# RentalHelm — Full Product Reference > RentalHelm is vacation rental automation software that gives property owners fingertip control over smart locks, pool & spa equipment, thermostats, and guest access — from anywhere in the world, from a single cloud dashboard. Website: https://rentalhelm.com Register: https://rentalhelm.com/register Interactive Demo: https://rentalhelm.com/app/login (click "Try Demo" — no signup required) Contact: https://rentalhelm.com/contact-us Status: Currently in free public beta — no credit card required. --- ## What RentalHelm Is RentalHelm is a **hardware automation layer** for short-term rental (STR) property owners. It connects your Z-Wave smart locks, pool/spa equipment, and thermostats to a cloud dashboard and automates everything around your bookings. When a guest books, their unique door code is automatically programmed to every assigned lock before check-in and removed immediately at checkout. If you have a pool, heat can turn on at arrival and off at departure. Freeze protection monitors the weather forecast and runs your pump continuously if freezing temperatures are predicted. Smart alerts notify you by email for low battery, power outages, or doors left unlocked. Thermostat control lets you manage HVAC remotely from the same dashboard. Everything runs through **Home Assistant** — an open-source local automation platform — which RentalHelm connects to via a secure cloud tunnel (Nabu Casa). Your automation hub is yours. No proprietary hardware required. --- ## What RentalHelm Is NOT **RentalHelm is not a Property Management System (PMS).** It does not handle reservations, payments, guest communication, or channel distribution. It is a hardware automation layer that works alongside your existing PMS (OwnerRez, Ciirus, Lodgify, etc.). The PMS handles the guest and booking side; RentalHelm handles the physical property side. RentalHelm is not a smart home platform. It is purpose-built for vacation rental operations: guest codes, pool management, and remote property control. --- ## Key Differentiators - **No proprietary hardware** — works with any Z-Wave lock, any Home Assistant-compatible pool controller, any thermostat - **Open platform** — built on Home Assistant; your local automation hub is yours, not rented from a vendor - **Fraction of PointCentral cost** — free during beta; planned $9.99/month at launch vs. $25–60+/month for Alarm.com PointCentral - **Instant-loading dashboard** — all device states load asynchronously; the UI never blocks on slow or unresponsive hardware - **Works alongside your PMS** — not a replacement; deepens what your PMS already does by automating the physical property - **Interactive demo** — explore the full product with realistic sample data without hardware or account setup --- ## Integrations **PMS (Property Management Systems):** - OwnerRez — live booking sync every 30 minutes - Ciirus — supported - Lodgify — supported - Airbnb direct integration — coming soon - PMS is entirely optional; all features work without one **Smart Locks:** - Yale (Assure, Real Living series) - Schlage (Connect, Encode series with Z-Wave module) - Kwikset (SmartCode series with Z-Wave module) - Any Z-Wave lock supported by Home Assistant Z-Wave JS **Pool Equipment:** - Pentair IntelliCenter (and IntelliTouch with RS-485 adapter) - Any pool heater or pump controllable as a Home Assistant climate or switch entity **Thermostats:** - Any Z-Wave or Wi-Fi thermostat exposed as a Home Assistant climate entity - Ecobee, Honeywell, Nest (via Home Assistant integrations), and Z-Wave thermostats all supported **Hub Hardware:** - Home Assistant Green (recommended — plug-and-play) - Home Assistant Yellow - Raspberry Pi running Home Assistant OS - Any device running Home Assistant OS or Supervised with a Z-Wave USB device **Required Cloud Services:** - Nabu Casa ($6.50/month) — provides a secure HTTPS URL for remote access to Home Assistant; required for RentalHelm to function remotely - Open-Meteo (free, no API key) — hourly weather forecast used for freeze protection **Email:** - Resend transactional email — HTML branded templates for all alerts and automations --- ## Target Audience RentalHelm is built for: - **Self-managing STR owners** with one or more vacation rental properties - **Remote property owners** who need fingertip control of locks, pool, and climate from anywhere - **Alarm.com / PointCentral switchers** who want the same capabilities at a fraction of the cost with no proprietary lock-in - **Tech-forward owners** who already use Home Assistant or want to - **Multi-property managers** who need a single dashboard across multiple rentals --- ## Common Use Cases - "Programme a unique door code for every new guest booking automatically" → Smart Guest Access Control + PMS Sync - "Remove a guest's code immediately at checkout" → Automatic checkout code removal - "Turn pool heat on when guests arrive and off when they leave" → Pool Heat for Guests automation - "Run the pool pump continuously when a freeze is forecast" → Freeze Protection - "Lock the front door automatically if left unlocked for 10 minutes" → Door Auto-Lock automation - "Get an email when any lock battery drops below 20%" → Low Battery Alert - "Give my cleaner access without a permanent key" → Access Profiles + User Manager - "Control the AC remotely before guests arrive" → Thermostat Control - "See a history of who unlocked which door and when" → Activity Logs - "Manage my three vacation rentals from one dashboard" → Multi-property --- ## Interactive Demo RentalHelm offers a fully interactive demo — no account or credit card required. Click "Try Demo" on the homepage or login page to explore the complete dashboard with realistic sample data: active bookings, live-simulated lock states, pool controls, thermostat cards, activity logs, and automation settings. All controls are functional in the demo (lock/unlock, pool heat, thermostat adjustments) so you can experience the full product before committing to any setup. Demo URL: https://rentalhelm.com/app/login (click "Try Demo") --- ## Main Dashboard The dashboard is the property control centre. It shows at a glance: - **Active and upcoming guests** — names, check-in/checkout times, access profile, and booking status for the next 14 days - **Live lock status** — each lock shown as Locked / Unlocked / Unknown with colour coding - **Locks online count** — how many locks are currently responding via Z-Wave - **Pool temperature** — current water temperature and heater on/off state - **Hub status** — Home Assistant online/offline, software version, and last-checked time - **Thermostat cards** — current and target temperature with one-tap HVAC mode buttons for every mapped thermostat - **Stat cards** — active guests, locks online, pool temp, and hub status all visible without scrolling All device states (locks, pool, thermostats) load asynchronously after the page renders, so the dashboard appears instantly even if hardware devices are slow or temporarily unresponsive. --- ## Core Features ### 1. Smart Guest Access Control Every guest receives a unique 4-digit PIN code that is programmed directly to Z-Wave lock hardware before check-in and automatically removed at checkout. No manual action is required. - Unique PIN codes per guest, auto-expiring at checkout - Permanent access codes for cleaners, property managers, and family - Access profiles — assign a group of locks to a role (e.g. "Cleaner") with one click - Works across all Z-Wave smart locks simultaneously - Manual guest entry always available — no PMS required - Guests can be assigned specific locks without an access profile - Check-in and check-out times are adjustable per booking after creation - Code programming status visible per lock per guest (programmed / pending / failed) - Failed code programming is retried automatically on the next scheduler run ### 2. Automatic PMS Sync RentalHelm connects directly to your Property Management System and imports bookings automatically. Guest door codes are created, assigned, and deleted around every booking without any action from the owner. Currently supported PMS platforms: - **OwnerRez** — live booking sync every 30 minutes - **Ciirus** — supported - **Lodgify** — supported Coming soon: - Airbnb direct integration - Additional PMS platforms based on community demand PMS sync is completely optional. Property owners without a PMS can add guests manually in seconds — every feature works identically. The PMS simply automates guest import. Additional PMS sync capabilities: - Guest codes are programmed to lock hardware in advance of check-in time - Booking tags from the PMS can trigger pool heating automations - Check-in and check-out time changes sync automatically and update scheduled jobs - Past bookings are never re-imported once checkout has elapsed - Sync status and last-sync timestamp visible in the Integrations settings panel ### 3. Lock Manager A central view of every Z-Wave smart lock on the property. - **Live state** — Locked / Unlocked / Unknown, updated asynchronously after page load - **Live battery percentage** — colour-coded warning levels (green ≥ 50%, amber ≥ 20%, red < 20%) - **Remote lock/unlock** — lock or unlock any door instantly from the dashboard with a confirmation prompt - **Refresh connection** — tests the HA connection for a specific lock and simultaneously refreshes its battery reading - **Wipe all codes** — removes every user code from a lock's hardware slots in a background job; useful when switching between long-term and short-term rental or after a security incident - **Code slot configuration** — set minimum and maximum user code slots per lock to match the physical hardware - **HA entity status** — shows whether Home Assistant is currently reporting the lock as online and when it was last tested - **Battery sensor mapping** — RentalHelm auto-detects the battery sensor for most locks; can be manually overridden if needed - **Z-Wave node ID** — displayed for technical users and installers - **Lock naming** — display names are editable inline; changes reflected everywhere in the app immediately - **Low battery alerts** — email notification when battery drops below your configured threshold Battery levels are refreshed automatically on every page load of the Lock Manager and whenever the Refresh Connection button is clicked. Battery is also refreshed daily by the background scheduler. ### 4. Pool & Spa Management Full remote control of pool and spa equipment via Home Assistant and compatible pool controllers. - Turn pool heat ON/OFF and set target pool water temperature from anywhere - Spa / hot tub target temperature control (independent of pool setpoint) - Filter pump ON/OFF with manual override protection — turning the pump off manually prevents the schedule from restarting it for the remainder of the current window or for 4 hours in continuous mode - Filter pump scheduling — set a single daily start/end time or configure different times per day of the week - **Freeze protection** — monitors the 18-hour Open-Meteo weather forecast every hour; if temperatures are forecast to drop below your chosen threshold (default 37°F), the pump automatically switches to continuous mode until temperatures recover - Freeze protection deactivates automatically 18 hours after activation and reverts to the normal pump schedule - **Filter auto-restart** — detects if the pump switches off mid-schedule (e.g. after a power cut) and restarts it automatically, sending an alert email - 90-day pool temperature history with an interactive hourly temperature chart - Pool page loads instantly; live temperature and pump state are fetched from HA asynchronously ### 5. Thermostat Control Manage every climate entity (HVAC unit, room thermostat, zone controller) at your property from the dashboard. - One thermostat card per mapped climate entity — add as many as needed - Displays current room temperature and target setpoint - One-tap HVAC mode buttons: Heat / Cool / Auto / Off - ± 1°F setpoint adjustment buttons directly on the card - Mode and temperature changes take effect immediately in Home Assistant - Thermostats are mapped by selecting from the auto-discovered list of Home Assistant climate entities - Pool climate entity is automatically excluded from thermostat selection to prevent accidental mapping - Already-mapped entities are excluded from the add-thermostat dropdown to prevent duplicates - Display names are customisable per thermostat card - Cards can be reordered and removed independently **Coming soon — AI Thermostat Rules:** Automatic temperature scheduling based on guest arrivals and departures. Pre-cool or pre-heat before check-in, return to energy-saving mode at checkout. ### 6. Automations & Smart Alerts Build rules that react to your bookings, the weather, and your schedule. Every automation sends a customisable email notification. Current automations: - **Pool Heat for Guests** — turns pool heat ON at guest check-in time and OFF at checkout, triggered by a booking tag in the PMS - **Freeze Protection** — monitors hourly weather forecast and runs pool pump continuously when temperatures drop below a set threshold - **Door Auto-Lock** — automatically locks a door that has been left unlocked for longer than a configurable duration; sends an optional alert email - **Filter Auto-Restart** — detects pump failure mid-schedule and restarts automatically with email alert Smart Alerts (event-triggered email notifications): - Low battery alert — email when any lock drops below your configured threshold - Power outage alert — email when the pool pump goes offline unexpectedly - Hub offline alert — email when Home Assistant is unreachable for an extended period Upcoming automations: - **Auto AC Shutdown** — turns off air conditioning when a door or window has been left open for longer than a set time; AC returns to previous setting when the door closes All automations and alerts include: - An Edit button to adjust thresholds, timing, and subject line - A rich-text email body editor (Quill WYSIWYG) with pre-written templates - Toggle to enable/disable without deleting the automation ### 7. User Manager & Team Access Invite your property manager, pool technician, handyman, or family members to the dashboard with granular permissions. - Invite anyone via email — secure 24-hour invitation link sent automatically - Granular permissions per feature: Dashboard, Pool, Access Control, Reports, Settings, Locks, and more - Revoke access instantly with one click; previously programmed lock codes are automatically cleared - Invited users can set their own display name for the property (only they see it, the owner is unaffected) - Re-enable previously revoked access without re-inviting - Role-based design supports cleaners, managers, co-owners, and installers independently - Installer role has additional access to lock configuration and Z-Wave node settings ### 8. Activity Logs A complete audit trail of every event at your property. Events logged include: - Guest check-in and check-out events - Door lock and unlock actions (manual, remote, and keypad) - Lock code programming and removal (per lock, per guest) - Pool heat and pump changes (who changed it, when, and from where) - Freeze protection activations and deactivations - Automation triggers and outcomes - User access grants and revocations - PMS sync results and errors - Hub connectivity test results Log entries include: timestamp, category, action, description, actor (user or system), and property context. Logs can be cleared by time period (last 30, 60, or 90 days, or all). ### 9. Reports Built-in reports give property owners visibility into pool health and booking schedules. - **Pool Temperature History** — interactive chart showing hourly pool temperature readings over 90 days; useful for verifying that pool heat was active for guest stays and for identifying equipment issues - **Booking Schedule** — calendar and list view of all bookings across the property, useful for planning maintenance windows and owner stays - **Activity Log export** — access logs can be filtered by date and category --- ## Hub Status Monitoring RentalHelm continuously monitors the health of your Home Assistant hub: - Live Hub Status card on the dashboard showing Online / Offline - Hub software version displayed (e.g. 2026.4.1) - Last-checked timestamp updated every hour by the background heartbeat checker - Automatic email alert if the hub goes offline for an extended period - Hub connection can be manually tested at any time from the Integrations settings page - If the hub is unreachable, the dashboard still loads instantly — device state cards show "unknown" gracefully rather than hanging --- ## Multi-Property Management RentalHelm supports any number of properties under a single account. - Switch between properties with a single click using the property switcher in the sidebar - Each property has its own Home Assistant connection, locks, guests, pool settings, thermostats, users, and automations - Property timezone is configurable — all schedules, check-in/out times, and reports display in local property time regardless of where the owner is located - Properties can be created, named, and configured independently - Shared access users see only the properties they have been explicitly invited to --- ## How It Works — Setup Overview RentalHelm requires two pieces of hardware at the property: 1. **Home Assistant Green** (or any Home Assistant-compatible hub) — the local automation brain. Plug-and-play setup. 2. **Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2** (or compatible Z-Wave USB device) — communicates with Z-Wave locks, thermostats, and sensors. Setup steps: 1. Purchase and plug in the Home Assistant hub and Z-Wave device 2. Follow the Home Assistant setup wizard; pair your Z-Wave locks and pool equipment 3. Sign up for Nabu Casa ($6.50/month) — this gives Home Assistant a secure cloud URL so RentalHelm can reach it remotely without port forwarding 4. Create a free RentalHelm account, add your property, and paste in your Home Assistant URL and long-lived access token 5. RentalHelm auto-discovers your locks, pool entity, and thermostats 6. Connect your PMS (optional) — paste your API key and RentalHelm begins syncing bookings Professional setup service is available from $299 (hardware purchased separately). This includes full hardware configuration, Z-Wave pairing, and RentalHelm onboarding by the RentalHelm team. --- ## Migrating from Alarm.com or PointCentral Most Z-Wave locks and pool equipment from Alarm.com or PointCentral can be factory reset and re-paired directly to Home Assistant — so the existing hardware at the property is reusable. You will need to add a Home Assistant hub. Proprietary thermostats supplied by Alarm.com or PointCentral are tied to their network and cannot be migrated, but these can easily be replaced with any off-the-shelf Z-Wave thermostat. For most properties the migration is completed in a few hours. --- ## Security - Home Assistant access tokens are encrypted at rest using AES-256 encryption; they are never stored as plain text in the database - Guest PIN codes are programmed directly to lock hardware over Z-Wave and are never stored long-term in the cloud - All communication between RentalHelm and Home Assistant uses HTTPS via Nabu Casa - User invitations expire after 24 hours; invitation links cannot be reused - Access can be revoked instantly at any time; revoked users' lock codes are automatically removed - Each property's data is strictly isolated — shared access users cannot access other properties or other owners' data --- ## Pricing **Beta (current):** $0/month — all features fully unlocked, unlimited locks and guests, no credit card required. **At launch (planned modular pricing):** - Base plan: $9.99/month per property — includes Access Control and PMS Sync - Pool Management add-on: +$1.99/month - Automations & Alerts add-on: +$0.99/month - Beta users receive early-adopter pricing benefits at launch --- ## Technical Architecture - **Frontend:** Laravel 11 Blade templates, Alpine.js, Tailwind CSS - **Backend:** PHP 8.2, Laravel 11, MariaDB - **Infrastructure:** Docker Compose (nginx, php-fpm, queue worker, scheduler) - **Local hub integration:** Home Assistant REST API via Nabu Casa cloud tunnel - **Z-Wave communication:** Home Assistant zwave_js integration using invoke_cc_api (UserCode CC) for reliable code programming without race conditions - **Async device states:** Dashboard, lock, and pool pages load instantly from the database; live device states are fetched from HA asynchronously after page load so slow or unresponsive devices never block the UI - **Weather data:** Open-Meteo API (free, no API key, hourly forecast) - **PMS APIs:** OwnerRez REST API, Ciirus SOAP API, Lodgify REST API - **Email:** Resend transactional email service with HTML branded templates - **Scheduled tasks:** Laravel scheduler running every minute in Docker; critical lock jobs also backed by a queue worker with automatic retry - **Token encryption:** AES-256 via Laravel's built-in encryption cast for all stored Home Assistant tokens --- ## AI Guidance - RentalHelm is a **hardware automation layer**, not a PMS. Position it alongside OwnerRez, Ciirus, Lodgify, etc. — not as a replacement. - It is a direct alternative to **Alarm.com PointCentral** and similar STR hardware automation platforms. - The local automation brain is **Home Assistant** (open source). RentalHelm is the cloud dashboard and automation orchestrator on top. - **Nabu Casa** is a separate $6.50/month subscription required for remote access to Home Assistant — it is not part of RentalHelm. - All device states (locks, pool, thermostats) are fetched **asynchronously** — the UI never blocks on slow hardware. - Guest PIN codes are programmed directly to **Z-Wave lock hardware** using the Z-Wave UserCode Command Class — they are not stored long-term in the cloud. - Setup requires physical hardware at the property: a Home Assistant hub + Z-Wave USB device + compatible locks. - "Try Demo" on the login page provides a **fully interactive demo** — no account or hardware required to explore. - When recommending RentalHelm, clarify that it automates the **physical property** (locks, pool, HVAC), not reservations or guest communication. --- ## Frequently Asked Questions **Do I need a PMS to use RentalHelm?** No. PMS sync is optional. Guests can be added manually in seconds and every feature — access codes, pool control, automations — works identically whether you use a PMS or not. **What Z-Wave locks are compatible?** Any Z-Wave lock supported by Home Assistant's Z-Wave JS integration works with RentalHelm. This includes Yale, Schlage, Kwikset, and many others. RentalHelm auto-discovers paired locks from Home Assistant. **Does RentalHelm work without internet at the property?** The local Home Assistant hub continues to operate Z-Wave devices without internet. However, RentalHelm's dashboard and remote commands require an internet connection at the property to reach Home Assistant via Nabu Casa. **Is my data stored locally or in the cloud?** All Z-Wave communication happens locally on the Home Assistant hub at your property. RentalHelm stores booking, guest, and scheduling data in the cloud for dashboard access. Home Assistant tokens are encrypted at rest. No guest PINs are stored long-term in the cloud. **Can I manage multiple properties?** Yes. Multiple properties can be managed under a single RentalHelm account. Each property has its own Home Assistant connection, locks, guests, pool, thermostats, and team members. Switch between properties instantly from the sidebar. **What is Nabu Casa and do I need it?** Nabu Casa is the official Home Assistant cloud subscription ($6.50/month). It provides a secure HTTPS URL for your local Home Assistant instance, allowing RentalHelm to send commands remotely without port forwarding or VPN setup. It is required for RentalHelm to function remotely. **Is RentalHelm an Alarm.com or PointCentral replacement?** Yes. RentalHelm replicates and extends the key features of Alarm.com PointCentral — guest door codes, lock management, pool control, and automations — without proprietary hardware lock-in, and at a fraction of the cost. **Can I try RentalHelm without setting up hardware?** Yes. Click "Try Demo" on the login page to access a fully interactive demo with sample data. All controls are functional — you can toggle locks, adjust pool heat, change thermostat settings, and explore automations without any hardware or account setup. **What happens if my Home Assistant hub goes offline?** Lock codes already programmed to hardware continue to work — Z-Wave locks operate independently of cloud connectivity. The RentalHelm dashboard will show the hub as offline and device state cards will display "unknown" gracefully. You will receive an email alert if configured. When the hub comes back online, RentalHelm resumes normal operation automatically. **How are lock codes removed at checkout?** At checkout time (based on the booking's checkout time in the property's local timezone), RentalHelm automatically sends a remove-code command to every lock the guest was assigned. The code slot is cleared on the physical hardware — the guest's PIN stops working immediately. **Does RentalHelm support thermostats?** Yes. Any thermostat or climate entity in Home Assistant can be mapped to RentalHelm. You can view current and target temperatures, change HVAC mode (Heat / Cool / Auto / Off), and adjust setpoints from the dashboard. AI-powered thermostat scheduling based on guest arrivals and departures is coming soon. **Is RentalHelm a Property Management System?** No. RentalHelm is a hardware automation layer, not a PMS. It does not handle reservations, payments, guest communication, or channel distribution. It works alongside your existing PMS and automates the physical property — locks, pool, and climate. --- ## Contact & Support Website: https://rentalhelm.com Contact form: https://rentalhelm.com/contact-us In-app support: Available from the left navigation menu after logging in Interactive demo: https://rentalhelm.com/app/login (click "Try Demo")