Is Your Inn Smart and Safe?

As an innkeeper, you have a vested interest in making sure your property is safe and secure. Naturally, you want to protect your guests, avoid costly damage, and other problems whenever possible.

Fortunately, advances in smart technology offer Bed & Breakfast owners a means to identify and address potential issues early when they are most manageable.

Common Types of Risk Mitigation Smart Technologies

Proactive Water Monitoring Technologies

It’s wise to invest in devices that monitor your Bed & Breakfast's plumbing system and identify vulnerabilities. To help reduce your chance of a leak, Flo by Moen can help detect them and control your property’s water at your fingertips. Leaks are common, and this type of technology can shut off your water at the main pipe and issue a notice through their smartphone app. For your peace of mind, they run daily diagnostics and health tests to ensure your Bed & Breakfast is leak-free. This can help you avoid costly water damage that could necessitate extensive and time-consuming repairs.

Smart Door Locks            

With smart door locks, you can lock and unlock your Inn’s doors from across town or across the world with just a few taps on your smartphone. This technology can also help you let in guests or cleaners by providing them a key code rather than a physical key. Ring is one popular device, although there are others. You can use smart locks on the exterior doors of your property and bedroom doors for guests.

A great way to save time, money, and the worry of your guests losing a key or even making a duplicate is using a smart lock. If your guests appear later in the evening and have lost their key, this is a game changer.

When you make the switch to a keyless entryway or fob, you are able to create temporary access codes for your guests. These access codes can be sent through text or contact information you provide when they arrive. During these times, a touch-free and contactless interaction is recommended, and smart locks can help enable that.

Not sure which smart lock is the right fit for you? Check out this article.

Smart Smoke Alarm

Having a smart smoke detector will send an alert to your smartphone in the event of an unforeseen emergency. Nest Protect takes detecting smoke to the next level. Its sensors can detect if someone is smoking in your smoke-free environment. Having one or more smoke and carbon monoxide detectors is crucial. Installing a smart smoke detector allows you to be alerted at the first sign of trouble. 

Smart Plugs

Guests will not unplug every appliance after they leave - space heaters, lights, etc. Smart plugs give you the opportunity to turn off the outlet once they check out. Smart plugs can provide you with peace of mind that everything has been turned off. They also give you the option to set your plugs on a timer.

Keep Your Bed & Breakfast Safe and "Smart"

These are just some of the technology solutions Inn owners now have available to help keep their properties safe. As innovation continues and the “Internet of things” grows, we will likely see more new exciting advances. 

Keeping your inn safe is one of the best things you can do to mitigate risks. Of course, you don’t need to invest in smart technologies to have a safe property. However doing so can give you – and your guests – valuable peace of mind. To learn more, contact CBIZ Innkeepers Insurance today.

Note: While we’ve mentioned several smart technology providers by name, this is not an endorsement of any of these companies. Smart home technology vendors’ names included here are intended solely as examples. If you are considering investing in technology solutions for your inn, investigate available options before choosing providers.

This blog may contain scenarios that are provided as examples only. Coverage is subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy issued. The information provided is general in nature and may be affected by changes in law or the interpretation of such laws. The reader is advised to contact a professional prior to taking any action based upon this information

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