Smart home for vacation rentals

A long, long time ago, being an Airbnb host simply meant offering a mattress or a bed. The unstoppable growth of vacation rentals has been accompanied by an increase in related software and hardware. Additionally, the quarantine period has taught us again the importance of smart devices. Today, we're talking about smart home technologies for Airbnb or smart homes.

It's true that around 2010, offering a small bottle of water in your tourist accommodation was already a premium service. Things have changed for the benefit of guests. The professionalism expected of hosts - combined with growing competition in the sector -.

What you'll find in this post

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In the Tourist Rental Survey of Cohosting they asked more than 100 hosts and managers of tourist apartments what elements of their business they automated with technology. Only 5.8% of them didn't use anything.

On the demand side, according to a study by August, 60% of guests would be willing to pay more if the accommodation includes smart home technologies for Airbnb.

It seems the question is clear: how can you incorporate this information to become a more profitable host? In other words, how can you use these tools to make your guests prefer you over the competition?

Easy! Incorporate the smart home technologies for Airbnb that your guests value the most.

In the August study, guests are asked how attractive they find each of the technologies. But first, let's describe what smart home technology is and then how guests and hosts of tourist accommodations value it.

What are smart home technologies?

You're tired of hearing the word "smart", aren't you?: Smartphone, smart lock, smart TV, smart home... In general, we can define smart home technologies or smart home as those devices for the house connected to the internet - and therefore, operable remotely (with an app for mobile, computer or web browsers).

In the study, the definition of smart home included:

• Smart TV or intelligent televisions
• Intelligent security systems
• Connected tablets
• Smart locks
• Multimedia and entertainment centers
• Smart doorbells or peepholes
• Internet-connected thermostats
• Smart light bulbs
• Connected cameras

It's a pretty long list. However, you probably already know some - or even have some smart home technology already installed in your Airbnb. If so: Great, we're on the right track!

If not, you may be reading this because you are thinking of incorporating some in the future - especially since your competition is already doing so...

So...

What smart home technology to buy for your Airbnb?

In the tourism sector, where vacation rental is framed, you must understand that there are two types of capitals with which you work: financial and emotional.

As a host of tourist apartments, your goal is to make the most of the time and money you invest in your business. You must follow a certain methodology to check that your ROI is positive - that is, that the investment produces income higher than its amount.

When it comes to emotional capital, we refer to how you delight your guests – making their stay as comfortable as possible –. Starting with the description of the Airbnb ad.

Take advantage of the space the platform gives you to detail what smart home technologies are in your Airbnb. The August study notes that 82% of guests are more likely to book if there are smart home technologies in tourist apartments

In August's report, they included a comparative table of smart home technologies for Airbnb and their ranking according to their value for hosts and guests.

The specific questions were:

• To guests (in gray): How attractive do you find each of these technologies in the accommodation you rent?
• To hosts (in red): How attractive do you find these types of smart home technologies for your tourist accommodation?

The best smart home technology for tourist accommodations

As you can see in the graph above, some technologies such as smart TVs are the ones that have the highest perceived value, both for guests and hosts.

Others, such as smart light bulbs, are the most overrated for guests.

In conclusion, the best smart home technology for Airbnb - that is, for guests - are: smart TVs, smart locks and smart alarms.

Noise sensors

One of the main sources of conflict between neighbors and guests of tourist accommodations is the noise made by the latter. In today's post, we discuss how hosts can control it through smart home noise sensor solutions for tourist accommodations or vacation rentals.

Noise, a source of conflict with neighbors of tourist accommodations

Undoubtedly, noise is one of the main problems of coexistence that vacation rental hosts face in their day-to-day business. In fact, avoiding parties in your accommodation is critical to maintaining a good relationship with the neighborhood community. Apart from admitting pets in your accommodation –¡Woof! ¡Woof!– The barking of your guests' dogs can be annoying for the neighbors.

Even Airbnb recommends on its responsible hosts portal that if the property is located in a building shared with residents, you include in the house rules the prohibition of holding parties or making noise after a certain hour.

Noise sensors for tourist accommodations or vacation rentals

Even hosts who choose to ban parties must ensure their guests comply with the noise regulations. In fact, according to the law, the guest is administratively responsible for this –not the hosts–.

To monitor the noise that your guests can generate and take actions to solve it, there are technology options that will allow you to do so. Noise sensors for tourist accommodations are devices that are installed inside the accommodation, usually in areas where the possibilities of noise are concentrated. For example, the living room or the kitchen.

You can buy two Raixer Mini devices and use one as a smart lock and another to place it in the living room and use it as a noise sensor. Isn't it great?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy3B4u8tI28

Do Raixer devices serve as sound sensors for tourist accommodations?

That's right! The new version of the Intercom smart lock hardware allows you to open the portal and housing remotely and also incorporates a sound sensor. In this way, you can use one device to forget about handing over the keys to the portal and housing and connect another to a living room outlet and use it as a noise sensor.

The 9.99€/month subscription to activate your smart lock includes unlimited noise sensors for your tourist accommodation. For example, in your accommodation you can have:

• 1 Raixer device to open the portal and housing (119€ and 9.99€/month)
• 2 Raixer device as a noise sensor for tourist accommodations. One in the living room and another in the kitchen (119€ x 2; included in the subscription)

Smart TV for vacation rentals

Have you ever considered this question? Let's take a look at the growing trends around Smart TV and video games today, to assess whether it's a good option to include these Smart Home features in your vacation rental as an extra service. Shall we start?

The big trend is to watch series on streaming platforms with Smart TV

More and more people are enjoying streaming platforms like Netflix, HBO or Rakuten. And since there is the opportunity to watch the content and series we want, when we want, where we want, and most importantly, without ads, there's no turning back.

Just by turning on our Smart TV and opening the Netflix app, we can enjoy series and movies without interruptions, at our choice, with a huge catalog to choose from. We've gotten used to doing marathons of afternoon and night with sofa and pizza and, although we don't believe it, many times we also want this on our vacations.

Offering additional services like Netflix or HBO in a vacation rental is ideal for a group of friends, as during downtime they can always count on this option we've grown accustomed to.

And couples? Doing tourism during the day is great, but if they're on vacation, they'll also want to rest and, let's be honest, we all know that watching series on the Smart TV from the sofa or bed is a perfectly valid way to rest and take a break. In addition to the smart TV, a smart speaker is also a good complement for your tourist apartment.

The world of video games is in fashion

And when hasn't it been? Since video games emerged, consoles have been evolving rapidly to the ones we know today: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and a long etcetera.

Today, e-sports are more popular than ever: official high-level video game competitions. But it's not all about competing at a high level, video games are for having fun, for playing with friends and enjoying them.

For these reasons having a console like the PS4 and several video games is a great option, especially in family rentals with children or focused on groups of friends. It's another form of entertainment and having fun together, which is basically the essence of vacation. Keep in mind that this type of extra service can be highly valued by your target guest –and will help you position your tourist accommodation.

Smart TV, streaming platforms, video games and consoles: what to include in your vacation rental?

Surely you are wondering: so do I have to buy a Smart TV and a subscription to services like Netflix and HBO? The answer depends on you. The ideal option would be to buy a Smart TV (or several) for your vacation rental, where you can download the Netflix or HBO app.

In this way, anyone can access with their own account to the different platforms, and you won't have to invest in a subscription. It's the best option since each person has an account with personalized options, with different series started or halfway through and thus they can resume them from their vacation rental.

As for consoles and video games, keep in mind that you should choose very well-known video games that offer the option to play multiple people, for example, Fortnite or Mario Party. The most common consoles today are the Xbox One and the PS4.

In conclusion

Of course, any additional accessory to these video games is a superior touch that will make guests feel more exclusive and have a better experience –and for you to get a five-star rating–, such as including microphones for certain games, steering wheels for Mario Kart, guitars for Guitar Hero, etc.

How much money will I have to invest in a Smart TV and video games? You can get a good medium-sized Smart TV from 180€, so it will pay off quickly. Regarding consoles and video games, a new PS4 from 250€, although there is also the option to buy it second-hand, more economical, or buy a PS4 pack that includes several video games and controllers.

Smart Speakers

Alexa and Google Mini are the devices of the future that are already controlling our homes. They allow us to stay up-to-date with the latest news, listen to music, turn devices on or off (such as lights, Wi-Fi plugs, control the air conditioning unit) and are constantly implementing more options. In today's post, we talk about how you can integrate these smart speakers into your tourist accommodation.

But its functions are not limited solely to the private sphere, but more and more providers are discovering its great possibilities at a professional level. For example, they could reinvent the tourist experience.

The number of companies partnering with Google and Amazon to improve the user experience is constantly increasing, adapting content according to the house. Considering that there are already over 100 million people with one of these devices, and that by 2020 this figure will rise to 225 million, we are confident that they will be the virtual travel agents of the coming years.

How can a smart speaker improve the vacation rental experience?

Amazon, through its Echo devices, already allows customers to order Room Service or some service in the room by simply making the request to Alexa. That is, what has always been calling the service, only that we can do it more comfortably by simply talking to the speaker.

Alexa, I need to rent a car

In the same way, some companies allow you to book a hotel or rent a car thanks to Alexa. For example, the car rental company Avis already has the skill developed for Amazon.

The smart speaker Google Home is not far behind in this field. Through the Google Assistant platform, the user will be able to control any price change that has occurred in flights, know the location of the nearest restaurant or restaurants, get directions, make conversions between different currencies, and even give us the possibility of booking a flight just by using our voice.

Google Mini or Alexa for my tourist apartment?

As a curiosity, in Spain there is already a hotel that integrates Google Home in all rooms. It is the Hotel Vulcano and can be found in Arona. Through it, the client will be able to request information about the weather, use it as a translator, book hotel services such as spa, listen to music, have control of the home automation of the room, or receive data on any point of interest in the area.

Although the evolution of the smart speaker is very positive, for now they are only in an initial phase. We can conclude by saying that it is the beginning of what will be a new era of tourism.

Are you curious about how to open the door of your tourist apartment with a smart speaker? Take a look at our posts about locks for Google Home or locks for Alexa.

Those brands that have not managed to establish themselves as market leaders now have another opportunity, an option to extend their brand image, to personalize the experience for the user, and to take advantage of the resources that, without a doubt, other brands will not waste.

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