How to Develop a Network of Reliable Service Providers for Your Property Management Company

Keeping up with property maintenance will extend the lifetime of your short-term rental properties while ensuring the safety of your guests. When you hire professional service providers, you can trust them to deliver quality results. This guide will help you build a network of reliable and skilled contractors to rely on for the upkeep of your property.

Determine Which Service Providers You Need

Creating a network of professional service providers is a necessarily complex task. Your goal must be to build a network that you can depend on to meet your property maintenance requirements throughout the lifetime of your vacation rental business. Taking the time to pick the right contractors will keep you from going through this same process each time your property needs service.

Start by making a list of the service providers you’ll depend on as you manage your short-term rental property business. Here is a short list of the professionals who vacation rental property owners commonly use:

• HVAC technicians
• Electricians
• Plumbers
• Carpentry contractors
• Roofers
• Pest control
• Foundation repair contractors

You may also rely on professional cleaning services and appliance repair technicians. Once you have a reason to hire a particular type of service provider, add that service provider to your list. Over time, you should develop a comprehensive network.

Ask for Recommendations

Now that you have a list of service providers, you can start looking for specific companies that fall under each category. In some cases, you might be able to hire one company to provide a variety of services. For example, some HVAC companies also offer plumbing services. Make sure to choose companies that can assist with documenting property damage for insurance claims.

Ask business owners in your community about the service providers they use. Knowing this information makes it easy to develop a list of potential companies for each category. It’s a good idea to get recommendations from business owners in particular because you’ll want to choose companies with commercial experience. 

Search Your Local Area

If you manage vacation rental property in a small or remote region, you may not get enough recommendations from area business owners. In some cities, the majority of business owners rely on the same service providers. This can create a situation in which a contractor already has a heavy workload. You’ll want to look for an alternative service provider with fewer customers.

Don’t worry about determining the quality of the contractor’s work. You’ll weed out the less skilled contractors later. At this time, focus on generating a list of potential companies. Adding more service providers to your list can help you find highly skilled yet underrecognized contractors.

Verify Licenses and Qualifications

Now that you have a list of candidates under each category, you can start refining your lists. The first step in eliminating questionable companies is to verify licenses and certifications. For each company, find out if they have a valid business license, the proper certifications, and up-to-date insurance coverage. If a business is reluctant to provide the appropriate documentation, remove them from your list.

In addition to verifying a company’s legal authority to provide their services, ask about their experience in working with insurance companies. For example, a carpentry contractor should be able to tell you how renovations affect your vacation rental insurance. Third-party contractors will have to work closely with your Safely insurance representative, so look for personable and communicative contractors. 

Read Online Reviews and Testimonials

You might find it difficult to trust your instincts when evaluating a company’s quality of service. Fortunately, you can use firsthand experiences to evaluate each business. Search online to find reviews and testimonials from each company’s past customers. In any industry, customer reviews can tell you about a company’s quality of work and customer care.

In reading reviews, avoid posts that are older than six months. A responsive company will address criticisms that their customers report in negative reviews. For this reason, complaints older than six months may no longer be a relevant issue. Additionally, expect some bad reviews for every company. Look for companies with significantly more positive reviews.

Spend Time on Your Social Media Accounts

At this point, you should have two or three service providers under each category on your list. If you’re having trouble choosing between them, try following their social media accounts. You can begin building relationships with them by reacting to their social media posts. This will help you evaluate each company’s image and public presence.

Take the time to read comments from other followers on each service provider’s social media account. Rather than publishing a formal review, many customers will leave comments on a service provider’s post. Sometimes, comments offer praise for the company’s high quality of service. When a customer leaves a complaint, check to see how the company addresses the criticism.

Attend STR Conferences and Events

An alternative method for building a broad network of service providers is to attend annual conferences and industry events. In addition to meeting other short-term rental property owners, you’ll meet service providers with experience. These contractors may regularly work with vacation rental property companies. 

Service providers attending conferences have the unique expertise required in handling rental property maintenance. Often, they attend conferences to meet short-term rental property owners in a relaxed social setting.

Develop Long-Lasting Relationships

Once you begin developing a network of service providers, make an effort to communicate with them regularly. If you maintain consistent communication with them, they’ll remember you when you request their help. You might even receive priority treatment if they’re facing an uptick in service requests.

Forging long-term relationships is easier than you might expect. Send holiday and birthday greeting cards to each company on your list. Invite business owners to lunch on occasion. Send out an email once in a while. A little effort will pay off when you need maintenance services for your vacation properties.

Stop Searching for Insurance

A reliable insurance provider is another service-oriented company that you should work with regularly. Safely specializes in providing commercial insurance coverage for short-term rental properties. We also provide guest screening to help property owners minimize risks of property damage. Request a quote to learn more.