April 8, 2026
How to Secure a Vacation Home or Rental Property with Alarm.com
Vacation homes, second properties, and short-term rentals share a common problem: they sit empty most of the time. An unoccupied property is an easy target for break-ins, vandalism, and the kind of slow-moving disasters (burst pipes, failed furnaces) that go unnoticed until the damage is severe. Traditional security companies want long contracts and on-site technicians for installation, which doesn’t make much sense when the property is hours away and only occupied part of the year. Alarm.com solves this with a platform built around remote access, and Surety Home makes it affordable and contract-free.
Why Alarm.com Works So Well for Vacation Properties
Alarm.com was designed from the ground up for remote management. Everything runs through a single app: cameras, door locks, thermostats, sensors, and the alarm system itself. You don’t need to be at the property to see what’s happening, let someone in, adjust the temperature, or arm the system. For a vacation home or rental property owner, that kind of control from anywhere is exactly what’s needed.
Remote Video Monitoring
Alarm.com cameras let you view live and recorded video from your property at any time through the app. Between guest stays or during the off-season, motion-triggered alerts notify you when there’s activity at the property so you can confirm whether it’s the landscaper or something that needs attention. You don’t have to drive two hours to check on a notification. Pull up the camera, see what’s happening, and respond accordingly.
For rental hosts, exterior cameras at entry points provide accountability and a record of arrivals and departures. A quick note: Airbnb and VRBO both require hosts to disclose exterior cameras in their listings, and interior cameras in living spaces are prohibited on both platforms.
Smart Lock User Code Management
This is one of the most practical features Alarm.com offers for rental property owners. Compatible smart locks from IQ (Qolsys), Schlage, Kwikset, and Yale integrate directly with Alarm.com, allowing you to create unique access codes for every guest, cleaner, and property manager. Each code can be set to activate at check-in and expire automatically at checkout. No keys to hand off, no lockboxes, no risk of copies floating around.
When your cleaner arrives Tuesday morning, they use their own code. When your guests check in Friday afternoon, they use theirs. When the reservation ends Sunday, the guest code stops working automatically. You manage all of this from the app without being anywhere near the property. If a guest loses their code or you need to grant emergency access to a plumber, you can create or change codes in seconds from your phone.
Automation Rules and Schedules
Alarm.com’s automation engine ties your devices together in ways that save energy, improve security, and reduce the number of things you have to remember to do manually.
Set the thermostat to an energy-saving temperature when the property is vacant and program it to return to a comfortable setting the day before guests arrive. Automate lights to turn on and off on a schedule during vacancies so the property doesn’t look empty from the street. When a guest checks out (or when a scheduled checkout time passes), the system can arm itself automatically. When the next guest enters their code at the front door, the system disarms. These rules run in the background and eliminate the kind of manual tasks that are easy to forget when you’re managing a property remotely.
Professional Monitoring Around the Clock
Professional monitoring is especially important for properties that sit empty for extended periods. A self-monitored system sends you a push notification when something happens, but if you’re asleep, on a flight, or simply not looking at your phone, that notification goes unanswered. With professional monitoring, a central station staffed 24/7 receives the alert and responds on your behalf: verifying the alarm, contacting you, and dispatching emergency services if needed.
This covers burglary, fire, smoke, carbon monoxide, and flood alerts. For a vacation home that might be unoccupied for weeks at a time, the difference between a monitored and unmonitored system can be the difference between a minor incident and a catastrophe. Surety professional monitoring plans start at $19 to $29 per month with no contract required.
Water and Environmental Sensors
Water damage is one of the most expensive and most preventable problems for vacation homeowners. A small leak under the kitchen sink or a slow drip from the water heater can cause thousands of dollars in damage if nobody is there to notice it for days or weeks.
Alarm.com water and flood sensors detect moisture the moment it appears and send an alert through the app (and to the monitoring station if you’re on a plan that includes environmental monitoring). Freeze sensors monitor temperature and alert you if the heat fails during winter, which is critical for unoccupied homes in cold climates where frozen pipes can burst and flood the entire property. These sensors are inexpensive, easy to install, and arguably the highest-ROI addition you can make to a vacation home security setup.
Video Doorbells
Alarm.com video doorbells let you see and speak to anyone at the front door from your phone, no matter where you are. When a delivery driver shows up, you can confirm the drop-off. When guests arrive early and the property isn’t ready, you can communicate directly. When someone unexpected shows up at an empty property, you know immediately.
Package theft is a real concern at vacation homes where deliveries may sit on a porch for days before anyone picks them up. A video doorbell with Alarm.com’s package & persaon detection provides a clear record of who came to the door and when.
Practical Recommendations for Short-Term Rental Hosts
If you’re hosting on Airbnb or VRBO and want to set up a system that handles most of the logistics automatically, here’s a straightforward starting point. Install a smart lock with Alarm.com integration on the front door and create a unique code for each reservation with automatic expiration at checkout. Place cameras at exterior entry points (never inside living spaces) for accountability and security. Use automation rules to arm the system between stays and disarm when a valid guest code is used. Add a water sensor under the kitchen sink, near the water heater, and anywhere else a leak could go undetected. Set the thermostat to an energy-saving mode during vacancies with a rule to adjust it before guest arrivals.
This combination covers access management, security, environmental protection, and energy savings, all managed remotely through one app.
Why Surety Home for Your Vacation Property
Surety Home gives you the full Alarm.com platform at a fraction of what traditional security companies charge. There are no long-term contracts, which is ideal for vacation property owners who don’t want to be locked into a multi-year agreement on a seasonal home. Installation is DIY, so you don’t need to coordinate a technician visit at a property that might be hours away. Monitoring plans range from $19 to $29 per month and include the same Alarm.com app, the same professional monitoring, and the same device support that the big companies offer at two to three times the price.
Whether it’s a beach house you visit in the summer, a cabin you rent on Airbnb, or a second home you want to keep an eye on year-round, Alarm.com through Surety Home is the most practical and affordable way to secure it. Visit suretyhome.com to get started or check out our monitoring plans to find the right fit for your property.