How smart is your home?

Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

How smart is your home?

Smart home.png

 

 

Hello everyone,

 

I know we have touched upon technology before, here in the Community Center, but it feels like on a monthly basis something new is available. Technology and apps are constantly improving and there are now so many things you can do in your home to upgrade it technologically.

 

I wonder how "smart" is your home? 🙂 Do your home appliances connect via the Internet / wireless and can you control them from a distance? Perhaps you like to monitor your heating useage or you can turn the lights off from the other side of your house?

 

Alternatively, perhaps you are staying away from introducing "smart" technology into your home–it would be great to hear if you have any particular reasons for this. 

 

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Thanks so much,

Lizzie

 


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Thank you for the last 7 years, find out more in my Personal Update.


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25 Replies 25

I don't personally need smart technology because I see it as just another "convenience" that can malfunction and create more unnecessary expenditure to correct. Case in Point: I showed a guest how to use our "smart" remote control for the television and they forgot something, started fiddling around with the TV and lost the setup on the remote, necessitating us to call in a tech team that cost $150 just to walk in the door and more to reprogram the control. I'm "smart" enough to use everything I own and don't need help to stand up and walk to the thermostate to turn on the heat or flip one light switch to shut down every light in the house. A guest recently asked if I had one of those. Do they exist?

 

Maybe I'll market my rental as a way for people to experience the nostalgia of yesteryear when people moved from their chairs to accomplish simple tasks. I recently heard that someone has perfected "rabbit ears" the 20th century, smart technology antenna that allowed televisions to improve their reception, and it will completely circumvent having to pay cable companies for monthly service. Free TV, now that is nostalgic!!! The instant gratification I will miss by not loading my home with smart technology will come to me when I check my savings account.

 

 

smart" enough to

Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hehe @Donna240, I like the idea of using the lack of "smart" technology in your house as a marketing tool. 🙂

 

Although lots of new home technology items are being launched I get the feeling that it may take a little while for it to become the norm in a home (at least completely) and for some homes one of the charms is that you want to get away from technology when you are on holiday, so it doesn't suit all. 

 

 


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Thank you for the last 7 years, find out more in my Personal Update.


Looking to contact our Support Team, for details...take a look at the Community Help Guides.

@LizzieDon't get me wrong, I love a self cleaning oven, but in this day and age, it's almost impossible to get away from technology. As a host, I am not afforded the luxury to get away from it, even on vacation, I have to bring it with me! <}:O) I'm all for technological progress, but much of it, in the public sector, is costing jobs, so I have a natural resistance to it. Look at Uber, a company that has helped many people create income for themselves. I was so delighted at their business model, until I read that they are highly invested in driverless cars. Manufacturing worldwide is getting automated, so much that we can expect much more job loss. Do we really want more unemployed? In the private sector, much of it is for convenience, but even banking online costs jobs (tellers and postal workers), and your account can't be hacked if it's not online. Luckily, Airbnb will not be automating soon.

Marit-Anne0
Level 10
Bergen, Norway

When it comes to rentals, the less complicated the better !  I have some ceiling lights on a remote to make them dimmable - it is a headache every time.  The ceiling lights do not work....  I installed those because it is my home too, and I wanted to be able to dim the lighting. Most get it in the end, but when I returned after my latest guests, the remote was set to lights that do not exist 🙂

Turning on the Sat TV seems to be complicated too as there are two remotes, one for the tuner and one for the TV.  

A built in dishwasher with a digital display can be a major hurdle for some.  

Cooktops are best if they have buttons instead touch control. Sadly, they only make touch control nowadays, so I pray that my 12 year old cooktop will have eternal life.

The simpler the microwave the better, same with oven.

A central light switch @Donna240 yes, they do exist, even with a remote.

User manuals are there of course, but I did not know I needed one in Polish, so I binned it.  

@Marit-Anne0, LOL, my husband insists on dimmers everywhere and we have the kind with a sliding mechinism attached to the standard switch. Everytime a guest complains that the light is out, they have accidentally moved the sliding element.

Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Aw @Marit-Anne0, it does sound like you have had quite a lot of experience with this. I have dimmer light switches in a couple of my rooms in my house including my living room, the major problem I have with them is that as soon as I dim them even slightly, I fall asleep! 🙂

 

I always find Google-ing for user manuals is always successful, when moving into a new home, I always find the heating a bit of a headache, each one is completely different and there is never a user manual. So, I alway search for user manuals online and I haven't had a problem yet!

 


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Thank you for the last 7 years, find out more in my Personal Update.


Looking to contact our Support Team, for details...take a look at the Community Help Guides.

@Lizzie

User manuals in English is no problem for products bought in the UK.  Finding user manuals in foreign languages for products bought in Norway is a different story, you will find then in Finnish or something even more useless.  Different countries stock different models, so finding correct or semi-correct user manuals require some serious detective work and sometimes they do not even exist. Same with products bought in France when 99% of the guests are German. Products bought at Ikea usually have the best variety of languages when it comes to user manuals.

Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Aw yeah, very true @Marit-Anne0. I have to confess I have never searched for a user manual in Norwegian or many other languages apart from English, I can imagine it does take some real detective work! 🙂 

 

It's a good thing to keep in mind though to retain all of the user manuals, you never know when they might come in handy. I wonder though if it is for a guest, whether a simple sign with a few relevant pointers would be easier. What do you think?

 

 


--------------------


Thank you for the last 7 years, find out more in my Personal Update.


Looking to contact our Support Team, for details...take a look at the Community Help Guides.

@Lizzie

Most Europeans get the picture because products are similar. "I have exactly the same washing machine at home" - big smile - from a Bulgarian lady. We show those others + instructions on how to do a load of washing in the manual folder. Many Asians are unfamiliar with dishwashers, so they do the washing up by hand. But they sure know how to operate the rice cooker without any instructions 🙂

Everything on a remote causes headache, so I have brief instructions in the info folder in English and French. 

J-Renato0
Level 10
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

@Lizzie

Interesting topic. I am still reluctant about smart technology. That kind of lock that allows the owner of the listing change its password remotely via wi-fi connection attracts my attentio. I think devides to control the airconditioner is interesting as well. Anyway, they are not my priorities so far. 

 

OFF TOPIC: It has not to do with this current topic, but I would like to offer a suggestion to open another topic. There is one kind of poll and discussion that I would like to see: (NetFlix + Youtube) Smart TV versus Cable TV (and paid satelite TV). If the majority of the hosts still consider that "cable tv" or "satelite tv" is still important, or if they notice that guests do not care anymore for the old cable+satelite tv ? 

Chris232
Level 10
Petersfield, United Kingdom

@J-Renato0

I have just signed up to Netflix and have it in all rooms.

I have received very positive feedback from all guests that its a very worthwhile extra.

In the UK its £9.99 per month for 4 TV's whch makes it 65p per week per TV ... which is superb value

I live a bit far from one of my units, so wifi locks are a must have. Its been much easier to manage.

 

On the cable topic, I use air antennas (free cable) and smart tvs in our units. We have a personal amazon prime account and sync it to all guests tvs for their viewing pleasure. They also can utilize netflix etc. if they have an account. Cable just isn't necessary (cuts down the bill), however still have to pay for the internet access.

Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Love your off-topic idea @J-Renato0. Would you mind starting a new topic, so we can go into more detail? 🙂

 

In terms of locks, I've now stayed in a few Airbnb's with remote locking systems. One I have to say was a little complex and I tried it out a few times whilst the host was there, so I didn't have to contact them about it. However, some are really easy to use and all you need to do is put the code in which can be changed each time a new guest enters. I recently stayed in a listing which has a code for a little lock box (just big enough to hold a key), this was really simple to use and then I had a key which worked like normal! I suppose you work out what best for you and your guests, one size doesn't necessarily fit all. 🙂


--------------------


Thank you for the last 7 years, find out more in my Personal Update.


Looking to contact our Support Team, for details...take a look at the Community Help Guides.

Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

  My place is as simple as can be, otherwise they get confused. There was one 'smart' feature I wired where you can turn on/off different lights from one location, it confused them so often I took it out.

   I am thinking of adding some drums and perhaps a way to make smoke signals for my guests to communicate with the mainland, to bypass having to worry about them having enough internet bandwidth.