Burglary protection for holiday apartments and houses

June 2025

Is your holiday rental safe from burglars? Opportunistic criminals can strike while your property is empty – or worse – when you’ve got guests staying. Find out the best ways to protect your holiday rental and ensure that you’ve got peace of mind.

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Why are holiday rentals at risk of burglary?

Of course, any property can be burgled, but holiday rentals present a particularly high risk. That’s because thieves know they stand empty for long periods of time, especially during the low season.

What’s more, burglars can easily identify a holiday rental. When you advertise holiday homes online, you are, unfortunately, also potentially attracting thieves. In some countries, such as Spain, landlords are also legally required to display a sign indicating that their property is a holiday rental. This can also be enticing to burglars.

Finally, you may not be anywhere near the holiday rental. As a holiday home owner, you might live far away, so you can’t react quickly in the event of an emergency. All of this means that your holiday home is at high risk, and it’s up to you to manage that risk by selecting the right security systems for you holiday rental.

How to defend your holiday property from burglars

Luckily, there are a number of precautions you can take to stop burglars. It’s generally a good idea to opt for more than one system. The more tools you have to ensure safety, the better. Here are some of the best methods of protection against burglary for your holiday home:

1. Use an alarm system

Let’s start with the basics: you need an alarm system for your holiday home. Nowadays, it’s easy to find security systems for holiday rentals that come with app integration. That means that no matter how far away you are, you’ll know if something happens at your property.

2. Light and motion detectors on the outside of your property

The benefits of light and motion directors are simple: they can put off burglars before any crime is attempted.

Most burglars will “case the joint” before they make their move. That often means coming back to your property on several different nights, making plans for their crime. If your holiday home is fitted with bright exterior lights that flick on when movement is detected, burglars will quickly give up.

Also consider installing a motion detector on the inside of your property. The most sophisticated of these have a wireless connection and will send an alert to your phone if motion is detected. That’s a great way to monitor your property while it’s empty.

3. Be careful with your online presence

Of course, if you want guests to come, you’ll have to list your property on various holiday rental portals, but there are a few steps you can take to keep it safe when you do this.

• Don’t list your exact address. Only give this information out when guests make a booking.
• Avoid showing photos that indicate your property’s precise location. This means no street signs or obvious landmarks, etc.
• Don’t post any photos of security features. That includes your locks or key safes.
• Don’t show a publicly viewable calendar of availability on your holiday rental website. If you do this, burglars can quickly see when your property will be empty.

These are all ways to protect your holiday rental while still maintaining that all-important online presence.

4. Keep an eye on your guests

You might not have thought about it, but burglars aren’t necessarily strangers dressed all in black. Unfortunately, they can even be one of your guests. Of course, the majority of guests simply want to enjoy their holiday in a respectful way, but there may be some with nefarious intentions. There are two ways that guests can steal from your property: firstly, during their stay and, secondly, by coming back at some point afterwards.

To prevent the former situation, consider using guest screening tools on holiday rental websites. These allow you to only rent your holiday flat to people who are considered safe.

To keep guests from returning to your property and burgling it, use a wireless locking system that requires a key code to enter. Reset the code after every guest. For convenience, it’s a good idea to set the code to the last four digits of the guest’s phone number or their year of birth. This an easy way to remind yourself to reset it every time. Between guests, reset the code to something different.

5. Don’t let people know your property is empty

At times, there is no one who wants to rent your house for holidays, and the property is left empty. These periods are when risk is at its highest, so it’s important to take cautionary steps.

You can use smart systems to control the lights in your holiday home, turning them on and off at different times to make it look like someone’s still at home. Some advanced systems will let you turn on the TV or radio sometimes, too, for a particularly strong effect.

For added security, forge strong relationships with your neighbours. They can help you out by keeping an eye on your property and letting you know if they see any kind of suspicious behaviour nearby. There may also be a neighbourhood watch scheme in your area that you can benefit from.

6. Install a smart doorbell

Smart doorbells are more and more common nowadays, and they’re a really handy tool for anyone who wants to stay safe. A smart doorbell has a camera integrated, so you can keep an eye on your property and see if anyone suspicious has been seen in the vicinity.

Furthermore, smart doorbells can act as a deterrent. Just the sight of one beside your front door can be enough to scare criminals away, as it indicates that you have safety in mind.

In addition to a smart doorbell, consider adding CCTV to the outside of your property. You’ll need to check local regulations, as it’s not permitted in some areas, but if your property is located in a place where it is legal, this is another effective way of scaring off would-be burglars. Just make sure you follow whatever local guidelines concerning the location and coverage of your cameras, and don’t invade your neighbours’ privacy.

When it comes to crime, prevention is always much better than cure. Following these strategies is a good way of keeping your property safe. Of course, remember that no system is completely infallible. You should always make sure you have the correct insurance policies in case the worst-case scenario happens. Keep an accurate, up-to-date inventory of your property so you know exactly what’s inside.

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