the tracks and you will need to arrange a handyman.
Cannot lock the doors?
If the guest cannot lock the sliding door, its normally because the door is not closed far enough, so the lock is not lining up. As you can see below, the locks work by using a small hook that latches on to the other part of the door, so it will need to be in exactly the right place.
Ensure the two doors are pushed together properly. See the previous section for more details on this.
Once you have established that the doors are definitely closed all the way, check that the guest is using the lock correctly i.e. the part shown with the red arrow above, they will need to move it up or down.
Unfortunately there is not much more we can do over the phone to troubleshoot a lock, so if this doesn’t work you will need to arrange a handyman. Try to get as much information for them as possible e.g. does the lock move but doesn’t work, or is it completely stuck?
Ensure the two doors are pushed together properly. See the previous section for more details on this.
Once you have established that the doors are definitely closed all the way, check that the guest is using the lock correctly i.e. the part shown with the red arrow above, they will need to move it up or down.
Unfortunately there is not much more we can do over the phone to troubleshoot a lock, so if this doesn’t work you will need to arrange a handyman. Try to get as much information for them as possible e.g. does the lock move but doesn’t work, or is it completely stuck?