Best Smart Lock and Thermostat for Airbnb: What Hosts Should Buy First

Why locks and thermostats are the two devices that pay for themselves

If you only ever automate two things in a short-term rental, make them the front door lock and the thermostat. The lock saves you the hour-per-stay you used to spend coordinating key handoffs, the lockbox combination resets, and the inevitable “I’m here, where do I park” call at 11pm. A Schlage Encode with auto-generated codes via Hospitable means a guest gets a unique code at check-in time and that code expires at checkout, without you ever touching the lock.

The thermostat saves you actual money, every month, between guests. An Ecobee or Nest left unmanaged with a forgotten guest setpoint of 67 in summer can run an HVAC system continuously for three days at $8-$15 per day in some markets. Automating the bump-back to 78 (cooling) or 60 (heating) the moment a guest checks out is the single highest-ROI smart-home move you can make on a vacation rental.

The point of bundling these on one page: hosts often buy the lock and forget the thermostat is the bigger annual win, or buy a Nest because it looked nice and then realize it doesn’t expose the API hooks they need for vacant-mode automation. Picking these two together avoids buyer’s remorse on either side.

Locks: Schlage Encode vs Yale Assure 2 vs August Wi-Fi vs Lockly

Schlage Encode (Wi-Fi, $200-$280). The default, and what most professional STR managers run. Built-in Wi-Fi (no hub or bridge), supports up to 100 codes, integrates with Hospitable, OwnerRez, Hostfully, and Guesty for auto-generated guest codes. Mechanical key backup. ANSI Grade 1 deadbolt build quality. The Encode Plus adds Apple Home Key tap-to-unlock if your guests use iPhones, but for rental purposes the original Encode is usually the smarter buy because guests aren’t going to set up Home Key on a one-night stay.

Yale Assure 2 (Wi-Fi or Z-Wave, $230-$330). Sleeker, slimmer profile than the Schlage. The Wi-Fi module is built-in on the new Assure 2 line; older Yale Assures required a separate Wi-Fi module that was annoying to keep paired. Same PMS integrations as Schlage. Some hosts prefer the keypad layout. Slightly louder motor than the Encode at night.

August Wi-Fi Smart Lock (4th gen, $200-$250). Different category — it’s a retrofit lock that mounts on the inside of an existing deadbolt, leaving the original keyway intact. Great when your HOA, landlord, or building forbids keypad replacements. Downside: guests still need a code somehow, which usually means an exterior keypad accessory ($40-$80) or guests using the August app, which is a tougher sell than just typing four digits on a keypad.

Lockly Vision Elite ($300-$400). Premium pick. Built-in video doorbell camera in the lock, fingerprint, code, app. Useful if you want a doorbell-cam without running wires for one. Expensive enough that you should already love everything else in your stack before adding it. The Aqara U100 is a similar Apple-Home-Key option for hosts in that ecosystem.

For nearly all hosts: Schlage Encode. For Apple Home households or guests-with-iPhones-only listings: Schlage Encode Plus. For rentals that can’t replace the deadbolt: August Wi-Fi.

Thermostats: Ecobee Premium vs Nest Learning vs Honeywell T9

Ecobee SmartThermostat Premium ($230-$280). The default for STR. Built-in remote sensor support — you can put a small puck in the master bedroom and tell the thermostat to average that room with the hallway, which solves the “hot upstairs, cold downstairs” problem common in two-story rentals. Web-app access without a phone, full vacancy scheduling, and clean integrations with Hospitable for auto-bumping the temp at check-in and checkout. The cheaper Ecobee Lite ($170) is fine if you don’t need the built-in air quality monitor.

Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd or 4th gen, $250-$280). Beautiful, the round design is genuinely guest-friendly, and the auto-learning feature is over-rated for rentals (the schedule changes every three days when a new guest arrives, so it never really learns). The bigger issue: Google has been progressively closing down third-party API access, which makes Nest harder to wire into PMS automations than Ecobee. Use Nest if you’re already in Google Home; otherwise default to Ecobee.

Nest Thermostat (basic, $130). The cheaper sibling. Plastic body, no learning, no remote sensors. Fine for a small studio where you just need basic remote control and no-frills scheduling. The Honeywell Home T6 ($130) plays the same role.

Honeywell T9 ($170-$200). Honeywell’s answer to the Ecobee. Comparable feature set, including remote sensors. Honeywell’s app is uglier but stable. Buy the T9 over an Ecobee mainly if your HVAC contractor recommends it for compatibility with your specific furnace.

Mysa ($140-$180). The one for electric baseboard heat — cabins, garage apartments, older Northeast rentals. Most other smart thermostats don’t talk to baseboard heat at all. If your unit has line-voltage baseboards, Mysa is the answer.

Installation gotchas that catch hosts off guard

The Schlage Encode lock fits a standard 2-1/8″ door bore with a 1″ edge prep, which is what virtually every modern US residential door has. The catch is door thickness — the Encode handles 1-3/8″ to 1-3/4″ doors. Older 2″ solid wood doors need a longer screw kit you can request from Schlage. Measure before you buy.

The C-wire problem is the biggest thermostat install issue. Both Ecobee Premium and Nest Learning include a Power Extender Kit (PEK) for systems without a C-wire, but they install at the furnace, not at the thermostat. If you’re not comfortable opening up the furnace control board, this is a $150 electrician call, not a DIY project. The Honeywell T9 has the same C-wire requirement, but its included G-to-C jumper kit is fiddlier than Ecobee’s PEK.

Wi-Fi placement matters. The Schlage Encode lives at your front door, which is often the worst Wi-Fi spot in the house. If you have brick veneer, stucco with chicken-wire mesh, or a long ranch layout, you’ll want a mesh node within 25 feet of the lock. An Eero 6 satellite or a TP-Link Deco unit on the entry-side wall solves it permanently.

Don’t co-locate setup. Set the lock up first, get it stable on Wi-Fi for a week, and only then set up the thermostat. If both go down at the same time, you can’t tell whether it’s a router issue or a device issue.

Sub-guides in this section

• Best Smart Lock and Thermostat for Airbnb — the bundled-buy logic and total-cost-of-ownership math.
• Airbnb Smart Lock Comparison — full head-to-head spec comparison across the major locks.
• Airbnb Smart Thermostat Comparison — the same exercise for Ecobee, Nest, Honeywell, Mysa, and Sensi.
• Nest vs Ecobee for Airbnb — the head-to-head most hosts actually need.
• Schlage vs Yale for Airbnb — spec, fit, and PMS-integration breakdown.
• August vs Schlage Airbnb — retrofit vs full replacement, with use-case guidance.
• Best Keyless Entry for Vacation Rental — broader keyless-entry options beyond just smart locks.
• Best Remote Thermostat for Rental Property — thermostats with the strongest remote-control story.
• Airbnb Device Bundle — how to buy lock + thermostat together and save.
• Short Term Rental Smart Home Kit — the full multi-device kit, sequenced by ROI.

Common host questions about locks and thermostats

Can the same Wi-Fi router handle both the Schlage Encode and the Ecobee?

Yes, easily. Both are 2.4GHz Wi-Fi devices using minimal bandwidth. The issue is rarely router capacity — it’s signal strength at the door (lock) and inside the wall cavity (thermostat). A modern dual-band Eero 6 or TP-Link Deco mesh handles both without thinking. If you’re still on a single-router setup from your ISP, plan to add at least one mesh satellite.

What happens to the lock and thermostat during a power outage?

The Schlage Encode runs on 4 AA batteries and is unaffected by power loss — the keypad still works, codes still work. The Ecobee and Nest go offline because they need household power, but they hold their schedules and resume the moment power returns. If you have frequent outages, a small UPS for the router (~$60) keeps the rest of the smart home reachable while the power’s down.

Do I really need to integrate with my PMS, or can I just set codes manually?

For one property with a calm calendar, manual is fine. Past 4-5 stays per month, the integration with Hospitable, Hostfully, OwnerRez, or Guesty pays for itself in not-having-to-think. The lock auto-generates a code from the booking, sends it to the guest in the check-in message, and clears it after checkout. This is also the only way to scale past 2-3 properties without burning out.

Should I lock guests out of the thermostat?

Don’t fully lock it — it generates more bad reviews than the savings are worth. Instead, set min/max bounds on the Ecobee or Nest (e.g. cooling no lower than 68, heating no higher than 74) and let guests adjust within that range. The Honeywell T9 also supports range limits. The point is comfort, not control.

Where this connects

Once the Schlage and Ecobee are installed, automate them with the routines covered in door code automation and vacancy savings. For the surrounding kit, see Echo devices for voice control and budget starter kits for the full sequenced buying plan.