Smart Home Updates to STR

[Derek Brickley]

I am currently debating whether smart home updates will increase the attractiveness of a beachfront STR. This article by Stayfi includes a few recommendations for STRs, but is a little outdated. Here are some of the major categories covered in this article:

Best Smart Home Tech For Vacation Rentals
Noise Monitoring
Smart Locks (Keyless Entry)
Smart Thermostat
Home Security
Digital House Guide

What smart tech is a must-have for STRs, what is an add-on bonus, and what should just be forgotten altogether?

Thank you in advance!

[Ken Boone]

The only 2 things that "might" change a guest's mind toward your place on that list are the smart locks which is just a convenience factor because they don't have to go see anyone to check in and don't need to keep track of a key, and the security camera, just for peace of mind like someone else mentioned. But getting a higher rate for that.. uh I don't think so. Having said all that, I provide everything on your list except noise monitoring. But like someone else said, most of those things are to increase your efficiency. A guest isn't gonna care whether it's a smart thermostat or not, but it will help you immensely having one. Anything in your STR that you can remotely manage or get remote status info from, puts you in a better position to manage your place.

I provide a digital guidebook for my properties, it includes basically everything you need to know about my strs, plus a lot of other area info such as places to eat, things to do, etc..  I send out a survey request at the end of each guests stay and one of my questions currently is "Did you use the digital guidebook during your stay?"  So far out of the people who submitted a survey (which is just a small percentage of my guests) , only 50% of the people indicated that they used the digital guidebook during their stay.  

For the guests that use the guidebook, that's a nice feature, it is just an extra thing that is available at my place versus the place next door.  I want repeat guests, and to me that is just one of many things I do to attempt to make their stay better.  The other thing it has done is cut out a lot of questions during the stay AND prior to their stay.  During the inquiry time, some guests ask a lot of question about the area - I can send them a recommendations only version of my guidebook which has pretty much all the major stuff about the area.  Again, the guidebook, ends up saving me time, when they use it.

But again, none of those items are going to get you higher rates.