By You never imagined you would own a vacation rental property. But here you are, the proud owner of a gorgeous home in your favorite tourist destination. You are planning to use it several weeks per year and then rent it out the rest of the time. Before you get started, consider making the property smarter.
Smart home technology is nothing new. However, the pace of innovation has made today’s smart home devices much better than their predecessors. Today’s smart home is capable of so much more than comparable homes were just five and ten years ago. To illustrate the point, here are five ways Vivint Smart Home says you can make your vacation rental smarter:
1. Install Smart Locks
Renting your vacation home requires figuring out how to control access. In the old days, this meant leaving a set of keys with a property manager. It was the property manager’s responsible to deliver the keys to renters and then retrieve them at the end of the stay. Smart locks eliminate the need for keys.
Smart lock access is controlled by PIN codes. Each renter gets a new PIN for their stay. Meanwhile, you and your property manager can always remotely lock and unlock the doors with a mobile app.
2. Remote Temperature Control
Although it would be nice to program your thermostat and leave it that way permanently, renters all have their own comfort levels. Some like it warmer while others like it cooler. When the house is vacant though, you can exercise complete control by remotely setting the temperature. You can also create a default program that controls temperature on those weeks when you do not have renters.
3. Install Smart Lighting
Smart lighting is another way to enhance a vacation rental and save energy at the same time. Smart lighting equipped with motion sensors can eliminate the waste caused by renters leaving lights on in unoccupied rooms. Motion-sensitive lights are ideal for utility rooms, bathrooms, outdoor patios, etc.
Just as with a smart thermostat, you can also create default lighting programs that you activate on weeks when you have no renters. Programming lights to go on and off makes it easier to make the house look occupied even when people are not there.
4. Install Video Cameras
While installing interior video cameras could be problematic for vacation rentals, you can install exterior cameras without any issues. External video cameras can help you keep an eye on your property. It can alert you to potential burglary or theft. It can also provide evidence against renters who damage your property.
5. Set Up Alerts
One of the biggest challenges of owning a vacation rental is keeping track of things when you are not there. One way to do that is to set up alerts triggered by certain events. For example, a renter may leave a door open upon departure. You can set up an alert to let you know that the door has been left open for a certain amount of time.
You can set up an alert to let you know that the temperature in the home has dropped to an unacceptable level. You will know to send someone to check the HVAC system. Likewise, you can set up alerts to warn you that the garage door has been left open, that there might be water in the basement, etc. The possibilities are virtually endless.
Owning a vacation rental can be both a pleasure and a disaster. Deploying home automation technology can minimize the disasters and maximize enjoyment of your vacation rental. At least consider it.
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