Top 5 safety tips for your holiday rental
Find out how you can improve your security and that of your guests
November 2024
Safety first! It’s a cliché —but for a very good reason. The last thing any holiday rental landlord wants is a guest having an accident. Keep everyone safe, secure, and happy by following these important home security tips whenever you rent out your holiday flat.
1: Test and inspect your safety systems regularly
Before you start to advertise your holiday home, you should already be familiar with the safety regulations in your region. It’s your job to ensure that your holiday home meets the required safety standards —or accidents could have disastrous consequences.
Inspect your systems regularly, at least as often as the local regulations require. That means a thorough inspection. Here are a few things that should be on your checklist:
- Test and clean your smoke detectors. Experts recommend cleaning them at least once every six months. You should also check them after each stay. Guests may open them up to pull the batteries out, leaving them non-functional.
- Check safety equipment. Ensure your fire extinguishers, fire blankets, and other safety equipment are all in easy-to-reach places.
- Clean your tumble dryer vent. If lint is allowed to build up, a tumble dryer can become a fire hazard. You don’t know how often guests are doing laundry.
- Sharpen your kitchen knives. Again, you don’t know how often guests are using them, and a dull blade is a serious hazard.
- Check your emergency exits. Make sure you provide a clear diagram of exit routes for guests to see.
- Check your first aid kit. This doesn’t need to be a full medicine cabinet. In fact, it’s best to avoid any over-the-counter medicines like aspirin, but you can include plasters, iodine, cotton wool and so on. You should check this kit after each stay in case a guest uses the equipment.
Never skip testing and inspecting. These steps may not be the most glamorous part of the job, but they’re vital holiday rental safety tips.
2: Use keyless entry
Smart locks are great for guest convenience, as they allow people to enjoy a contactless check-in. However, they’re also a superb tool if you want to know how to improve holiday rental safety.
There are some dangers associated with keys, which we don’t often think about. Former guests or maintenance staff may make copies of keys for unscrupulous purposes. Guests can also lose keys, and many landlords like to use a keyring with the name of the property. That’s good for advertising, but not so good if you want to improve the safety of your home.
Different kinds of keyless entry systems are available. If you replace a traditional lock and key with a keypad, make sure to change the code between guests. After all, the more people who know the code, the more likely it is that your property could suffer a break-in.
To add extra security and peace of mind, you might also want to add a ring doorbell to your property.
3: Childproof your property
When you advertise your property on a holiday rental portal, you might want to target families. They’re a great market, but if you want children to stay in your holiday home, it needs to be a safe environment for them.
When childproofing your holiday home, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- If you have bunk beds, make sure that the ladder is permanently attached and that the guardrail is secure.
- Consider attaching furniture to the walls. Young children often try to climb bookshelves and similar units, which can crash down on them.
- Make sure you have a fence with a gate around the pool, hot tub, and any other water features, such as a pond.
- Post a prominent pool safety sign and encourage the adults in the group to read it at check-in.
- Check the garden for hazards, such as stray hoses or thorny plants.
- Make sure any play equipment is in good condition. You should add this to your inspection routine.
If you’re a parent yourself, you probably have a decent idea of what childproofing entails. However, if you don’t have much contact with small children in your daily life, this can be a bit trickier. It’s worth asking a friend for help, especially if you plan to advertise specifically to families. A fully childproofed home isn’t just safe; it’s also a selling point that can help you attract more guests.
4: Don’t forget to inspect the garden
When you make a checklist to inspect your property, you might focus on the indoors. After all, you want to make sure that it meets fire, gas and electrical safety standards —and the biggest hazards are inside, right? Not necessarily. It’s also important to have a look at the outside of your property.
Check fences for signs of rot or damage. Have a look at trees, too. When you first plan to advertise your property on a holiday rental website, you might want to engage a tree surgeon to identify any potential hazards. If your property is in an area prone to storms or extreme weather patterns, you’ll need to inspect the outside regularly.
Keep an eye on outdoor pathways, too. Stairs in the garden can become hazardously slippery after rain, and loose paving stones can cause accidents. Test these features regularly and replace them when necessary. Putting up a warning sign about slippery pathways is also a good idea.
5: Take out holiday rental insurance
Here’s the big one. No matter how well-prepared you are, you may still face occasional home security problems. These are always a headache, but they’ll be a lot easier to take care of if you have the correct insurance.
When you first set up your business, take your time to find the best public liability insurance, contents insurance and buildings insurance in your area. Don’t rely on the limited coverage that some holiday rental platforms offer, as you may find it inadequate in the event of an accident.
Keep your insurance policies up to date. Regularly check that you’re meeting the correct standards for them, or you could be in for a nasty surprise if you need to make a claim. Remember, insurance isn’t just a nice bonus; it’s absolutely essential for anyone running a business.
If you’re really concerned about home security, you might also want to sign up for a guest screening tool. These programs can help identify potentially troublesome guests with problematic histories and add an extra layer of security when you rent out your property. The more preventative measures you can take, the better.