Imagine being able to manage the operation of your holiday rental apartment without actually being there or hiring intermediaries. Imagine being able to turn the lights on and off, open and close blinds, control the room temperature and know who’s entered and when. Thanks to home automation, what seemed like science fiction until recently is now a reality. Interconnected devices are making our lives easier, helping us save money and ensuring maximum energy efficiency. With the help of our home automation specialists, Lodging Management transforms holiday rental apartments into smart homes that offer total comfort and safety to tenants and meet owners’ expectations for expenses and accident prevention. If you’re not clear on what home automation is, here are 5 of its great advantages.
Technology that adapts to your home
Forget about construction workers, electricians or renovation projects. Modern home automation fits into the structure of your existing home, with intelligent devices installed right where you need them. You can choose to make them visible or opt for absolute discretion. Installation is a quick procedure that takes no more than a day and requires no construction work. If later you want to move your devices to another home or relocate them within the same property, it’s not a problem, because this reusable technology is not proprietary. And if you want to take a step back, you can uninstall the home automation systems in less than a day and everything goes back to working exactly the same as before.
Reducing utility costs
If the mere thought of your utility bill causes you stress, you should know that home automation will help you control expenses in general, but especially in three fundamental areas: electricity, water heating and air conditioning. You can turn off the electricity during periods when the apartment is empty to avoid unnecessary expenses. You can set a limit to the heating and air conditioning so that tenants do not exceed it and turn off the air conditioning as soon as an open window is detected. Home automation technology also allows you to keep track of energy consumption over long periods of time, so if a tenant exceeds the average, you can charge the excess. These are just some of the many ways you can save and help protect the environment in the management of your holiday rental apartment.
Secure access and zero surprises
How many people have the keys to your holiday rental apartment? There could be copies out there you don’t know about. To limit your worries about a sensitive issue like security, you can install smart locks with personalized access codes. This means each guest gets a unique code, there’s another for the cleaning staff, another for the Lodging professional in charge of your rental apartment, etc. The system allows you to monitor access and exits and detect, for example, if there is someone in the property at a time when it should be empty. With no keys to be lost or improperly copied, your rental apartment will be more secure than ever. And if, for some reason, you need it to remain unoccupied for a few weeks or months, you can program the lights to turn on and off at random times so it looks like someone is there.
Accident prevention
Before they break down, appliances often begin to demonstrate anomalies in energy consumption. Home automation makes it possible to catch these signals before any problems occur. The installation of other types of sensors in strategic areas means being able to detect carbon monoxide leaks or smoke immediately and seek help quickly.
Positive guest experience
Several studies have shown that tourists take the recommendations of other travelers when looking for accommodation. So a guest in your holiday rental apartment, possibly experiencing the benefits of a smart home for the first time, can be of great help in promoting your apartment. Their positive experience of home automation will be included in their reviews and will attract even more guests. If you make their experience superior to that of staying in a hotel, they’ll be happy to explain it and share. As better reviews translate into more bookings, your initial investment is quickly recouped when you let by the day or by the month.
Case Study
Below, you’ll see the home automation setup at Santa Monica, one of our Barcelona monthly rental apartments. As you can see, the initial investment was less than a thousand Euros, so it was recouped quickly. The tenant conditions specify that utilities are paid separately, according to an already established average, and this way there are no surprises for either the owner or guest. Use can be calculated periodically and accurately.
If you’re ready to take your holiday rental apartment to another level, opt for home automation solutions that will make a difference in your bookings. This technology is becoming a standard so rapidly that “No-key check-in” is an available option on the Airbnb filters. If prospective guests use it, they won’t see any apartments without electronic locks. Chances are the “smart accommodation” category isn’t far behind. Get ready for the future now!
