Door Hardware for an AirBnB

Sharing easy switches for door hardware for an AirBnB. We’re considering getting started with vacation rentals, so we’re making some upgrades in preparation at the advice of my Dad- an AirBnB Superhost! Door hardware is one of the things you’ll need to consider- today I’m sharing 2 types of locks you’ll want to look into!

Shane and I have been chatting about taking longer vacations as the kids get older and after hearing many friends and family members are renting their homes on AirBnB when they travel- we decided to look into what it would take! I sat down with my dad who’s an AirBnB Superhost and asked what things we should consider doing before we start. The first thing he said? Door locks. So today that’s what I’m chatting about- door hardware for an AirBnB! 

I’m excited to be partnering with Schlage Canada to share the two types of door hardware that you’ll want to consider if you’re planning to rent your home or income property out as a vacation rental. I LOVE Schlage products. It’s what we put in our home before I was ever able to partner with them. Their door hardware is beautiful but also great quality. These two upgrades that I’m chatting about give functionality for an AirBnB property but don’t sacrifice the beauty. They will do exactly what you need them to do but won’t look out of place in a family home either. 

The first type of door hardware (perhaps the most obvious!) is the front door lock and handle set. While any kind of door hardware is possible for an AirBnB- I’m going to suggest a smart lock that you can program remotely with temporary codes. I’ve stayed in AirBnBs that use keys and codes and codes are so nice so that you don’t need to coordinate meeting up with the host- travel is never predictable!

My dad had been using an older Schlage lock with programmable codes but it was before wifi enabled locks were a thing. He had to physically go to the property to enable and disable codes. This works totally fine, but if you’re not able to get to the property at checkout time (say you don’t need to clean it until the following day and you’re out living your best life), the guest would have access to the property until you physically go and revoke access. 

We’ve upgraded his property to the Schlage Encode with the Century Handleset (the same handle we have– it’s so darn pretty!) and now he can program codes from his own home at the time of booking. While we love our smart lock for temporary access for contractors working on our home- it’s also amazing to allow guests access for only the days/times of their stay. You can program a code to start at 3pm the day of the guests booking and stop working ta 12 noon on their departure. That way, even if you aren’t on site, you can be sure they will not have access after their stay. 

I have a tutorial on how to actually install one of these right here.

If they are running late, you can easily adjust the time on your phone for them or if they forget something after their code has expired, you can remotely allow access using the Schlage app. 

Additionally- this is something we love, you can see which codes are accessing your door. You can set it up to get a notification every time a code is used on your door so you can see when guests arrive. This will allow you to send a welcome message if you like but also to know if a guest is running late so you can follow up with them. 

Okay- moving on to the interior! The other type of door hardware that you’ll need to consider is locks. In any home, you’ll want to choose which rooms or spaces you allow access to and lock off ones you’d like to keep guests out of. This could be storage rooms, exercise rooms, unfinished spaces, offices with important files, closets… you get to decide. 

In the AirBnBs we’ve stayed at over the years, we’ve seen deadbolts, gym locks, and keyed locks. My favourite is keyed locks. They look like normal door knobs unless you get close which is great if how things look is important to you and they’re more secure than the pin interior door locks.

We have the matte black Bowery knobs by Schlage through our entire home and love the sleek modern look of them. I wrote a whole post about the different kinds of doorknobs we use in our home right here if you’re interested. I was excited that they also come in a keyed variety, so we’re switching out some of our storage rooms and my office to these. 

Alright… that’s the two! I hope that this was helpful for you if you’re considering becoming an AirBnB host. I know I’d never sat down to think about what door hardware for an airbnb I would need and I would want to lock up… or how I would best provide access before this conversation with my dad. 

If we do end up going this route- would you want to hear more about it? Let me know!