The Holiday Season, Rural Getaways and the rise of airbnb
It’s that time of the year again, everything gets manic, there’s last minute rushing around, the roads get packed with travellers visiting family, and I get away from Sydney to visit the far south coast to take care of some business and have some relaxation time.
Every time I’m down this way there’s interesting conversations about what technology can do, and always some curveballs thrown my way.
“So I’m doing airbnb, and it was great but now it’s taking up so much time especially when I’m away”
Airbnb renters sometimes do silly things, those silly things can include losing the set of keys to your property, needing you to either engage a locksmith or sort out alternate keys. Then there’s the issue of servicing, your cleaners are saying it takes 3 hours, but does it really?
Home Automation and Access Control are fantastic things that have come to market and matured over the last few years. You’re able to get locks that allow PIN Code access that can be remote programmed, let guests use their phones as a key, and monitor comings and goings to prevent overstaying and accurate charging of services. Throw in a managed Wireless router that displays Terms & Conditions and can ask visitors to accept, limit data usage if required, as well as decommission passwords at the end of the stay.
By going a step further with automation, you’re able to program lighting and appliances on random patterns to deter squatters and unwanted guests, by giving the appearance that there’s always someone around, any ill-intentioned visitors will move on to an easier, obviously unoccupied target.
To round out the solution, a well configured high resolution CCTV system can allow live view from anywhere in the world, as well as provide motion detection and notification if desired. For a relatively low one-off investment, you can have complete peace of mind that your remote assets are protected.
I’m posting all of this from my Mum’s ADSL connection which is finally getting replaced with FTTN in a month or so; and it’s been a process, but it’s good it’s finally expanding and become more available. With better internet comes a better relationship with technology, so if any of the above sounds interesting, get in touch and let’s chat.
Enjoy the break, hopefully you get a bit of time to spend with those near & dear, and anyone in IT…. #nochangechristmas.