Preventative Maintenance - Blue Sky Luxury

The Blue Standard has become the criteria that we use to look after homes in the property management portfolio at Blue Sky Luxury. This encompasses:

Cleanliness & Maintenance (300-point checklist including preventative maintenance schedules and hurricane checklists)
Health & Safety checklists (local and international regulations)
True representation of properties in marketing materials for all rental properties
Delivery of established Service Standards and training including utilising our property management software solution for work orders, maintenance schedules, and monitoring of contractors
“Stay, safe” our international cleaning and sanitizing standards following local, CDC and WHO COVID-19 guidelines

We have found that using these methods guarantees that all properties under our care are maintained to the highest standard. Putting the proper preventative maintenance processes, systems and checks in place will ensure that the property is well maintained and always ready and welcoming for any arrival.

Upon appointment for management, your Blue Sky Luxury property manager will assess the service requirements of all systems, appliances and equipment at the property. This includes frequency (weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually).
Quotations are requested from select suppliers and site visits to the property will be facilitated by the property manager who will also answer any queries.
Due to the size and scale of the properties being managed by Blue Sky Luxury as a whole, quotations will be sourced for contracted services at the best possible price, quality and reliability.
Maintenance contracts and service level agreements will be determined. Once appointed, the oversight of these suppliers will be the responsibility of Blue Sky Luxury to ensure timely and complete delivery.

Blue Sky Luxury is heavily invested in technology and the property management department has directly benefitted from this, we use specialized property management software. All preventative maintenance schedules, routine inspections, work orders and service requests are logged to track and record the resolution of maintenance issues from submission, assignment, monitoring and through to completion (with time-stamped digital photos if needed). The software also has a mobile app for both iPhone and Android devices making it easy for the property managers to submit these work orders. Each individual home under our management (whether rented or strictly for owner use) is added to the software.

Why is preventative maintenance so important?

The investment of having a home in Barbados for owners is significant. Blue Sky Luxury, along with the reputable suppliers, have a responsibility to advise and guide owners on the best systems to put in place to improve and prolong the life of the appliances and equipment at the home. Having these systems will improve the performance of the equipment as well as the health and safety of the home in general.

Forecasting and budgeting expenses is made easier with proper, consistent, proactive programs in place. Thorough records including a full asset register for all equipment and appliances using photos, purchase dates, supplier and warranties are also kept. A periodic review of these preventative maintenance programs is also needed to ensure price competitiveness and updated practices are introduced. For these reasons, but not limited to this, the transparency of contractor pricing is so important here; Blue Sky Luxury will ensure that the contractor is paid what they charge you; there is no mark-up applied to the bill by our firm. This is validated further by ensuring that all owners have access to every one of their invoices including those for maintenance when monthly financial statements are made accessible to them.

What are some examples of equipment and services that should be included in your preventative maintenance plan for your home?

The type of equipment, location (consider the exposure to various environmental elements), the age of the equipment and how often it is used are all taken into account when developing these programs. For example, for a holiday rental home that is occupied 250 nights a year, the recommended air-conditioning servicing may be quarterly for various split system units. However, an owner use home (non-rental) that is occupied 90 days a year may have a servicing schedule of twice per year. Similarly, grease traps should be cleaned at least once per year however depending on occupancy, this can increase to two or three times per year. Other services and equipment to consider developing a preventative maintenance plan for are: