Hi!
I have a small vacation home in Costa Rica that I'm planning on renting out while I'm not there. This means we will be thousands of miles away and will probably have to hire a manager for things like check-ins, check-outs and cleanings. Of course there is a part of me that worries should anything go wrong and I'm not there. So I'm thinking about investing in things like a two way security camera outside (to deter break-ins, and to communicate with guests who might have trouble getting in), smart front door locks, and automation systems that can control the climate.
I know there are some posts out there on home automation, but I have a couple questions for anyone implementing or also researching some of these systems:
- Does anyone know if there's a climate control system that works well with ductless mini-split air conditioners? We don't have central air, just 3 separate air conditioners (2 upstairs in invidual rooms, and 1 downstairs). Is there a automation system that could work well with these?
A common thing I hear from other local hosts in our area is guests often blasting the ACs even when they're out of the house. I know one suggestion is to put up a sign asking respectfully if guests could turn off the acs when leaving the house. But I also know there are automation systems that detect when there are no guests in the house and can automatically shut off the air conditioners. Most modern automation systems I read use geofencing which ties the system to your cell phone (when the cell phone gets to a certain distance away from the house it turns off the AC or heat). This wouldn't probably work so much for airbnb hosts, because it would require guests to download an app which wouldn't likely be used.
I hear there are climate control systems that also use motion sensors to detect if there has been any movement in the house and turns off the Air conditioning when there hasn't been movement after a certain amount of time.
Does anyone know if such systems work well or have experience with any, and know if they can work with my setup of 3 separate AC units and no central air?
Any other suggestions for a Host that lives far away and would like to make life easier (for both myself and for guests)? A wifi door lock for providing door key codes that can be changed after each guest stay? Or perhaps anything else? What have you used and have liked or not liked? Looking forward to all your feedback!!
