Top 5 Tools & Smart Tech to Use in Your Short Term Rental

When you invest in a short term rental, the end goal is threefold: maximize your income, enhance the guest experience, and more efficiently automate your overall short term rental operation. We’re sharing the top 5 tools and smart tech features that have helped us to achieve our goals - take a look below or have a watch as Sean breaks it down in this video.

Digital Smart Lock

The primary benefit of a digital smart lock is fairly straightforward: there is no longer a need for a physical key to access the property. We want to remove any concern about losing a key as well as help guests reduce time spent on coordinating when and how to get into the property. A few guests want to go to the beach, great; others prefer drinks on the water in a different location, no problem - any guest can easily access the property when they need to get inside. Before the guests arrive at the short term rental property, they’ll be given a unique code that allows the party to access the property. Once a stay has ended, the code is deleted and a new one is created for the next guests. The digital smart lock feature helps us to both secure the property and improve the guest experience. We prefer the digital smart lock from Yale Assure or Schlage Encode.

Ring Camera

We’ve installed a Ring camera on the front door of all properties and here’s why:

• It allows us to monitor guests checking in and out and ensuring they’re doing so within the time parameters given to them;

• The technology helps us to see when the cleaners are coming in and out to ensure turnovers are happening on time for the next guests; 

• We have to legally disclose that the camera is on the exterior of the front door in our listings, so it acts as a built-in filtration system for potentially bad guests - i.e. we can get rid of guests that don’t want to follow the noise level or partying rules before they book, and “inspire” them to move along to other rental options.

Noise Monitoring System

Concerned about respectful noise levels? We use Minut, a self-installable device that looks like a carbon monoxide detector and can be easily placed on the ceiling of any common area. It tracks decibel levels and doesn’t record the actual audio, so there are no privacy concerns for the guest. Once the sensor is triggered, the technology will send a message to the guest requesting that they keep the noise down. The one sensor system is simply intended to ​​keep your home safe and your neighbors happy while respecting your guests' privacy.

Smart Pricing

Gone are the days of static pricing; we are living in an ever-changing industry that is driven by multiple variables so the ability to price dynamically is key to your overall success. We have experienced the biggest ROI since we’ve used PriceLabs. At just $15/month per property, PriceLabs has helped us to save time and increase income through their dynamic pricing tool and data solutions. Because pricing can vary depending on the season, day of the week, holiday timing, or a large local event that increases demand for rental properties, it’s critical to invest in a tool that will enable you to maximize your income while minimizing vacancies. 

Virtual House Manual

A virtual house manual is an easy way to enhance the guest experience. We simply use Google docs to create a manual for every property that includes everything from how to access the property and where to park to the Wifi info, personal recommendations of restaurants and coffee shops in the area, how to use a sleeper sofa, and any other property-specific tips or insights that will make for a more enjoyable stay. We just include the virtual manual in a link that is sent to guests prior to check-in so they have everything they need as they begin their stay.

Are there other tools and smart tech features that you’ve found to be useful in your short term rentals? Feel free to share; we’re always interested in ways that we can improve our operation.

To view our complete portfolio of properties, check out our Seacoast STRs!

Top 5 Tools & Smart Tech to Use in Your Airbnb - Sean Bakhtiari