Whether you have guests arriving for a dinner party or an extended holiday stay, smart home automation can enhance the experience for you and your guests.

When you invite family and friends to your home, you naturally want to provide the best possible experience for them. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it was easier for you to do so? Smart home automation is the answer.

1. Lighting

One of the most common items for hosts to automate is lighting, and for good reason. When you connect your hallway and stairway lighting to smart home motion sensors, guests will no longer have to stumble their way to the bathroom. Have a guest with mobility issues? You can adjust the duration the lights stay on when activated.

Is that bathroom hallway flooded with light during the day? It’s easy to set a schedule that perfectly suits your home. For example, schedule the lighting to be activated when someone walks down the hall only from 30 minutes before sunset to an hour after sunrise.

You could also use motion activated lighting in the bathroom itself. However, you certainly don’t want the lights turning off at an inopportune time! A better solution is an occupancy sensor. There are several types of occupancy sensors using various sensing methods. One is sure to be the right solution for you.

Don’t forget to automate your exterior lighting to welcome your guests. Ambient driveway and porch lighting provides an inviting look to your home, but you can also add more specific pathway and doorway lighting that activates as your guests approach.

Since we’re exploring holiday hosting solutions, remember that your smart home hub can easily control all your connected holiday décor, from individual strings of lights to setting an entire scene in your entertaining space.

2. Locks

Granting guest access to your home has traditionally required you to have extra door keys cut, then meet the guest in person to hand them a key. You also needed to make sure all the extra keys were accounted for and returned at the end of the visit, something that has always been prone to falling through the cracks. How many extra keys to your home are floating around out there somewhere? This is all made so much easier by using smart locks connected to your smart home automation system.

With smart locks, you are able to grant access for a single entry, a weeklong visit, or permanently, all with a simple code that you can text, email or otherwise communicate to your guest. It’s also super easy to set schedules that automatically deny access after the stay ends, or only allow access on a certain day within certain hours (think how nice this would be for letting the caterers or florist in while you’re picking up a last minute gift!). You can also remotely unlock the door for your guest if needed.

Along with allowing entry, smart locks can also be used to control access to areas of your home where you don’t want guests to stray. Need to prevent small children from wandering into the hot tub area, or elderly guests from stumbling down the basement stairway? Smart locks are the answer.

3. Temperature Control

You want your guests to be comfortable while enjoying their time with you. Smart thermostats are a great way to add extra convenience and personalization for your guests. Consider adding a voice assistant, so your guest doesn’t need to learn a whole new system to control the bedroom temperature.

With just a few considerations, your holiday hosting can be much more enjoyable for both you and your guests!

Does this all seem complicated? Let Zeus Integrated Systems help. We are a leader in smart home automation design, planning, installation and maintenance. Call today to get started make hosting anytime of year easier than ever. (800) 878-9705