Answering Service for Emergencies

[Daniel Denning]

I'm purchasing my first STR in Myrtle Beach and am trying to figure out handling times when guests need me and I'm unavailable. I work another job full-time and travel between PST and EST, so there will definitely be times I can't handle emergency requests. Does anyone use an answering service to handle phone calls, or do people typically just drive communication through the apps? I'm doing my best to streamline the process since I'm managing the property myself from Atlanta, but I don't want to run into situations where my guests really need me and can't contact me.

[Mark Miles]

Originally posted by @Daniel Denning:

I'm purchasing my first STR in Myrtle Beach and am trying to figure out handling times when guests need me and I'm unavailable. I work another job full-time and travel between PST and EST, so there will definitely be times I can't handle emergency requests. Does anyone use an answering service to handle phone calls, or do people typically just drive communication through the apps? I'm doing my best to streamline the process since I'm managing the property myself from Atlanta, but I don't want to run into situations where my guests really need me and can't contact me.

I have a team of inexpensive offshore assistants who handle exactly this. They work the hours I need them to (US daytime, US nighttime, etc) & speak eloquent English. They set door codes, message (or call) guests, schedule cleaners, adjust the thermostat, monitor my cameras, & call a plumber just as easily as I could or as a local PM could, for 1% of the cost.

I wrote much more about this exact topic in this post here. If you find it useful, feel free to upvote ;)

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...