Many residential buildings, apartments, and condominiums prohibit short-term rentals, such as Airbnbs, due to the disruptions they can cause long-term residents. It can be difficult to pinpoint when a unit is being used for short-term rentals, which is where a high-quality residential security team is a benefit. Residential security guards help condominium building leaders monitor for unauthorized short-term rentals and collect evidence to be used in rule enforcement. In this blog, we’ll discuss the effect short-term rentals have on a residential building’s environment and how residential security guards can help respond to them.
What Problems Do Short-Term Rentals Create?
Short-term rentals (STRs) often create issues for the long-term residents of a building. Many STRs are rented by groups for parties, which can lead to noise violations and out-of-control behaviour within the building. STR guests may misuse amenities, causing inconveniences for residents as well as costly damages and maintenance fees. Buildings with STR units are more likely to experience increased physical damage in common areas, such as marks on walls, dents, broken doors and broken glass.
STR guests enter and exit residential buildings at a high frequency, often at night on weekends. This can lead to security issues as guests may leave doors open, or allow entry to unauthorized individuals.
Additionally, the presence of unfamiliar STR guests can prevent a building’s residential security team from effectively spotting trespassers. “Condominiums with a good security team can recognize regular residents and build a sense of community,” says Blackbird Security’s Organizational Development Manager, Erika Taijiri, “Airbnbs dilute the sense of community in a building and make it harder for security to identify suspicious people.”
What Signs of Short-Term Rentals Do Residential Security Guards Look For?
At Blackbird Security, our residential security guards are assigned to the same building day after day, allowing them to build relationships with residents and become familiar with resident and regular visitor schedules. In buildings that prohibit Airbnbs, residential security guards will actively monitor for signs of STRs by leveraging their knowledge of the building’s community. Here’s what they look for:
Monitoring Patterns of Visitors
While it’s typical for residential buildings to have visitors entering and exiting on a daily basis, STRs often experience a high turnover of guests. This means that new individuals, couples, or groups of visitors, who often carry luggage, will enter and exit the building once every few days. Security guards will monitor closely for patterns of new visitors, as well as potential cleaning staff who may enter the building after an STR visitor leaves.
CCTV Monitoring
Concierge security guards stationed at a building’s front desk will continuously monitor the building’s CCTV cameras in real time looking for guests who enter through a building’s back entrance or parkade.
Monitoring Guest Behaviour
As STRs are frequently used for parties, residential security guards will watch for unruly behaviour and late-night entry among unfamiliar guests, as well as misuse and damage of amenities.
Collecting Resident Input
Since residential security guards have a close relationship with their building’s community, residents will often approach them with concerns and complaints. Security guards will record any complaints of alleged unauthorized STRs for future reference.
How Security Guards Respond to Short-Term Rental Violations
If a residential security guard believes a unit within the building is being used as an STR, they may begin by collecting evidence from CCTV camera footage, visitor logs, and written reports. At Blackbird Security, our security guards use the industry-standard security reporting software TrackTik to make reports on suspicious behaviour, maintenance issues, and building damage. These reports are accessible in real-time by our clients and in-house team, allowing for full transparency and access in the event that evidence needs to be collected.
If unauthorized entry, doors left open, or excessive noise becomes a repeat problem within a building, residential security guards may post notices in the lobby reminding residents and guests of security best practices and rules.
Once the security guard has collected a suitable amount of evidence, they will contact the building’s strata council or point of contact. From there, the building’s leadership can present the alleged STR unit owner with the discovered evidence and take action as required.
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It’s critical that every resident follows a building’s rules in order to maintain a peaceful, comfortable, and safe environment for everyone, including obeying rules about short-term rentals. By employing a high-quality residential security team, condominium communities and leadership can enjoy peace of mind in knowing that their buildings are protected and supported across all areas of security.
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