Hotels & Airbnb

Short-stay hospitality has a specific set of problems: strangers arrive without you being there, they may not treat the property as their own, and you find out about a problem after they have left. Sensors change that from hindsight into notice.

We cover keyless check-in and codes that expire, smoke and noise detection, spotting an unauthorised gathering before it becomes a complaint, and the privacy rules that govern what you may legitimately monitor in a space someone has rented.

Articles in this category

1. Keyless check-in that works when you are not there

   Per-booking codes remove the handover, and introduce their own failure modes. Here is how to avoid the guest standing in the rain at eleven at night.

   6 min read · 1,407 words · Reviewed July 2026

2. Controls a guest can use in the dark, first time, with no instructions

   A stranger arrives at eleven at night in an unfamiliar building. Everything has to work first time. It is the opposite of how most people build for themselves.

   6 min read · 1,366 words · Reviewed September 2026

3. Energy when the guest has no incentive to save it

   The person using the energy is not the person paying for it, and they leave in three days. The strategy has to be built into the property rather than requested from the occupant.

   6 min read · 1,422 words · Reviewed September 2026

4. Smoke, carbon monoxide and detecting the guest who smokes indoors

   Compliant interlinked alarms protect the people in the building. A connected layer protects your property and your business. They are not the same thing.

   6 min read · 1,403 words · Reviewed September 2026

5. Noise monitoring and what you may legitimately measure in a rented space

   Measuring how loud a room is and recording what is said in it are entirely different things, legally and ethically. One is defensible; the other can end a listing.

   6 min read · 1,368 words · Reviewed July 2026

6. Extra guests, parties and why you must never hide a sensor

   Both worries are legitimate. The answer is corroboration between two or three disclosed signals — and concealment gains you nothing while risking everything.

   6 min read · 1,363 words · Reviewed June 2026

7. Cleaning and turnaround: the operational data that helps

   Guests forgive a dated kitchen. They do not forgive a missed bathroom. This is the least visible part of a short-let operation and the easiest to improve.

   6 min read · 1,448 words · Reviewed October 2026

8. Protecting a property between bookings

   The most expensive thing that happens to a short let happens when nobody is in it. This is the least glamorous technology in hospitality and comfortably the highest return.

   6 min read · 1,326 words · Reviewed July 2026