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[00:00:05] Sarah: Hello. Welcome back for another great episode. My name is Sarah Karakaian.

[00:00:09] Annette: I am Annette Grant. And together we are–

[00:00:11] Both Annette & Sarah: Thanks for Visiting.

[00:00:12] Sarah: And this is the–

[00:00:13] Both Annette & Sarah: Hosting Hotline.

[00:00:14] Sarah: If you want to get your question answered here on the Hosting Hotline, all you got to do is go to hostinghotline.com, ask your question, and then we’ll share it here in the podcast. We’ll get it answered for you. And at the same time, you’re going to help so many other hosts, when they face this challenge, they’re going to crush it head on because of you. Today we have a question from Leslie.

[00:00:34] Question: Hi. This is Leslie at Tybee Turtle Town Condo and just want to say how much y’all have helped me get started with my first short-term rental. I want to ask y’all about backup plans. I have a backup plan like if the door lock doesn’t work, I have a separate lock box to the side that I can give them my code for.

[00:00:56] I’ve heard y’all talk about what to do if internet goes down. I do not have a backup plan for this, so I wanted to hear about that. And I just made a new backup plan because I had the guests try to contact me when they checked in really late at night and they couldn’t get– well, no, they got in, but they had a problem when they got there.

[00:01:19] And so they had lots of messages on my phone that morning. So now my backup plan for that is I put them in my emergency list on my phone, so it’ll break through if they call me late at night. And that’s a long story if you want to hear that one. But just want to thank y’all so much, and I can’t wait to hear what you say about all of your backup plans.

[00:01:39] Sarah: Leslie, you’re funny. I can feel you with the whole– I want to have a cocktail with you and hear about what happened that night because I’ve been there.

[00:01:51] Annette: Yeah. She said that’s a story for another time. Before we answer your question, Leslie, I want to give you a shout out here. She’s got her name Tybee Turtle Town. Love this marketing. I search it up on the interwebs and immediately I see her five-star reviews in Google, her Facebook page, her VRBO listing, photos from her guests. Someone just had their wedding there. She’s got Instagram, Expedia. You are crushing it for you to pop up like that. So check out, I’m going to give them extra love, Tybee Turtle Town Condo. Leslie, well done.

[00:02:31] Sarah: Crushing it.

[00:02:32] Annette: Yeah. And these reviews are great. So let’s get into your backup plan so you can keep those five-star reviews.

[00:02:37] Sarah: Yeah. First of all, you know Annette and I love a backup for your backup. So that’s incredible. And you’ve got some pretty cool backups. I do want to comment on the missed call one because, Leslie, what I don’t want to happen is for you or anyone listening to feel like you have to go to bed every night and worry that you’re going to miss the some important call.

[00:02:59] So I love what you did. So if anyone didn’t pick up on that, Leslie has her notifications turned off when she goes to sleep. And so if a guest were to call, I’m assuming she’s got a business line or something of that nature, the business line at that calls will be one of her emergency contacts and actually ring.

[00:03:15] But what if Leslie is on vacation? What if she’s international? What if she’s on a boat somewhere? So Leslie, that is a backup. Let’s have a backup for your backup for that one because I don’t want you to feel like you’re tied to your phone. And here are some options for you. First of all, I do not use this, but one of our members does, Lynn, in our membership, and she loves it.

[00:03:36] The other ones do too, but Lynn’s obsessed with it, is Breezeway call center. So Breezeway offers hospitality trained operators to answer your call, and you can make it so it’s just in the evening.

[00:03:51] Annette: And humans.

[00:03:52] Sarah: And humans. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Humans who–

[00:03:54] Annette: Not AI.

[00:03:55] Sarah: Correct. And what I don’t know is if you have to also have Breezeway operations for your property. I don’t know if you have to have that. So if you do, and that’s something you want to do, although why would you, because it’s incredible is building a relationship with, and I’m going to puke saying this because everyone says it and they think it’s going to solve all the problems, but getting a VA.

[00:04:18] And there are lots of them out there who, it’s not just any VA, you get someone who is trained to answer the phone, speak clearly so that your guests will understand them and be able to troubleshoot for those late night problems.

[00:04:33] Maybe that’s reaching your go to for emergency mechanical issues or having access to your smart locks. I don’t even know what else it could be, but what are the major things that can’t wait till the morning? Of course, there’s always dialing 911, but getting a virtual assistant who is skilled with guest services. And we’re going to dive into some more content this fall with that.

[00:04:57] Annette: Last but not least, who’s your bestie? Do you have a real estate partner? Do you have a family member, someone else that just, you’re like, hey, can you be a second number for my short-term rental. Maybe at the beginning of the month, you just let them know when people are going to be there.

[00:05:17] Having someone in your world. Maybe it is your local cleaner there. Maybe it’s your inspector. You’re in a condo, so maybe there’s a condo association and you can just link up with someone there. And even if it’s not all the time, like Sarah said, if you’re on vacation, something like that, having that backup plan ready, like, hey, I’m going on vacation. Can you just put your ringer on during the night during these days? And here are the sets of reservations that I have.

[00:05:37] So having just that backup plan ready is a way to go too, and it could just be someone, maybe there’s some barter trade, or maybe there’s a local Facebook group too for Tybee Island, and you could meet someone that way, and you could trade off, like maybe you’re on one week. They’re on one week. So you’ve got options, but you’re right, the one time they need you and the call doesn’t come through, it’s the roughest. Yeah, it’s the toughest. But let’s move on to the Wi-Fi backup.

[00:06:15] Sarah: So all this is, Leslie, and again, I don’t know– I’ll offer what we do. And whether or not that works for you, you’ll have to decide for yourself, but you can get a hotspot. You know how your phone or your iPad can act as a hotspot? You can actually get these towers that you pre-pay for that you would have to either activate or keep paying for each month.

[00:06:39] So if this is a problem that happens often for you, anyone listening out there, this might be something you want to do. If not, maybe you just have it, the equipment ready, and then you activate it should you need it. Annette, you did this back in the day.

[00:06:51] Annette: Yeah, I did. I had a mobile unit ready, but it is something that you have to keep activated if they’re working from home. It can become costly. So some other alternatives, just like backup plan for that, Leslie, is, a, know the places near you that have Wi-Fi. If for some reason maybe they need to take a work meeting and their own hotspot isn’t working, know the coffee shops around that have it.

[00:07:16] And also, Uber delivers things now. Again, I’m not sure on the island. Maybe you just need to get that hotspot. You just need to purchase it if this were to happen and then have it delivered to the house. But I think knowing some of those other areas, again, if you’re in this condo building, maybe there’s some common areas that also they would be able to use Wi-Fi.

[00:07:38] And then the last resort, but also just being prepared for it, is maybe you have a favorite restaurant or somewhere that you could send them and take care of them during that just as an apology or whatnot. But I love that you’re already thinking ahead, because it’s not if. It’s when this is going to happen.

[00:07:56] So knowing already how you’re going to respond in this situation. Or maybe you’ve got a secret, quiet place on the beach that you’re like, well, this is a sign to really unwind. This is my favorite, favorite spot to go to. But there’s a lot of different options for you.

[00:08:15] I’m just going to say this one. Maybe you do have your neighbor. Maybe you could share. I don’t know how close you are, how close the walls are, as a backup plan. You don’t ever give it out. It’s your backup key, but like, hey, I know my neighbor’s Wi-Fi is this, and depending on how close you are with them, say, hey, could we use it for a minute? If for some reason just yours is down, not the whole building.

[00:08:39] Sarah: And then Leslie, you asked for other ideas, other backups for our backups, and we’re going I can tell you we have a backup refrigerator. It’s one of those taller mini fridges, so it’s not the super small mini fridge. It’s a taller one. We have a separate little freezer. We have a backup television. We have backup remotes. We have a backup bed frame. Ask me why I need that. Because two have broken in my past. What else do we have backups for? You already mentioned the key.

[00:09:10] Annette: Some simple things just like backup wine keys, backup batteries, backup the remotes and all, and backup scissors and stuff. This can all be put in something very neat on one of your higher shelves or whatnot. But it’s one of those things like a small investment one time, just so you have it there.

[00:09:30] Sarah: Oh yeah. And actually, this question went through our membership last week too. She was able to get to her property and do an audit and she’s like I’m missing some knives and some forks. And you guys, knives and forks are like socks in the wash. Like Annette said, it’s not if; it’s when. So having extra glassware, extra silverware. And Leslie, I know you’re in a condo, so I don’t know if you have storage for the backup TV and fridge and all that kind of stuff, so if you don’t, again, you’ll have to get creative.

[00:10:01] We do have luxury here of having basements in Ohio, and I recognize that. Also, with the hotspot, we manage several properties. So for us to pay for one hotspot that’s always active, we have economies of scale. It’s fine for us because we share that love, so that we’re ready to pounce on no matter what and when.

[00:10:18] But if you have one property, it may not make financial sense. So I just want to be very clear and transparent there. But this should get everyone thinking about, hey, if a fridge goes out, it’s a big deal, especially if you’re in a vacation area. So being able to quickly fix it. Maybe they can’t fit all of their stuff in your mini fridge, but being able to fit most of it, the expensive stuff, having a separate freezer, because you all know those mini fridges, those freezers, they fit like a thing of ice cubes. It’s not big enough.

[00:10:46] Those sorts of things are key, especially if your average daily rate is really high. When I used to manage a vacation rental, it was like $16 a night. We had a backup full on fridge in another area. So just depending too on what your guests expect from you and being able to be like, no worries. We can have you back up and running in a couple of hours. That can really save your 5-star review.

[00:11:09] Annette: And all of those things too, this is some stuff you can plan ahead, is already know– have your list of your three preferred HVAC, your three preferred plumber. Having those ready to go because you’re not going to want to have to scurry the day if there’s an issue. So if you can just take an hour ahead of time, go to their website.

[00:11:28] Look at their Google reviews. Have them ready. Maybe even just introduce yourself. That way you know, like, hey, if I needed a weekend assistant or after hours, what does that program look like? So you’re prepped for it and you’re not scurrying the day of.

[00:11:42] Sarah: All right, Leslie. Thank you so much for going into the hostinghotline.com and asking us your question. Again, we’d love to help you with your questions. Head on over to hostinghotline.com. We’ll get it answered. With that, my name is Sarah Karakaian.

[00:11:54] Annette: I am Annette Grant. And together we are–

[00:11:56] Both Annette & Sarah: Thanks for Visiting.

[00:11:57] Sarah: Talk to you next time.