How to Run a 24-Hour Tanning Salon with T-Max Attendant

Want to run a 24-hour tanning salon? This guide shows salon owners exactly how the T-Max Attendant card-access system works, what equipment you need, and how to set it all up.

Why go 24/7?

Your customers work early shifts, late shifts, and weekends. A 24/7 salon lets them tan when it suits them, while you earn revenue during hours you'd never staff. The T-Max® Attendant™ is the system that makes it possible: each customer gets a card key, the front door unlocks with a swipe, and every tanning room starts with a swipe. There's no front-desk employee required.

This guide walks you through how the system works, exactly what equipment you need, how to set it up, and what to think about before you flip the switch.

How it works: a customer's visit, step by step

T-Max Attendant Cards Tanning Bed Parts T-Max

A customer swipes their card at the reader to get in, or to start a session.

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Arrival. The customer holds their white access card (a thick "clamshell" card, slightly larger than a credit card, with a slot for a lanyard or key clip) up to the reader beside the front door. The system checks that they're a valid customer. If you've chosen to, it also checks that they have sessions left. The door unlocks.
Optional inner door. If your tanning rooms sit behind a second secured door, the customer swipes again there. It's the same hardware and the same check.
At the room. Each tanning room has its own card reader mounted on the wall outside the room. The customer swipes, and the system confirms they're allowed to use that bed. It then sends a session to that bed's T-Max timer, sized to the customer's skin type.
Getting ready. A short, adjustable delay gives the customer time to get ready. The bed then either starts automatically or waits for the customer to press Start/Stop on the timer. You choose which.
Tanning and logging. One session credit is deducted, and the visit is recorded in a monthly log you can open in Excel.
Leaving. A push-to-exit button lets the customer out. All doors must open from the inside, even if the system fails.

Every door and every tanning room has its own reader and Attendant, all linked over the T-Max network to the Manager and the always-on salon PC.

Key point: every room needs its own Attendant

This is the question we hear most. The answer is yes. Every tanning bed or booth you want customers to use unattended needs:

its own T-Max Attendant room controller, plus
its own card reader, mounted outside the room, plus
a T-Max timer controlling the bed.

Customers can't simply walk in and use any bed that's on. The swipe at the room is what starts the session, and it's what lets you control who tans where, and for how long.

The front door, and any inner security door, each need one more Attendant controller and reader. These are wired to the door lock instead of a bed.

Optional: locking each tanning room door

Each room's Attendant also has a built-in door relay, so you can choose to put an electric lock on the tanning room door itself. This keeps people out of rooms they haven't paid for.

How it works:

The customer swipes at the reader outside the room.
If the customer is allowed in, the bed's timer leaves its idle (Ready) state, and the door unlocks. When a swipe starts a tanning session, that room door stays unlocked for the whole session. A swipe that only opens a door, such as the front door, relocks it automatically after about 5 seconds.
The Session Delay you set in the software gives the customer time to get ready. Then the bed starts on its own (Delay to Run) or waits for the customer to press Start/Stop on the timer (Delay to Pause).
A push-to-exit button inside the room lets the customer leave.

Each locked room door needs: an electric door strike or maglock, a push-to-exit button, and wiring from the lock to the Attendant's Door Relay terminal.

Privacy during the session: Because the room door stays unlocked while the bed runs, you should give customers a simple manual privacy lock on the inside, such as a basic thumb-turn or slide latch. It must not be electric, so any power disruption will never lock anyone in, and it should open with one easy motion in an emergency. Check your local fire code for the lock types allowed.

Safety: Every locked room door must be fail-safe. A customer must always be able to open it from the inside, including during a power outage or system failure. Check your local fire codes before you lock a tanning room.

Equipment checklist

Use this list to price out your conversion. Count your rooms and doors first.

Item	How many	What it does
T-Max Manager Touch (front-desk controller)	1 per salon	Connects all rooms to the PC; the brain of the salon network
T-Max timer in each bed/booth with Wall Mount	1 per room	Controls the bed; receives sessions from the Attendant. Beds that aren't T-Max ready (no RJ-22 port) should use a Wall Mount T-Max 3W/G2 Timer hardwired to the bed.
T-Max Attendant room controller	1 per room	Links the room's card reader to the bed timer
T-Max Attendant door controller	1 per secured door	Controls the electric door lock
HID Prox card reader	1 per room + 1 per door	Customers swipe their card here
Access cards	1 per customer, plus spares	Each customer's key
PCProx card programmer	1 per salon	Plugs into the PC and reads new cards into the system
T-Max Attendant PC software (with Attendant)	1 per salon	Customers, credits, rules and logs
Windows PC	1 per salon	Must stay on 24/7
Electric door strike or Maglock	1 per secured door	Usually from a security supplier or locksmith, Home Depot or Lowe's
Push-to-exit button	1 per secured door	Lets customers leave
9–24 V AC/DC power supply (with Attendant)	Per controller	Powers each Attendant controller
RJ22 Cabling or T-Max Access Point Wireless Adapters using RJ11 Cables and RJ11 Ports	As needed	RJ22 wired daisy-chain between RJ22 Ports or T-Max Access Points and wireless-enabled controllers/Manager using RJ11 cables and ports.

Example: A salon with 5 beds, 1 stand-up booth, and one front door needs 7 Attendant controllers (6 rooms plus 1 door), 7 card readers, 1 Manager, 1 card programmer, a PC, an electric lock, an exit button, and a starter supply of cards.

T-Max Attendant (center) T-Max card Reader (left) T-Max Card Programmer (right).

T-Max G2 Access Point Wireless Adapter Tanning Bed Parts T-Max

T-Max Wireless Adapter (1 on each Room Timer and 1 at the Manager Touch)

Installation overview

We strongly recommend a qualified electrician or security installer, especially for the door locks. Here's what the job involves, so you know what to expect.

At each tanning room:

Mount the card reader on the wall outside the room.
Mount the Attendant controller somewhere customers can't reach, such as above the ceiling or in a locked utility area.
Wire the reader to the controller with four wires: red for power, black for ground, white for Data 1, and green for Data 0. You may need an extension cable.
Connect the bed's T-Max timer to the controller's BED TIMER port with an RJ-22 cable.
Connect the controller to the salon network. Use the wired daisy chain or a T-Max Access Point, or skip this step if the controller is wireless-enabled.
Connect power, 9–24 V AC or DC.

At the front door (and any inner door): The same steps apply, except there's no bed timer to connect. Instead, the controller's door relay operates your electric lock, and the push-to-exit button lets people out.

Addressing (telling the system which room is which): Start Auto-Address on the T-Max Manager. Then go room by room, in order, and press Start/Stop on each room's timer. Wait until it shows 0 before moving on. For a door with no timer, press the white S1 button on its Attendant.

⚠️ Safety first: All doors must be fail-safe. Anyone must be able to exit any room or the building if the power or the system fails. Check your local fire and building codes before installing locks.

Setting up the software

Install the Attendant software on your PC, and plug in the PCProx card programmer.
Connect the T-Max Manager to the PC.
Turn off sleep and hibernation on the PC. The screen can switch off, but the computer must stay awake to process every card swipe. If it sleeps, nobody gets in.
Under System → Configuration, set your salon rules:
- Session Lockout Time: the minimum number of hours between tans. This is an important safety tool.
- Session Delay: the number of minutes customers get to prepare before the bed starts.
- Start Mode: Delay to Run starts the bed automatically. Delay to Pause waits for the customer to press Start.
- Allow access only if sessions available: Blocks the front door for customers with no sessions left.
- Skin Levels: the percentage of maximum session time allowed for each skin type.
Set up each bed: give it a name, a Room Profile (1–5), and a session cost.

Adding customers and issuing cards

Go to System → Add User, and enter the customer's name and the number of sessions they bought.
Place a new card on the PCProx programmer. When the light turns green, click Get Card. The card's ID is now tied to that customer.
Set their skin type and Bed Profile.

Bed Profiles make tiered memberships easy. A customer can use any bed set at their profile number or below. For example, put your basic beds on Profile 1 and your premium high-pressure beds on Profile 3. Then a Profile 1 member can use only the basic beds, while a Profile 3 member can use both. Give a customer Profile 5, and they can use every bed.

To top up a customer's sessions, change their skin type, or remove them, just click their name.

Reports

The software creates a monthly log you can open in Excel. It shows who tanned, when, in which bed, and for how long, plus any session that failed and why. Check it regularly to spot problems and card sharing.

Before you go 24/7: an owner's checklist

Safety and supervision. Set sensible lockout times and skin-type limits. Post exposure guidelines and the required warning signs in every room. Check your state's tanning regulations, since some states have rules about staff being present, age verification, or eyewear. This is the most important item on the list. Confirm what your state requires.
Security cameras at the entrance and in common areas, never inside the tanning rooms.
Emergency and contact information posted clearly, including a phone number customers can call.
Insurance. Tell your insurer you're operating unattended.
Lease and building rules. Make sure 24-hour access is allowed.
Fire code for the electric locks and exits.
Cleaning plan. Who cleans beds between sessions overnight? Many 24/7 salons rely on customers wiping down, plus scheduled staff cleanings.
A reliable PC, ideally with a battery backup (UPS), because if it goes down, the salon is closed.
Card policy. Decide on lost-card fees, card deactivation, and no sharing.
Pricing. Decide on session packs versus memberships, and how your bed profiles map to your price tiers.

Frequently asked questions

Do customers need to swipe at every bed? Yes. Each room has its own reader, and the swipe starts that bed's session.

Can I use my existing beds? Yes. If the bed is T-Max ready, the Attendant plugs into its RJ-22 port. If it isn't, the usual fix is a T-Max 3W/G2 timer mounted on the wall and hardwired to the bed; the Attendant then connects to the 3W/G2 instead. T-Max confirms the Attendant works with every T-Max timer and Manager, from the oldest models to the Manager Touch.

Can I lock the front door to people who've run out of sessions? Yes. Turn on Allow access only if sessions available.

Can I offer premium beds only to premium members? Yes, with Bed Profiles.

What if the power goes out? Doors must be fail-safe, so people can always get out. Sessions can't start until power and the PC are back up.

Downloads and resources

Manuals

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