The Future Of Technology In Vacation Homes
Technology is making the future of the vacation rental industry more automated without losing the quality customer service touch with guests. It is making it easier for property management companies to handle more homes in their inventory. There are also more advanced communications between guests, the property manager, and the homeowner. Having technology in the home can be used as a selling point for guests.
NoiseAware
What are some good technical features that would be in your budget? During the pandemic, travelers were not able to visit the theme parks during their shutdown in Orlando. It was common to find local guests booking in the area. Unfortunately, that meant there were more parties than ever instead of families who were visiting the theme parks. NoiseAware is a device placed in the home that can alert the property manager if a guest reaches a certain noise level in the home. The property manager can then reach out to the guest to give them a warning to quiet down. This will help prevent the neighbors or the resort security from calling the local law enforcement. We have quite a few home owners who have NoiseAware and it really is a great product…highly recommend.
Keyless Entry
Some vacation home rentals still have the classic lockbox where a guest can retrieve physical keys. While this is good as a backup, we highly recommend looking into getting a keyless entry. There are even some management companies where their vacation homes have a smart lock meaning they can unlock with a code you provide them to their smartphone. Guests are pushing more than ever to have as little contact during their check-in and check-out process. The keyless entry is also helpful from having to track down the previous guest who accidentally took the keys back to their home with them and having to pay a locksmith. Keyless entries also have the capability to tell property managers when a guest enters the home for the first time. This can trigger an initial check-in call 10 minutes after the guest enters the door to see how they are settling in. This will help prevent any initial issues and answer common questions they may have like getting onto the vacation home’s wifi.
Thermostats
Most technology is great as a homeowner, but that doesn’t mean it is the best for a Orlando Vacation rental. We have experienced a homeowner who had a smart thermostat that turns the air conditioning off when there is no motion detected in the home. While that saves the homeowner on his electric bill, it leaves the guest upset who has been in the hot Florida heat all day coming home to a tropical 78 degrees. The air conditioning will take a while to start cooling the house back down and will warrant the guest to leave a bad review. It’s best to speak to your property manager on what technology would be best for your rental. Having Roku TVs could help you save on cable bills and give the guests more freedom to watch their subscriptions like Netflix, Hulu, etc. If you don’t have a property manager who can advise you on best practices, we would love to speak with you on how to make your vacation homework best for you.
As you can see, we are extremely active with our marketing efforts. We would love to have the opportunity to manage and market your vacation home. Last year, we did not have one vacation home occupied less than 220 nights and our average vacation home was occupied 248 nights annually…that is over 20 nights a month! Check out more of our Orlando Vacation Property Management Tips.