Guest communication help

[Gwynne Wharton]

Hey!

I own and manage about to be 13 short term rentals. I have always managed the entire operation myself as most processes are automated. As we are continuing to scale, I am trying to unplug from guest communications at certain hours... I am finding I still like making owner guest decisions during my "business hours" as this is my family's sole source of income and I don't want a great booking being turned away when maybe I would make a pet exception etc... so I don't mind still being involved with guest communication and making sure non-scripted responses are being handled the way I would like them to be... maybe one day I can let that go when I find the right person/company. Priority currently is being able to have coverage when I want to be "off" - after work hours or on vacation, weekends etc... I have tried training people and their responses are slow, I have tried hiring a VA and I honestly don't have enough tasks to warrant paying them 40 hours a week at $7 an hour... and some on co-host marketplace are charging way too much of a percentage to possibly handle communication on a booking that never needs a response. I just need guest communication help so I can unplug once in a while and not necessarily 24/7 - any recommendations on companies/individuals that offer this service, quick response times and can just hold down the fort and not at a ridiculous rate? Thank you!

[Andrew Steffens]

Our reservationists are 24 hours a day in 3 shifts for around 80 units. You would not need all of this obviously but I do think you can find a VA overseas who you could train and they will take the hours you do not want to work. They could also reach you in case of a hot booking request, request for exception, etc.