Maximizing Downtime: Enhancing Your Property’s Appeal
Winter months or downtime periods are great for completing the big and small projects that will help to keep your property at the top of its game. It’s also a great time for a general overview of the property. Quite often it can be the smaller changes that can maximise the impact on your bottom line. Reviewing costs and also the current state of your property can help to plan big and small improvements to enhance your property’s appeal.
Taking the time to clean marks off the walls and touch up paint chips will present the rooms in a cleaner, newer state, even if the property is aging. A 20 year old property can look as new when the walls are clean. Another item of note is to ensure that all light globes work and there are no leaking showers or taps. This will not only let the guests know that care and attention is taken with the property it will also save water and power.
If you are looking for inspiration of what can be done to improve or help to maintain your property, why not spend some time in a guest room? See how everything works and is presented from a guest point of view. Quite often we see things from a clean and presentation side, what about the practical side? Are the beds comfortable enough or do you need to look at changing some out? Is there really enough space in the bedroom to move around? Are the soft furnishings getting a little tired? Is there a particular area of wear and tear that has begun. If so, can something be done sooner rather than later? It’s great to take feedback and action from guest reviews, however experiencing the guest rooms in person can provide an entirely different perspective.
The weather may not always be the best during the low season which can be a deterrent for outdoor projects, however you will be surprised at how motivated you can get once you begin. Starting small, such as weeding the garden, can turn a small job into a manageable project where the exterior of your property is in full bloom and looking fresh and fantastic, ready to welcome guests in the high season.
Time continues to go by faster and faster these days. What you think was two years ago, could actually be three or even four years ago. Keeping track of the major maintenance and replacement items in each of the guest rooms will come in very handy when it comes to breakdowns and warranty questions. A simple spreadsheet listing the room, date, work done and by whom is the best way to keep track of the work completed. Taking the time in the quieter periods to review the invoices and input the details into a system will be time well spent. There are some property management systems that also offer this facility. This can also bring to light a possible item that needs replacing in the near future, thus it can be planned for financially.
In conjunction with the maintenance log, ensure all of the safety and essential services paperwork are up to date and labeled with easy access. These are items that you rarely need, however it is essential that they are there and ready when required.
Maintaining and managing a property of 6 or 60 rooms is a full time role, there is always something to do. Structuring your week and chipping away at the bigger jobs will help to break up the monotony. An example of this is that each week, no matter the weather, I include at least an hour working in the garden. This can be a bit of pruning or raking up the leaves or purchasing and planting some new plants. Not only does this get me out of the office and apartment for a little bit which is great in many aspects, I am maintaining the property and its presentation to guests. Keeping with the theme and my tagline of “Creating small changes for a big difference”
