Updated 20 March, 2020
Many of us have a perception that holiday homes located in luxurious, idyllic or rural locations are commonly crime-free. This common belief can easily leave you with huge out of pocket expenses without you knowing it. So, by securing your holiday home property you can now save thousands in the future.
Secure your entry with a keyless door lock.
Having a keyless smart door lock (or one of its smart digital door lock) is one of the quickest ways of securing your holiday home property. This type of lock ensures only the right people have access to your property. You can set up temporary and unique access for each individual booking. This is also one of the best ways to avoid unauthorised or unwanted access from your guests or their friends outside of the booked stay. The best part about using smart door locks is you don’t need to change the keys and locks every few months or needlessly worry about your keys getting copied.
Do you have cleaners or maintenance that need access too? By granting them individual access, you’ll know when and who has come in and out of your property. Additionally, you can easily and quickly revoke access when they stop servicing your property.
Get notified, have a camera at the front.
Get yourself a high definition smart security camera. Preferably one that can stream straight to your phone. Place the camera directly in front of your entrance, so you can clearly see who is coming and going. Cameras with motion detection are perfect for holiday homes. They begin recording immediately and notify you that there is someone at the property. This has got to be the easiest way to confirm that your guests have arrived for their stay. Plus, it allows you to view the activity of people coming and going to the property at any time. Using smart cameras is certainly a great way of ensuring your guests don’t start an unruly party in your holiday home.
On a side note: if your holiday home property is in a rural location or the wifi connection is a bit sketchy, opt for cameras that can operate on 3G or 4G network data. This removes the worry of purchasing a suitable wifi extender.
Light the way!
Install motion sensor spotlights at key points around the house. These types of spotlights come in handy when there is no one staying at the property for nights at a time. Why? By installing spotlights in outdoor common areas, you remove all possible hiding spots for intruders. Having lighting on the outside of your property also illuminates the way for your guests in darkness, especially when they don’t know the terrain. Therefore, minimising the risk of your guests trampling all over your well-kept garden or tripping over a small but deceptive step.
Keep the noise down
This next tip is perfect for holiday homes that have neighbours within close proximity. Minut is a smart home monitor that tracks what's going on with your property whilst at the same time maintaining complete privacy for your guests. (Not to mention it will also help to keep your neighbours happy.) Minut monitors noise levels within the house and notifies you of any spikes. Thus giving you the opportunity to be proactive in preventing escalations in unruly guests and damage to your property.
What do you have there?
Lastly, keeping a record of what you have in your holiday home rental is vital. It helps in making insurance claims easier if something is stolen or broken. By far, the easiest way of making a record of what you have is to take photos of your belongings in their rightful place. In addition to this, keep a record of the serial numbers for all your electronic contents. So, should something be removed from your property and it is recovered, you can rightfully claim back as yours. Likewise, engraving or labelling your more valuable contents with the address or name of your property makes retrieval an easier process.
Do you have any other handy security tips to share? Let us know and we will share it here.