Villa Security

[wrightbuxton]

Can I ask re: villa alarms, is it normal practise for the system to be turned off for the guests but in operation in between guest stays?
I know over the years we have been visiting Florida there have been occasions when guests have accidentally set off alarms and the local Sheriff has had to come out to the property, but has it become such a problem that MCs suggest that renters can't have the benefit of the alarm system? This is what has been suggested to us by the owners of the villa we are renting

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

Absolutely not. The alarm should be there for all to use - what's the point in having it if it's not used. I wonder if my insurance company would cover us if we told guests this and then we were unfortunate enough to have a break-in. I would imagine they would use it to wriggle out of paying up.

I think every owner has had a time when a guest accidentally sets the alarm off, but if you have let your guest know the procedure for what to do if this happens in advance it's rarely a problem and is unlikely to lead to a visit by the Sheriff.

[SteveandJan]

I would agree with John. Our villa has an alarm and we ask guests to use it when they stay.

[christhear]

My original Mc's would not allow the guests to have the alarm set so disabled it just prior to their arrival. I found this totally unacceptable hence they are now my ex Mc's.
I issue my guests with their codes prior to each stay. I only let them know how to fully set the alarm, I don't bother with all the options of doors only etc. I ask that the alarm is set every time they leave the property. I do point out that a certain number of false alarms could result in any charges being deducted from their security deposit

[spaners]

When we accidentally set the alarm off in our rented villa the alarm company phoned us up and we just gave them the password
that was in our welcome pack.saved us a visit from the sheriff

On our last visit in 2010 our villa had no alarm fitted and we were broken into on our last night
I would only book a villa with alarm now.

[Lizb]

In our T&C we state the alarm has to be set every-time the guests leave the home throughout their stay.

I have heard of this before, but really don`t understand why an owner would pay the monthly monitoring fee, and ask their guests not to use it!!!

[jimiansville]

We have an alarm and also have it in our booking conditions that guests set it every time they leave the villa. This is for the protection of guest's property as well as the villa. I can see no point in having an alarm and not having it set.

[Mutbeav8]

We arrived yesterday and this morning left the house at 545 and I set the alarm and must have pressed something wrong as there is no imformation in the welcome pack whatsoever. The phone then rang asking for a pass code which I didn't know so I hung up set the alarm again and we all went out for breakfast. On the way thought it was strange to see a sheriffs vehicle an ambulance and a fire engine lights blazing at that time in the morning. I said as a joke to the wife bet that's going to our villa little knowing later on that it was and which I was told they almost broke the door down thinking there was someone inside in distress. So could have been in trouble 24 hours in

[SDJ]

We have an alarm and also have it in our booking conditions that guests set it every time they leave the villa. This is for the protection of guest's property as well as the villa. I can see no point in having an alarm and not having it set.

Absolutely agree and we do exactly the same.

[Bazamor]

We also instruct our guests to set the alarm when leaving the property or their insurance will be invalidated if we got robbed. Its easy to do and they are armed with the code and the password as its monitored by ASL. My wife set off the fire alarm once cooking(burning) steak and despite a speedy cancellation the fire department were there in minutes.Why pay for monitoring if its off? My MC is first responder and ASL call him if it goes off.