Your keys don’t belong in your shoe.
Smart beach storage, booked from your phone.
Vela lockers stand on the sand. Book a door in the app, set your own PIN, and swim, surf or walk the shore while your phone, wallet and keys stay locked away.
Safe storage, right where you put your towel down.
Every Vela station is the same cabinet: a row of medium doors along the top, small doors around a touchscreen in the middle, and large doors along the bottom. Pick the size that fits what you are carrying.
No attendant, no queue, no tokens. You book and open your door from your phone, or with your PIN at the cabinet screen if your phone is in the locker too.
Small
15 per station, around the touchscreen. A phone and car keys.
Medium
4 per station, along the top. Between the two.
Large
4 per station, along the bottom. A beach bag.
How it works
Find a station
Use your location, or search by region, to see the nearest Vela cabinet and how many doors of each size are free.
Pick your door
The app draws the actual cabinet. Choose a small, medium or large door that is free.
Choose your time
Book by the hour, or take a day pass that runs until midnight, South African time.
Pay in the app
Pay securely on your phone. Your door number is shown on the payment screen.
Set your PIN
Choose a 4 to 6 digit PIN. Keep it to yourself.
Lock up and go
Put your things inside, close the door and check it is locked before you walk away.
While you’re in the water, your door is on your phone.
- Lock and unlock
- Open your door from the app, or type your PIN and door number on the cabinet screen.
- See your time
- A live countdown shows how long you have left and when your session ends.
- Add more time
- Extend in the app and keep the same door. Extra hours are charged at the hourly rate.
- Swap a faulty door
- If your door won’t open or lock in the first few minutes, move to another one of the same size for free.
- End when you’re done
- End the session to free the door for the next person. Past rentals stay in your history.
Going over your time? Your door stays locked and your PIN still works. The overrun is charged automatically at the hourly rate, rounded up to the next hour, until you end the session.
Only you can open your door.
Your own PIN
You choose a 4 to 6 digit PIN for each rental. Vela keeps it encrypted, never in plain text, so only you can see it in the app while your rental is active.
Payment stays in the app
You pay securely on your phone. Vela never stores your card details; the payment provider keeps them and gives us a token.
Two ways in, both yours
A door opens from your signed-in app, or with your PIN and door number at the cabinet screen. Anyone with both can open it, so keep your PIN private.
Questions
What happens if I go over my time?
Your locker stays locked and your PIN still opens it. Each extra hour, or part of an hour, is charged at the hourly rate until you end the session.
When does a day pass end?
At midnight on the same day, South African time. It is not 24 hours from when you started, so a day pass bought in the evening ends that night.
The door will not open, or will not lock.
Tap 'Swap it' on your session screen in the first few minutes after you first unlock it, and move to another door of the same size at the same station. The swap is free, once per rental. After that, use 'Report a problem' in the app.
Do I get a refund if I end early?
No. You pay up front for the time you choose. Ending early frees the locker for the next person, so end it once you have taken your things out.
Can anyone else open my locker?
Opening it takes your PIN and door number on the cabinet touchscreen, or your signed-in app. Keep your PIN to yourself.
When can I download the app?
Soon. The Vela app is not in the App Store or Google Play yet. Request a locker below and we will let you know when your beach goes live.
Want Vela at your beach?
Tell us where you swim. Requests help us decide where the next cabinets go.
Request a locker near youApp Store and Google Play: coming soon
Run a beach, a club or a beachfront?
A Vela station is one cabinet with no attendant: people book, pay and open their door in the app. We are running a pilot now and choosing sites for the next cabinets. Tell us about yours.
Talk to us about hosting