As we approach the end of July, summer is well and truly making itself known! Of course, as Property Managers, you´ve all been through the drill before, season after season, year after year. But the summer madness can still come as such a shock! It’s probably more than 30 degrees outside and the closest you have to a tan is a flushed face brought on by rushing around and trying to be in three places at the same time!

Whilst you look longingly to the beach, wishing you could be out there enjoying yourself with everyone else, we thought we’d put together some of the “Top Tips” shared by Property Managers for surviving the summer…

• • Shopping at the best times: “Avoid shopping for guest arrivals when the supermarkets seem more like an assault course that only the bravest would consider taking on! Shopping first thing in the morning when everyone is still at breakfast, or between 3pm and 5pm when most people are at lunch or not back from the beach yet. These are the best times to avoid the mile long queues at the checkout! Especially when there is limited time to get welcome packs organised.”

• • Managing last minute arrivals: “Last minute arrivals are one of the biggest challenges of the summer. This is made even worse when most of these seem to happen towards the end of the week! One way to make this a little easier, is to schedule all planned and confirmed activity and preparations towards the beginning of the week wherever possible. This leaves some free space at the end of the week to slot in the unexpected items more easily. And if nothing comes in last minute, everyone gets to finish early and head to the beach for once!”

• • Saving time in traffic: “Holiday makers are in holiday mode, so they are certainly not in a rush and getting lost just adds to the adventure! This can play havoc when trying to get from one property to another. By adding some extra time to what a normal journey would take can actually mean that more is done, as less time is spent trying to catch up and opening times of any shops and suppliers are not missed.”

• • Account management: “Getting the client accounts out is always a big headache at any time of the year, but this is magnified over the summer and can be overwhelming with all of the extra receipts and bills to charge out. A decent software based solution that can scan receipts and bills and assign these to customers on the go, really helps to keep things under control, with less trawling through endless bits of paper in search of a misplaced shopping receipt. Or even worse, forgetting about a receipt and only find it later on when it is too late to charge out at all!”

• • Managing out of hours contact: “The summer can sometimes seem like a series of non-stop calls, messages and emails from clients, even bringing on a slight twitch when the phones, computers, tablets and other devices all start bleeping at the same time! Having a rota to manage the out of hours contact phone between the team means that everyone gets some time out.”

• • Time out: “Time out? Haha! No kidding, this is really important as we are not robots! It´s all too easy to get bogged down with the long list of things to do, but this would never be completed even if we worked 24/7! So, it is important to take some time off to see friends and family, recharge and relax a little, even during the peak holiday season.”

So, what´s your Top Tip for getting to the end of the summer in tact? Please share them with us.

We all know how much hard work goes on 12 months of the year behind the scenes of professional Holiday Property Management and Rental Property Management companies. It’s one of the biggest reasons why Property Owners value and appreciate what we do for them, helping to create memories that can last a lifetime.

Remember, the summer is short and it will not be long before the suitcases are packed, taxis and coaches are loaded, the bars and restaurants start to clear out again and everyone can take a deep breath and celebrate the end of another successful season!