Everything we do revolves around technology. Whether it’s making a grocery store purchase, communicating with a loved one on the other side of the planet, or just sitting back to watch a new Netflix series, technology plays a significant part in our everyday lives.
Unsurprisingly, the vacation rental industry is no different. Travelers are growing to demand technology solutions as part of the package, not just because they already use various applications and computer tools to plan and book their travels.
Computerized welcome books are becoming more frequent in vacation rental houses. Further investigation reveals that two-thirds of organizations are currently utilizing channel managers.
Owners and managers are showing an increasing tendency for on-site technology deployment and software used for booking administration. For example, slightly under a quarter of homeowners have already installed a keyless entry system, and one-fifth have a linked thermostat.
Many vacation rental owners are turning to home automation and smart home technologies to modernize their companies. You can understand why given the long list of potential benefits it may deliver. Learn about popular smart home technologies and how they might benefit your vacation rental property.
Smart Home Technology and Automation Provide a lot of Advantages
Modernizing your vacation rental with smart home gadgets has a slew of advantages. Home automation and intelligent features can make visitors’ stay more pleasant and convenient while boosting property safety and security. Furthermore, smart appliances may increase a rental property’s value while lowering expenditures and reducing the environmental effect.
Many smart home gadgets can even help vacation rental providers operate their companies remotely by simplifying operations and optimizing overall administration.
Including smart home devices in your house may be incredibly helpful to all parties involved. Hosts should expect faster turnover, lower expenses and energy consumption, and easier remote management of their properties. On the other hand, smart tools may provide immediate luxury, a high-tech vibe to a holiday, and greater security and convenience for visitors.
Improve the Safety and Security of Your Property
Safety was the driving cause behind 75 percent of participants in a research conducted at the end of 2018, who said it was the driving force behind their home automation equipment purchases.
Home security systems may increase property security (and peace of mind for hosts) during vacancies, in addition to making visitors feel safe and secure throughout their stay. With smart locks, hosts may normally produce a random key code corresponding to each guest’s stay for a limited duration. As a result, visitors don’t have to worry about making duplicate keys or locking themselves out using this technology.
Smart smoke alarms and water sensors may also help ensure guests’ safety and the property. They can not only alert the property owner if anything unusual occurs, but they may also assist them in preventing any problems before they exist.
Enhance your Regular Routines
Home automation will take a lot of stress from hosting your vacation rental if you manage it remotely. Are you checking in late? You’ll be able to keep it under control. Is it possible to check out early? That’s not an issue!
Access to these tools streamlines the process for both you and your visitors, whether they’re arriving or departing. According to research, more than 61 percent of renters are more inclined to choose an apartment based on its technological access.
If you have automatic check-in systems in places like smart locks or lockboxes, you won’t have to worry about allowing service providers to access your unit if you need maintenance or repairs.
Increase Your Comfort and Convenience
Travelers who stay in vacation rentals hope for the same “home comforts” that they would enjoy in their own homes. In order to provide your guests with an outstanding experience, you should be able to provide them with all of that and more.
Intelligent home technologies like smart lighting and smart thermostats will offer your house an advantage over the competition. Guests will be able to regulate lighting and heating with the press of a button, thanks to these elegant touches. You may also provide a warm (or cold) welcome for them by turning on lights or adjusting the temperature in the home before they arrive.
Save Money While Helping the Environment
According to research, home automation is a terrific technique to help cut down your vacation rental expenditures (and energy consumption!). Currently, heating and cooling utilize roughly 39% of the energy consumed by the typical dwelling. Smart thermostats can save clients roughly 10-15% on their monthly energy bills.
Smart thermostats enable homeowners (or renters) to adjust interior temperatures from a distance these days. You may quickly establish high and low settings, as well as set up text or email notifications in the event of significant changes. Energy savings may also be achieved by replacing incandescent lights with LEDs and using smart lighting systems. LEDs utilize a fourth of the energy of standard lightbulbs, and smart lighting may help them last even longer.
You may also purchase smart plugs, which can be used to control other commonplace items in your vacation rental (such as toasters, coffee machines, electric heaters, and so on). Vacation visitors may not always put the environment first, but as an owner, you can help by double-checking your smart home applications to make sure everything is turned off properly before they leave.
Increase the Resale Value of Your Vacation Rental
While automating your vacation rental house is an investment in and of itself, it will also bring a lot of added value when it comes to reservations. Guests will most likely note each hotel’s ideal characteristics and facilities when evaluating locations throughout the market. You’ll be able to raise the price a little if your house is entire – or even partly – automated. Millennial renters would pay around a fifth extra for these smart home amenities on average.
In your property descriptions, be sure to highlight the advantages of your home automation services, emphasizing how easy and pleasant they will make their stay.
Vacation Rentals’ Most Popular Smart Home Gadgets
Many people opt to stay in vacation rentals because they want a “home away from home” experience. Nonetheless, it’s critical that the property is in excellent functioning and that day-to-day activities like check-in and communication are running well.
So, what are the most practical items to have in your vacation rental? We’ve compiled a list of six innovative vacation rental technologies that will transform your business:
Smart Locks
A smart lock that allows you to enter your home without a key is one of the handiest additions you can make to your vacation rental. Over 70% of visitors indicate they would rather have a smart lock than regular lock keys in their vacation rental because they are afraid of losing them. Regardless of the kind of lock, a keyless entry system is a safer solution for short-term rental homes.
To begin with, it lets visitors access and exits the property without considering who needs the key and when. Second, with key code systems, a unique number may be produced for each entering visitor or group before check-in, allowing for a more efficient arrival and departure procedure. Intelligent locks also prevent tourists from leaving the front door unlocked by locking automatically when the door is closed.
Finally, visitors can’t misplace the key or manufacture a physical duplicate, so both guests and hosts can feel certain that no former renters will return to the house after they’ve checked out.
Video Doorbells
Over the last several years, video doorbells have grown in popularity, with firms like Ring and Nest building a name for themselves in the industry.
This newest design is a doorbell with a built-in camera that alerts your smartphone when someone approaches it. It then links you to the camera in real-time. A real-time connection to the camera is then established. Everywhere you go, you’ll always be able to see and talk to anybody who’s at your door.
Some hosts are prone to have unexpected visits without alerting their guests. This creates a slew of issues:
The property may not be fit for a specific number of people.
Neighbors may complain about excessive noise.
Hosts may charge an extra guest fee that guests are avoiding.
All of these issues will be solved with a video doorbell, as you will be able to observe who enters and exits your vacation rental home.
If you run your vacation rental from afar, you may now personally meet and welcome your visitors. To prevent any shocks or frights, inform your visitors ahead of time that a video doorbell has been installed.
Smart Lights
At a vacation rental, connected smart light systems are a bonus for both hosts and visitors. They may give the house a luxurious, high-tech air for visitors while functioning as conventional lighting has always done. However, there are two major advantages of intelligent lighting systems for hosts.
To begin, you can make sure that lights aren’t left on after visitors leave – and, if they are, you can regulate them from the app. You may also create rules for the lights to turn on and off during low season (or when the house is not leased) to give the impression that someone is home. This may stop robbers and other unwelcome guests from peeping inside your home.
Smart Thermostat
Energy usage is tough to track as a vacation rental owner. When it’s hot outside in the summer, your visitors may leave the air conditioner on full blast in the middle of the winter, but with heating. Temperature automation, which is possible with smart thermostats, may help lessen this danger. Owners can establish limitations on temperature settings and even regulate them remotely.
This isn’t all; some of these devices can tell when a person is at home and change the temperature accordingly. For owners and managers, smart thermostats may save money by allowing them to control the temperature.
Virtual Assistant
An estimated one in every five Americans now makes use of a smart speaker like the Amazon Alexa or Google Home, according to NPR and Edison Research. Only one year has passed, yet this number has grown by 78%! Your Amazon or Google product may serve as a virtual concierge for your vacation rental visitors, increasing the overall value of the property.
With voice activation, you can quickly program various requests and bits of information for your visitors. This is particularly handy for hosts who employ automated check-in procedures since the device may still go over vital safety information or do a walk-through of the property. This sort of technology can significantly improve the entire visitor experience.
Vacuum Cleaner Robot
Robot vacuum cleaners are self-contained. There’s no need for physical work anymore! They clean the whole room and go from room to room, sucking up dust and debris of all kinds. They may even be seen working under couches and kitchen countertops. Furthermore, these new cleaners are not confined to a certain kind of floor and may be used on wood, carpeted, tiled, laminated, and other surfaces.
When visitors are on vacation, they want to rest and not have to bother about cleaning their accommodations. Of course, floors accumulate dirt rapidly. Therefore, this new technology will swiftly clean them. This smart home device is sure to wow your visitors.
Another advantage is that cleaning will be significantly quicker after each guest changeover. It also means you may put your cleaning efforts elsewhere or have extra time on your hands.
Property Management using Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence must be included in any discussion regarding smart technology for vacation rentals. Artificial intelligence is used in almost all smart devices. Smart houses make it easier to operate a vacation rental company, but what about using these new technologies to manage properties? There are a variety of artificial intelligence technologies for property management that may help your company function more smoothly.
Artificial Intelligence for Screening Visitors
Guest screening may be a time-consuming process. It might take a long time to go through visitor profiles and discover the appropriate match for your hotel. Thankfully, utilizing artificial intelligence to authorize visitors makes things a lot simpler.
These technologies can assess positive visitor behavior and look through the track histories of future guests. Book guests confirmed and vetted by third-party sites like Superhog to provide additional protection.
Utility-Related Artificial Intelligence
Property management maintenance activities take a lot of time, but there are many moving parts, which means there’s a lot of chance for mistakes. When you automate and apply artificial intelligence to your maintenance operations, you save time and eliminate human error.
The utilities in your vacation rental may be monitored and controlled using various smart technologies. Using a smart thermostat, for example, allows you to see exactly how much energy is being used in your house. You may use this information to reduce your utility bills or budget for the expected cost at the end of the month.
Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence
The majority of a property manager’s day is spent communicating with guests. A chatbot might readily address the majority of guest queries (check-out time, linens, and visitor’s policy). Artificial intelligence could be able to save you some time.
Chatbots use artificial intelligence to provide “clever” answers that answer your visitors’ inquiries sufficiently. Adding a chatbot to your website may help you save time while still offering outstanding customer care to your site’s users.
