Do you remember the times when hosting was simply about providing a bed and maybe breakfast? Well, times have changed. In 2024, guests expect more than a simple bed. They want to save time, money and energy in their daily lives.
You can provide that comfort to your guests with high-tech devices in your short-term rentals. They’re useful for the hosts as well as for the guests. Technological gadgets are also cheaper than you’d think! Most of them pay back their investment in savings in just a few months. The investments are worth it to make your listing stand out on booking sites and shift your properties to becoming more sustainable.
Here are some smart gadgets that you can easily incorporate into your rental:
Smart locks
Safety first! Smart locks make guests feel more comfortable and secure in an apartment and home. They remove the possibility of keys being stolen or copied. Owners and property managers are also able to track and arrange check-in and check-out times, without the need to meet in person for key exchanges. With smart locks, you can grant your guests temporary access to your property, as well as temporary access to the property for the cleaning service.
Check it out: Guesty Locks Manager lets you manage every element of your smart locks from a single place. That makes for both an improved guest experience as well as control over who has access to your properties with unique, trackable codes.
Wireless charger
Different devices make your house more stylish. But they have more value than that of course! Guests want more than just a beautiful place to stay, but also modern tech conveniences and solutions. Help them get it – and reduce worries about different international plug types and adapters – by investing in a wireless charger. Cut out messy and tangled cables and give your guests a more modern way to charge their phones and laptops.
Check it out: We all know that Swedish furniture giant IKEA has the best-looking wireless chargers. Nordmärke Triple has three charging areas and is designed to sit on the table so that everyone can use it. It comes in two colors and is suitable for modern homes and rentals.
Digital guides
Do you already have a welcome pack including brochures about your city, local hotspots, places of interest and transportation? Great, now make it digital so that your guests can view it from their mobile phones. It’s a much more environmentally friendly option that will save you time and money on printing and providing new guides for each guest.
Check it out: Yourwelcome is a vacation rental welcome app, aka a digital guide for hosts. After you get your tablet, you can customize it and convey all necessary information about your listing and the city. It’s a cost-effective and modern way to boost your listing. It also has free shipping for some versions and you can cancel your subscription simply by sending an e-mail.
In-home entertainment
Having a large TV and Netflix or HBO is really advantageous for your guests to enjoy time in your house after a busy day. Also because most of the guests bring their own smartphones or laptops, it’s a great idea to have an HDMI cable to connect those devices to the TV. You also can provide a smart device like a TV stick or a simple-looking USB. If you have an empty wall, go ahead and buy a big screen projector!
Check it out: Chromecast is just one of many small gadgets you can plug into your TV that turns it into a smart TV. It’s cheap, easy to use, and makes it possible to access a number of streaming services such as Netflix, YouTube, and Spotify. You can even use it to stream content from your Chrome browser to your TV.
Noise detector
You probably want your guests to feel comfortable in your apartment but some might feel too comfortable. If you’re not okay with your guests having a party in the house or living with more people than they stated, you might want to use smart noise-detecting devices and apps to stay in control.
Check it out: Noiseaware places sensors at activity zones in your house and monitors the decibels and noise levels of your property to create a noise risk score. You’ll get an alert only if there is a problem.
Property management tools
As a host, there are a number of details you need to deal with. It starts with the very first day when you post your listings and continues until your guests are satisfied with their stay and leave you a good review. Even if you’re a full-time host, it can be difficult to manually send every single message for any reservation or control your calendar across different platforms. If you know what we mean, you might want to look at property management tools like as Guesty.
Guesty automates the messages you regularly send, syncs your calendar across multiple channels, and even helps coordinate your team members. While it works for you in the background, you can enjoy your time without having to repeat monotonous tasks.
Use Guesty on your smartphone or computer and check your listings anytime you want! It will save you time at a reasonable and affordable price by fully automating all these features.