No notice that pipes were frozen from Management Company

[Denise Harmening]

Hello. We have a cabin in Gatlinburg managed by a small company. December 24 the guest notified them that there was no water. The pipes were frozen.  December 25 the guest notified them the heat wasn't working and the guest checked out. So the cabin was without heat. The management company did not turn off the water or go to the cabin. December 29 the cleaner went and the HVAC company. The cleaner discovered water was throughout the cabin. We were notified at 3:15 pm on December 30. We went and the floors throughout are warped and the entire place is damp. Now we can't find a restoration company available over the holiday weekend.  We live nearby and would have immediately turned off the water and contacted a repair on the HVAC. My question is, do you think the management company was negligent for not checking on the property or notifying us of the situation? 

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Denise Harmening:

I don't believe for a second that they didn't have time to contact the owners experiencing loss of heat. How many do they manage? How many owners lost heat and water that day? Five minutes per owner, 12 owners per hour. That's 24 owners contacted in two hours. Surely they could work a couple extra hours?

They could have instructed the Tenant on how to shut off the water valve. The Tenants were able to leave the next day, so clearly the roads were passable and someone could have visited the property. I know it's Christmas, but that's part of the reason we hire Property Managers. They are glorified booking agents and rent collectors, not true property managers that take responsibility for your investment.

I think you have a good case against them and I would push it hard.