Houston, Texas (NAPSI) - With the economy picking up, more and more families are planning trips this season. Your next vacation may be more relaxing once you realize all the convenience and security you have at your fingertips thanks to your smartphone and its many useful apps.

Apps Away

Smartphones offer so many apps to help you make the most of your time away. There are airline apps, restaurant finders, apps to help you make sense of overseas currencies, and travel apps to help you decide what to do and see.

That may be one reason, according to a recent Choice Hotels travel survey, millennial travelers and parents with kids under 12 would rather lose their luggage than go without their phones.

Home Management From Your Phone

Some of the most valuable technologies for travelers, however, aren’t focused on the trip itself. As travel picks up this season, families turn to technology to easily manage their households from afar. For example:

• There are apps that let you control the lights, drapes, TV and radio from anywhere, so you can make your house look lived in even when it’s not.

• Smart locks can send push notifications to owners’ phones when someone locks or unlocks the front door.

• Some apps can adjust the thermostat so you can save on energy costs while you’re away and still come home to a comfortable, climate-controlled house.

• With the Kwikset Kevo smart lock, you can manage electronic keys (eKeys) and control your home security through the Kevo app.

• If you need a neighbor to take out the trash or check if you left the oven on, you can quickly send a free Guest eKey through the Kevo app. There’s also a Scheduled eKey that lets you set day and time constraints from the phone for house sitters and dog walkers.

Learn More About The App

For further facts or to find out how to get the Kevo app, go to www.kwikset.com/kevo or call (800) 327-5625.