Vacation Rental Products

Level Up Your Airbnb with Smart Tech

Including smart technology in Airbnb properties has its perks. It's time to incorporate more smart tech into your properties.

By The Turno Team

Last updated: November 14, 2023

As the vacation rental industry continues to grow in popularity, property owners need to find ways to help their listings stand out. In this article, we review six smart home technology features you can easily incorporate into your property, ultimately making your Airbnb more luxurious.

Many property owners are beginning to notice a trend in the vacation rental industry where owners are adopting new tech for their rentals. Thus, people are using the term “smart homes” to refer to these properties incorporating new technology.

“Smart home” tech comes in a wide variety and includes things such as:

  • Appliances (such as fridges and washing machines)
  • Security cameras/Doorbells
  • Keyless locks
  • Thermostats
Home with smart tech

Benefits of Smart Technology

Not only is smart technology trending at the moment, but it is also beneficial to your property. Some benefits of this new tech include:

Convenience
With the help of this new tech, taking care of the property has never been easier. These days smart home appliances and technology come with voice activation, phone applications, and other convenient options for users.

In fact, with voice activation tools guests can adjust their lighting, check the temperature, and play music. In addition, there is also technology where people are able to control their home devices through their smartphones by installing a phone app.

Security
There are many different options for smart security, and provide more reliable security than the older, traditional security camera.

In today’s age, smart security tools such as security cameras, video doorbells, and door sensors have many uses other than just alerting the owners of the house. Smart security can also inform nearby law enforcement of the threat.

Money and Time Saver
With the efficiency of various smart technology, reducing your energy bills will be a breeze. Smart thermostats, washing machines, fridges, and smart lighting can reduce energy bills through energy optimization.

Although smart devices may seem expensive at first, it is a good investment to make. Overall, the price of the device will be little compared to the amount of money you will be saving in the long term.

Top 6 Smart Tech Recommendations

Now that all of the benefits of smart devices are laid out, it is important to do research on which devices to choose. Here is a list of recommendations for smart technology to get you started:

Google Nest Thermostat

The Google Nest is a smart thermostat that learns your preferred temperature settings and creates a schedule around your temperature settings. Therefore this little thermostat can optimize energy and maximize efficiency since you don’t have to do it yourself.

Not only is it aesthetically pleasing, but it is also easy to set up and use. Cost ranges from different generations, and it also comes in seven different finishes.

Robotic Vacuum Cleaner

To take a more automated approach to floor cleaning, a robotic vacuum cleaner can take away the stress and physical demands of vacuuming. The eufy BoostIQ RoboVac 11S features a quiet and affordable vacuum for those seeking to clean their hard floors. For vacation rental hosts, we recommend choosing a robotic vacuum that is durable and lasting for heavy use such as the iRobot Roomba 614 available at Walmart.

For a more detailed guide on choosing a robotic vacuum cleaner for your vacation rental property, see Floor Clarity’s 9 Critical Tips.

Alfred DB2-B Smart Lock

The Alfred smart lock is a keyless door lock that is perfect for renting Airbnb properties. Smart locks remove the need for physical key copies, so renters find this useful as a way to provide better security for the home.

This lock also has a one-touch entry, meaning Alfred unlocks when you tap your phone to it due to Bluetooth connectivity. The smart lock is also the pinnacle of convenience, equipped with a smartphone app and easy installation.

Ring Video Doorbell

To go with the smart lock, the Ring Doorbell is the perfect set for a secure smart home. The Ring doorbell detects motion when people come near the property.

In turn, when the Ring detects motion or anyone outside of the property, it connects to your phone or tablet and alerts you through your devices. There is also the option to communicate with anyone who presses the doorbell.

Installation is simple and takes about 10 minutes to install. To make things even more convenient, there are also keyless locks that connect to the Ring doorbell, so everything is all on one device/app.

Amazon Echo

The Echo is the main smart device for your Airbnb property. This device can tell the weather, do hands-free calling, and stream music.

Anything can be hands-free with the help of the Echo. Alexa, the AI for the Echo, can answer almost any question your guests might have, such as “what time is it?” It also comes in three different colors, and is compatible with many music streaming services.

Dyson Pure Cool Purifying Fan

Yes, even fans can be smart. The Dyson Purifying Fan is every guest’s dream fan, and they don’t even know it yet.

Normal fans just circulate air, but this fan purifies the air while projecting cool air into the space. For guests with asthma or dust allergies, this will be their selling point. It removes over 99.97% of pollutants and allergens as small as 0.3 microns.

The fan is safe, with no blades and also easy to change the filters. In addition, it is also equipped with a remote control, so it is easy to use. If you wish for even more convenience, there are upgraded versions of the fan that is voice-activated, and able to link through a phone app.

Time to Upgrade

All in all, as people start to travel and travel restrictions loosen there will be more demand for Airbnb properties. Take advantage of this demand and help stand out from the crowd.

By installing smart tech, guests will be drawn to the contactless experience, and check-ins will be a breeze. It’s time to hop on the tech trend now, and start up your smart home.

The Turno Team Avatar
The Turno Team , The Turno Team researches and publishes articles designed to provide short-term rental Hosts, Property Managers, and Airbnb Cleaners with insightful, useful resources. Articles written by the Turno Team cover a wide range of STR interests, from the latest industry data and best practices to real-world, practical advice on running efficient, revenue-generating vacation rental businesses in an ever-changing market. Here at Turno, we’re always looking for original ideas and hot new topics. Have something you’re curious to learn more about? Interested in authoring a guest blog? Drop us a line at [email protected].