Video intercom for holiday rentals in Valencia: keyless check-in

Anyone running a short-term rental in Valencia knows it: handing over keys is the weakest link in the whole operation. Flights get delayed, guests don't message, and you end up building your day around a five-minute handover that turns into a three-hour wait. And if you live in the UK, Germany or anywhere outside Spain, in-person check-in simply isn't an option.

These are the issues owners and managers tell us about most often:

• Arrivals at any hour: low-cost flights landing at 23:50 and guests buzzing the door in the early hours.
• Constant trips: every check-in and every key incident means travelling to the apartment, sometimes from the other side of the province — or another country.
• Lost or copied keys: every missing set means new copies or a lock change, with the cost and security risk that implies.
• Street lockboxes: besides being insecure, in many tourist areas of Valencia they're frowned upon by communities and in some cases not allowed.
• Owners living abroad: coordinating local key-holders for every booking adds cost and another point of failure.

You don't need to automate the whole apartment. Three well-chosen elements cover the guest's entire journey, from the street door to the apartment door:

The most common combination in Valencia holiday rentals is a Fermax Blue compatible monitor for the building entrance plus a code lock on the apartment door. If you want to see step by step how the monitor links to your phone, we explain it in our guide to setting up the Fermax Blue app.

Here's the detail many foreign owners aren't aware of: in Spain, apartment buildings are run by a comunidad de propietarios (homeowners' association), and the shared door entry installation is a communal element. That defines what you can do on your own and what needs the community's approval:

• Usually fine without permission: replacing the monitor or handset inside your own flat with a compatible one, fitting an electronic lock on your own front door, and adding devices that don't alter the communal installation.
• Needs the community's agreement: modifying the street panel, adding keypads or readers at the building entrance, touching the shared wiring or changing the building's door release.
• Grey area: some call-forwarding setups require intermediate equipment; it's worth checking case by case so the rest of the neighbours aren't affected.

The good news is that the most powerful solution — receiving the street-panel call on your phone with Fermax Blue — is achieved by working only inside your own flat, provided the installation is DUOX Plus or compatible. That's why it's the preferred route for holiday rental owners in Valencia's residential buildings.

If you manage an entire building of tourist apartments, the options widen: keypad panels, proximity readers and centralised control of every access point. We cover them in our article on access control in Valencia.

For anyone managing several apartments, the savings are direct: fewer trips, unlimited check-ins at no per-handover cost, and better guest reviews — visitors arrive and walk straight in, no waiting. Per-booking codes also give you traceability: you know who entered and when.

These are guide prices to give you an idea; every installation is different and we always confirm with a fixed quote before starting:

These are reference ranges: the final price depends on your building's system, the model chosen and the condition of the installation. That's why we always work with a fixed, no-obligation quote: we visit the apartment, check compatibility and give you the exact price before touching anything. We speak with foreign owners every week and can coordinate the whole job remotely.