How Safe Is Your Vacation Rental?

Do you have a safe vacation rental?

Think about it.

You’ve done all the work to get a booking for your beautiful vacation home, but is your guest’s stay really going to be care-free? Allow your guests to worry less and relax more by taking the necessary precautions to make sure your vacation rental property is safe and secure.

Protect yourself and make sure you are providing your renters a safe vacation rental using our Vacation Home Safety Check:

First Aid Kit

We know safety for your renters is essential, and that is why you should have a first aid kit available in your vacation home or condo for those unexpected minor emergencies.

You should have at least one first aid kit in your home, but if your property has four bedrooms or more, we recommend having at least two.

How long does a first aid kit last? If your first aid kit has never been opened, it is essential to note that the average shelf life for a first aid kit is 3-5 years. Make sure you check on the items regularly and replenish when necessary.

Pro tip: Your guest’s safety is important. Providing bottles of medicine that can be opened and closed by multiple travelers is not smart. Make sure if you are going to provide an amenity like this that you are providing one-use-only products for medicines/ointments.

Fire Extinguishers

Even if you do have a fire extinguisher, it is important to make sure it is in date.

How can you tell if a fire extinguisher needs to be serviced?

• If you see that it is damaged – Is the hose cracked, ripped, or blocked? Is the handle broken?
• Is the pressure gauge needle outside of the green zone?
• Is the anti-tamper seal broken or locking pin?

Gibson Beach Rentals strongly suggests all Owners enroll in our fire emergency plan where licensed professionals visit the property annually to inspect your extinguisher to ensure you are up to date.

Pro Tip: “Provide a sign where your fire extinguisher is so guests can easily locate it in the event of an emergency. No one wants to rummage through 25+ cabinets/closets and find the safety device needed in the last cabinet.”

Smoke Alarms

It is important to make sure your smoke alarms are working correctly and regularly maintained. Smoke detectors are used to warn you of potential fires, and they should be placed on the ceiling in various places around your home.

Where should smoke alarms be placed? You should have smoke detectors in each room of your home, such as bedrooms and living rooms. It is imperative to have a smoke detector in areas that we would consider to be high-risk like the kitchen, but you will want to avoid placing it in areas that give off a lot of steam, like bathrooms.

How often should you test your smoke alarms? We recommend checking and testing them once a month. If you do not live close to your vacation rental, ask your property management company, how often they are testing your smoke alarms so you can assure your safe vacation rental is being maintained.

Pro Tip: Smoke alarms have expiration dates. Make sure yours is up-to-date. Hint: if your smoke alarm is yellow/off-white, it’s probably old and needs to be replaced immediately.

Outdoor Lighting

When you think about the safety of your home, how often do you think about how effective the external lighting of your home is? We know it’s not something people typically think about, but the proper lighting on the outside of your home is essential to keeping a safe vacation rental property.

Making sure you have outdoor lighting in the proper places like on the side of your home and in front of a garage will allow your guests to feel safe and secure. We recommend illuminating any walking paths outside so guests can easily see to prevent them from tripping over any items that may be in their way or stumbling off into the pool by mistake.

Pro Tip: Leave a light on. While it seems every guest wants to check in early these days, there are some that arrive late. If your greeting to them is lights off, no one is home, it doesn’t create a happy, comforting welcome they may need when it’s pitch-black outside.

Secure Lock & Entry

Don’t let your travelers’ vacation get interrupted by uninvited guests. Even if you have an alarm system on your vacation rental, your property isn’t properly secure without having deadbolt locks on your doors.

Deadbolt locks or keyless entry with a deadbolt for the doors entering your property will play a huge role in making sure your property stays secure.

Why should you use a keyless entry lock? We recommend keyless entry locks with the deadbolt for the extra security because people automatically lock when you leave, and you can easily change the codes after each stay. You won’t have to worry about someone finding your not so hidden key outside.

Pro Tip: Ensure your balcony/patio locks work properly. Kids like to open doors and the last thing anyone needs is a phone call that a child got out because of a faulty lock.

We hope our Safety Check offers you a sense of comfort knowing your vacation property will be safe and secure for all your future travelers. Have any tips or recommendations for a safe vacation rental you’d like to see? Let us know in the comments below or contact us at Gibson Beach Rentals.

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Published by Tiffany Rowbatham
Friday, February 28, 2020