The vacation rental industry is expanding every year, and with its growth, the expectations of consumers have grown as well. The industry has seen many changes since its beginning, and it will continue to change as technology continues to advance.
Contactless Check-in
One of the main aspects of vacation rental management is guest check-in. In the early days of vacation rental management, this would involve the host meeting with the guests to give the key and go over any additional information.
As smart technology improves, guest check-in is changing. Many vacation rentals are turning to contactless check-in, which involves smart locks; this option gives a key less entry for vacation rentals, where the guest uses a digital key. Not only do the guests not have to wait around for the host, but it also relieves them from the worry of losing the key.
Guest Experience
One of the increasing trends of vacation rentals is the focus on the guest experience. After all, how the guests experience and perceive the vacation rental is important; it will dictate the review they leave, as well as the likelihood of their return.
One key component of a guest’s experience is communication and convenience. It should be easy for the guest to get a hold of the owner of the rental or a middleman if the need arises; this can be in regards to broken appliances or gaps in knowledge about how to use newer appliances. Whatever the need is, a guest’s experience can be improved with quick communication.
Convenience can be achieved with smart technology. Other forms of lodging, like hotels, tend to have some form of friction when being checked in and gaining access; with smart technology like smart locks and communication, this is eliminated.
Vacation Rentals Mirror Hotels
There’s no doubt that there are very significant differences between vacation rentals and hotels; while hotels are much larger and may provide different amenities, vacation rentals are much more personable and private. There are some perks of hotels that guests prefer, like professional cleaning; at the beginning of the vacation rental industry, most of the cleaning and maintenance was performed by the host.
As the vacation rental industry expands, so do their services. Hosts have much more professionalism and have placed more focus on rental cleaning and maintenance. Many vacation rentals now have professional cleaners that follow a checklist once a guest has checked out, and they provide a thorough, detailed cleaning before the next guest.
And as guests choose hotels depending on their location, guests also choose vacation rentals based on property types and their location, which helps rural and outdoor destinations.
Apps
In this era of improving technology, there are now vacation rental management apps available to help vacation rental owners manage their properties. These apps can give guests access to smart locks, as well as give them recommendations for the local area.
For vacation property owners and hosts, these apps can keep them connected with guests, allowing messaging between the two. Apps are useful because they can monitor the guest’s check-in and check-out. Some of the apps even offer data insights and connect with smart home technology.
Data Insight
As technology improves, smart home technology can be connected and synced to software to keep track of gas check-ins and check-outs, as well as how the technology is used inside the space. This can give the host more data insight into energy consumption and noise levels, as well as the check-in and check-out times; a better understanding of these components can help the host manage the space better.
There are a variety of different smart technology options that can give vacation rental owners insight into their homes.
- Smart locks
- Noise monitors
- Lights
- Thermostats
Smart devices and smart technology are going to be a large part of the future of the vacation rental industry and will benefit both consumers and hosts.
