August Home, HomeAway partner on keyless access for vacation rentals

By Lulu Chang April 18, 2017

August Smart Lock — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Awkward interactions with your vacation home rental’s owners may soon be a thing of the past — at least, insofar as getting keys from them is concerned. Thanks to a new partnership between smart lock provider August Home and vacation rental platform HomeAway, hosts and guests can easily (but securely) access their homes using an August Smart Lock and August Smart Keypad.

No longer will you have to find the neighbor to get the key to get inside — rather, just receive a secure PIN once you’ve made a reservation through HomeAway, and spend your vacation worrying about what drink you’re going to have next, rather than wondering if your keys fell out of your pocket on your last swim.

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“Our partnership with HomeAway puts an end to leaving keys under the doormat, lost keys and coordinating key exchanges with guests,” said Jason Johnson, CEO of August Home Inc. “We’ve focused on the Smart Lock and Smart Keypad to offer the most convenient and simple way for guests to access any property. All guests need is the PIN code, that is automatically sent to them in the HomeAway app, to enter the property. This simplifies managing the rental process for both hosts and guests.”

According to a recent August Home survey, 80 percent of savvy vacation guests of the 21st century say they’re more likely to complete a rental reservation with a property featuring smart home technology. And more telling still, 60 percent of guests are actually willing to pay more for a home with a smart home feature.

August makes having a smart home a no-brainer, as hosts need only create an August account, then connect if with the HomeAway.com host page. From there, hosts simply generate a PIN code that will appear in their HomeAway Owner Dashboard for each guest reservation, and guests will receive a notification to let them know that they have access to the property they reserved via a Smart Keypad PIN code in the HomeAway Guest app. Once the guest leaves, the PIN expires.

So the next time you go on vacation, you may want to consider finding a HomeAway rental featuring August Home’s smartlocks. After all, how else are you supposed to fully relax?

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Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…

Smart Home

5 reasons to use Android 11’s quick access smart home controls

Pixel 4 running Android 11 beta

The smart home is always evolving, so while it may seem like there’s a level of complexity with gadgets communicating with each other and various services, Android 11 is here to simplify things. Now that Android 11 has rolled out to various Pixel devices, we’re getting more of an intimate look at how we’re able to access our connected devices in the home. We've already seen how Apple has tweaked its HomeKit smart home controls with the rollout of iOS 14, so now it's Google's turn. Simplification to a connected home, that’s the most notable aspect of this latest experience on Android -- so here are five reasons to use Android 11’s new smart home controls.
Quick controls with a long press

Previously, performing commands or accessing controls were achieved by either asking Google Assistant or running the Home app. With Android 11, however, it’s been simplified substantially to provide us with instant controls by just long pressing the power button. All of your selected smart home gadgets are then populated in this new interface, which can then be controlled. From turning on the lights in the living room, to running your robot vacuum for a cleaning, these quick access controls make it simple and easy to do.
Security before actions
As we mentioned previously, the quick access controls can be launched at any time by pressing the power button -- including while on the lock screen. Thankfully there’s still an added layer of security in place that prevents anyone who picks up your phone from interacting with your connected devices. Even though the quick access menu pops up while the phone is locked, it still requires you to bypass the lock screen with your password/authentication method. Meaning, even if you lose or misplace your phone, a stranger can’t mess around with the lights at your home without unlocking it first.
Peek at your camera

Smart Home

August and Yale smart locks gain added security with biometric verification

august and yale can now use biometric verification smart lock security features

A security system is only as strong as its weakest link, and in many connected systems, the weak link lies in the mobile device. If your phone has an easy-to-guess passcode (or worse, no passcode at all), anyone that gets their hands on it can unlock your smart lock, if you have no further protections. On Tuesday, August 24, August and Yale announced a plan to add an optional, additional layer of security to its smart systems through biometric verification using the built-in tools on your smartphone.

Users that opt in to this “Secure Remote Access” feature will need to provide their fingerprint or submit to facial recognition before they are able to unlock or lock their doors remotely. This means that even if someone gets their hands on your mobile device, they won’t be able to use it to gain access to your home.

Deals

Amazon’s Cyber Monday deals for August Home smart locks are tough to pass up

Smart locks don't come cheap. Most of the notable ones fetch for at least $100 when they're new, so when something comes around that discounts the price to nearly half the cost, it's not to pass up! For Cyber Monday, Amazon has several deals going on for various smart home gadgets, but the deals for a couple of August Home smart locks
are outstanding when you consider they're discounted by more than 50%.

Those looking to upgrade to a smart lock, Amazon slashed the price of the August Home Lock (third generation) down to $55 for Cyber Monday. That's a steep discount considering that it normally sells for $150. Whereas most smart locks look bulky and require homeowners to completely replace the deadbolt and lock, the August Home Lock simply goes over your existing deadbolt and you get to keep your lock and keys. At $55, it's a steal because you can now unlock/lock your door using your smartphone. However, you will need to purchase the Wi-Fi bridge if you intend on remotely accessing it and plan to integrate it with other third-party devices.