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Category: Operations & Cleaning
By: James Wu
Reply by Kevin O'Brien:
Maintenance management is one of those things that's fine with 1 property and a disaster with 3+. Here's my system: **Simple approach (1-3 properties): Trello or Notion board** - Columns: "Reported" → "Scheduled" → "In Progress" → "Completed" - Each card = one issue: description, property, photos, assigned vendor, timeline - Shared with my cleaner(s) so they can add cards directly - I review the board once daily **Scaling approach (4+ properties): Breezeway or Properly** - These are purpose-built STR maintenance/operations platforms - Auto-generate maintenance tasks from guest complaints - Track vendor assignments and completion - Photo verification of repairs - Preventive maintenance scheduling **My vendor directory:** I maintain a Google Sheet with: - Vendor name, specialty, phone, email - Average response time - Hourly/flat rate - Availability (weekends? after-hours?) - Quality rating (my subjective 1-5) - Backup vendor for each specialty **The most important optimization:** Empower your cleaner to call vendors directly for issues under $150. My cleaner has authorization to call the handyman for minor fixes (leaky faucet, running toilet, loose door handle) without needing my approval. This saves 12-24 hours of response time. For more operations tips, check the blog at https://strspecialist.com/blog for property management checklists and SOPs.
Reply by David Okafor:
I use a shared Google Form that my cleaners, guests, and handyman all have access to. It feeds into a Google Sheet with automatic email notifications. Fields: Property name, issue category (plumbing, electrical, appliances, structural, cosmetic, other), urgency (emergency/within 24hrs/next visit/low priority), description, photos. It's free, takes 10 minutes to set up, and creates a searchable history of every maintenance issue across all properties. When I sold one of my properties last year, I included the maintenance history log as part of the sale documents.