Stop losing maintenance requests between messages
The guest tells the concierge. The concierge messages the manager. The manager contacts the contractor. By the next morning everyone knows about the broken shower, but nobody can say when it will be fixed. A maintenance handover needs an owner and a next update.
Record the next action, the person responsible and the time of the next update. “Sent to the contractor” is a step, not a resolution.
Capture enough detail to avoid a second interview
Record the property, exact location of the problem, what the guest observed and when it started. “Air conditioning broken” is less useful than knowing which bedroom is affected and what happens when the unit is switched on.
A photo or short video may help explain the issue if the guest can provide one easily. Do not delay an urgent handover while waiting for an attachment, and do not ask a guest to attempt an unfamiliar repair.
Keep the description factual. A guest's report that water is dripping from a ceiling should be passed on as that observation, rather than turned into a diagnosis your team has not verified.
Assign responsibility, not just a recipient
Choose the person responsible for progressing the issue. That may be the property manager even when a contractor will do the repair. The owner needs to know whether a visit has been accepted, whether a quote needs approval and what the guest has been promised.
Set the next update at the same time. If a contractor has not replied by then, the owner decides whether to chase, find an alternative or revise the plan.
Separate urgency from inconvenience using the property's agreed procedures. Time-sensitive issues need a direct route to the responsible person. A message logged for later review should never be mistaken for an urgent call being answered.
Agree the visit and access arrangements
Before confirming a visit, establish the expected time window, how the contractor will enter and who will meet them if needed. Check the arrangement against guest occupancy and any permission required.
Give the contractor the details needed for this job. Send access instructions through the agreed channel to the right recipient; avoid placing sensitive information in a widely forwarded group message.
Tell the guest what has actually been agreed. If you are still waiting for a visit time, say when you will update them rather than converting a contractor's vague availability into a promise.
Confirm the outcome before closing the issue
Use a short closing check:
- What work was completed, and when?
- Who confirmed the result at the property?
- Is anything still temporary, outstanding or awaiting a part?
- Has the guest or next shift received an update?
- Are the invoice, quote and any follow-up attached to the record?
If the repair is temporary, leave a named follow-up open. Otherwise the next team may read “resolved” and have no reason to arrange the permanent work.
Repeated reports should point back to the existing issue where appropriate. That makes it easier to see a recurring fault rather than treating each message as an unrelated event.
Give the guest and operations team the same picture
At Isla, Lucia can log issues reported by guests and Marco can work with the operations record. That shared context matters: the guest's follow-up should not start a second investigation because it arrived through a different conversation.
For your own team, begin by reviewing a handful of recent repairs. Find where the owner, next update or completion evidence was unclear. Those are the handovers to improve before adding more ways to submit a request.
Written by the Isla team, who build AI employees for hospitality businesses. Our guides share practical approaches; the scope of each hire is agreed for your operation.
