The holidays are coming, and by all indications, the South Florida area will benefit from heavy interstate and airport traffic. That is great news for our area that caters to tourists, but it has some security implications for homeowners.

Heavy Influx Of Travelers At Area Airports

Two travel websites, Hotwire.com and CheapOair.com have listed our region among the top 10 list of destinations where people go to enjoy a warm weather vacation over Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. Last year, on Thanksgiving weekend alone, over 500,000 passengers traveled through the airport in Fort Lauderdale, while 53,000 came through Palm Beach; the figures for this year are expected to hold steady, as the airports in these two cities are among the cheapest nationally to fly to and from, and area hotels are offering great holiday getaway deals. The airlines have also launched new routes that use these airports, including international flights to Lima, Peru.

Are Visitors Headed For Your House?

Some of these travelers may be bound for your home. If you live in South Florida, you are probably used to a flood of visitors who want to combine a visit with you and a vacation in an area with plenty to do, or who want to stop over for a day or two before continuing on to their national or international location. When your guests come, you may enjoy the attractions with them or let them come and go from your House to enjoy beaches, parks, shopping, and more on their own. Often this means you will give them a key to your house or access to your key codes when you are off to work, or you let them drive your car.

Safety Concerns When Guests Come

No matter how much you love and trust your friends and relatives, you need to be careful about giving access to your home while you are not there. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• As a resident of South Florida, you know and love the area, but are very conscious of home security. You make sure your doors and windows are locked and pay special attention to your patio door to avoid making it easy to access by thieves. When you have guests in your house, they may be less vigilant about keeping your doors and windows locked. If the doorbell rings, they may be overly willing to answer it without knowing anyone who is there. Before you leave guests alone in your house, make sure to install peepholes on your door, as well as secure locks for doors, windows, and sliders.
• When guests are alone in your home during the day, they may be overwhelmed by the desire to snoop into your personal belongings. They know they shouldn’t, but the lure of someone else’s medicine cabinet or jewelry box may be too compelling to resist. If you have valuables in your home, you might consider storing them in a safe. A good quality hidden safe can be an ideal spot to store your jewelry and important papers, and might be a good location for prescription meds as well.
• Guest might lose your house keys or car keys, which causes you inconvenience and may put your property at risk if they are marked with your address. Make sure you have extra keys to prevent having to call a locksmith to get you in, and consider electronic locks on at least one door to eliminate the need for a key altogether.
• When your guests leave, they will return your house keys, if they had them, while still remembering digital codes that open your house or garage or access your alarm code. If you have an alarm system or digital locks, it is easier (and cheaper) to change the access code after the guests have left.

Prepare For Guests By Improving Security

If you live in South Florida, you know that visitors will be coming to fill up your guest room or sleep on your couch. Affordable Locksmith can ready your home for guests with a Security Assessment and improved security through new locks, peepholes and more. We are currently offering a 10% discount on new services over $100 (excludes labor charges). To take advantage of this or book an appointment online for a security assessment, just give us a call at 954-271-0019 in Broward County or at 561-907-4884 in Palm Beach County.