After Hours Emergencies if you don't have a VA yet

Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
7moFollow

After Hours Emergencies if you don't have a VA yet

Ryan MoyerBusiness Member
Property Manager · Orlando Kissimmee Davenport Salt Lake City, Park City · Member since 2019 · 991 posts · 1k+ votes

While I have a VA covering this now, if you're not at that point yet here is a good free way to cover yourself for late night emergencies without being up all night with your phone dinging.

1) Create a Google Voice number (free)

2) In your check-in instructions, list that number as the after hours emergency only number

3) In your phone settings you can choose specific apps to bypass Do Not Disturb. Simply set Google Voice as one of those apps

Now you can set your phone to do not disturb, but the guest an use the emergency number if the water heater is flooding your house or if they're locked out or something.

Cosmic Vacations4.9174 Reviews
WebsiteView Page
3Reply
174 views

11 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Mike GrudzienPro Member
    Lender · Eugene, OR · Member since 2019 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7mo

    Nice solution!

    0Reply
  • Lisa Graesser
    Rental Property Investor · The Villages, FL · Member since 2017 · 341 posts · 398 votes
    7mo

    That is a good solution. I currently have my phone set to override "Do Not Disturb" if I receive a call from Airbnb or Vrbo or if I get multiple calls from the same number over certain period of time. I figure any of those calls I recieve during a "do not disturb" time would most likely be an emergency. 

    0Reply
  • John UnderwoodPro Member
    Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    7mo

    I have a google voice number that I can use for that. 

    Great idea.

    0Reply
  • Janice Carter
    Real Estate Broker · Atlanta · Member since 2024 · 1k+ posts · 606 votes
    7mo

    Ryan, thanks for sharing.

    0Reply
  • Christian Johnston
    Member since 2025 · 22 posts · 17 votes
    7mo

    Solid tip, Ryan. We took this a step further with Dialpad.

    All calls, SMS, and voicemails automatically stored and searchable. We built an n8n workflow that creates alerts based on keywords (flooding, lockout, injury, etc.) and auto-escalates to our on-call team if it hits certain thresholds.

    Non-urgent stuff gets queued for morning triage. Real emergencies wake the right person immediately. The system learns over time which guests actually need help vs which ones just cant find the TV remote.

    Cost is minimal compared to what we were losing in sleep quality and response time. For anyone scaling past a few properties, automating your emergency intake is a must.

    0Reply
    • Ryan MoyerBusiness Member
      OP
      Property Manager · Orlando Kissimmee Davenport Salt Lake City, Park City · Member since 2019 · 991 posts · 1k+ votes
      7mo
      Quote from @Christian Johnston:

      Solid tip, Ryan. We took this a step further with Dialpad.

      All calls, SMS, and voicemails automatically stored and searchable. We built an n8n workflow that creates alerts based on keywords (flooding, lockout, injury, etc.) and auto-escalates to our on-call team if it hits certain thresholds.

      Non-urgent stuff gets queued for morning triage. Real emergencies wake the right person immediately. The system learns over time which guests actually need help vs which ones just cant find the TV remote.

      Cost is minimal compared to what we were losing in sleep quality and response time. For anyone scaling past a few properties, automating your emergency intake is a must.


       Yep we use Quo for this now. But this is a great way for smaller operators that don't yet have a team with 24/7 coverage to restore some sanity to their lives without missing anything truly important.

      Cosmic Vacations4.9174 Reviews
      WebsiteView Page
      0Reply
    • Gerhard Brugger
      Member since 2026 · 3 posts · 0 votes
      7mo
      Quote from @Ryan Moyer:
      Quote from @Christian Johnston:

      Solid tip, Ryan. We took this a step further with Dialpad.

      All calls, SMS, and voicemails automatically stored and searchable. We built an n8n workflow that creates alerts based on keywords (flooding, lockout, injury, etc.) and auto-escalates to our on-call team if it hits certain thresholds.

      Non-urgent stuff gets queued for morning triage. Real emergencies wake the right person immediately. The system learns over time which guests actually need help vs which ones just cant find the TV remote.

      Cost is minimal compared to what we were losing in sleep quality and response time. For anyone scaling past a few properties, automating your emergency intake is a must.


       Yep we use Quo for this now. But this is a great way for smaller operators that don't yet have a team with 24/7 coverage to restore some sanity to their lives without missing anything truly important.

      Super helpful. Any chance you can share a rough monthly cost range for Quo? Even ballpark would be useful... THx

      0Reply
    • Ryan MoyerBusiness Member
      OP
      Property Manager · Orlando Kissimmee Davenport Salt Lake City, Park City · Member since 2019 · 991 posts · 1k+ votes
      7mo
      Quote from @Gerhard Brugger:
      Quote from @Ryan Moyer:
      Quote from @Christian Johnston:

      Solid tip, Ryan. We took this a step further with Dialpad.

      All calls, SMS, and voicemails automatically stored and searchable. We built an n8n workflow that creates alerts based on keywords (flooding, lockout, injury, etc.) and auto-escalates to our on-call team if it hits certain thresholds.

      Non-urgent stuff gets queued for morning triage. Real emergencies wake the right person immediately. The system learns over time which guests actually need help vs which ones just cant find the TV remote.

      Cost is minimal compared to what we were losing in sleep quality and response time. For anyone scaling past a few properties, automating your emergency intake is a must.


       Yep we use Quo for this now. But this is a great way for smaller operators that don't yet have a team with 24/7 coverage to restore some sanity to their lives without missing anything truly important.

      Super helpful. Any chance you can share a rough monthly cost range for Quo? Even ballpark would be useful... THx


       $15 - $23 per month per user depending on which features you need.

      Cosmic Vacations4.9174 Reviews
      WebsiteView Page
      0Reply
  • Andrew SteffensBusiness Member
    Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    7mo

    Great until they call the number looking for directions to CVS at 1230 in the morning.  I glance through overnight messages almost every day with my staff and that was a real occurrence a week or so ago and guest called our emergency line.

    [email protected]813-563-0877
    Vacation Rentals of Florida53 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
  • Bo SmithPro Member
    Hinton, WV · Member since 2026 · 1k+ posts · 373 votes
    7mo

    Smart setup! I'd add an auto-reply explaining what counts as an emergency - "flooding, lockouts, no power only." Cuts way down on 2am wifi password calls. Do guests actually respect the emergency-only rule?

    0Reply
  • Jeff Langley
    Member since 2021 · 167 posts · 141 votes
    7mo

    I silence my phone when i go to sleep, if the guest has an emergency they can call 911. 

    Never had an issue. If you have solid systems in place, “emergencies” are scarce. 

    0Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free