Key points
- To be believed. They are not making it up and they are a little embarrassed about reporting it.
- To know what happens next. Who is coming, roughly when, and whether they need to be there.
- A workaround for tonight. If the kettle is dead, is there a pot? If the lock is stuck, is there another way in?
On this page
"The bathroom door handle came off." "The kettle does not switch on." "The balcony lock is stuck." Maintenance messages are the bread and butter of hosting, and the way you handle the first ten minutes decides whether the guest remembers a small hiccup or a bad stay. Here is the process we use on our own apartments, from the first message to the fix, and then to the step most hosts skip: making sure it does not happen again.
What the guest actually wants
Three things, and the order matters.
- To be believed. They are not making it up and they are a little embarrassed about reporting it.
- To know what happens next. Who is coming, roughly when, and whether they need to be there.
- A workaround for tonight. If the kettle is dead, is there a pot? If the lock is stuck, is there another way in?
What they are worried about: that you will blame them for the damage, or that nobody will come and they will live with it all week. A reply that says "thank you, here is what happens next" removes both.
Questions to answer for yourself first
- Is anyone unsafe? Gas smell, sparking socket, water near electricity, a lock that traps someone. If so, tell the guest to leave the area and call local emergency services, then deal with the apartment. Everything else is ordinary.
- Does it need a person, or just instructions? A tripped breaker, a remote in the wrong mode, a heater switch: these are messages, not visits. The aircon, hot water and wifi pages cover the big three.
- Who fixes what? Keep a short list per building: the juristic office or building technician for plumbing and shared systems, your own handyman for furniture and appliances, the aircon company for aircon. LINE contacts and hours for each.
- What is your spend limit without asking yourself twice? Decide a number. Below it, the cleaner or handyman just fixes it. Above it, you decide.
- What is the workaround? Spare kettle, spare remote, spare key with the building, fan in the wardrobe. Every apartment should have the small spares that turn a broken night into a slightly annoying one.
- Does the guest need to be home? Say so, and offer a time window rather than a point. "Between 10 and 12" is a promise you can keep.
Three replies you can copy
No greeting. Thank them, say what happens next, give the workaround.
Thank you for telling us, and sorry about the handle. Our handyman can come tomorrow between 10 and 12, and he will message you before he arrives, so you do not need to wait in. For tonight the door closes fine without the handle if you pull it gently from the inside. If you would rather he came at another time, just say.
Thanks for the photo. That socket has its own breaker in the fuse box by the front door. Open the grey panel and push up the switch that is pointing down, number 4. The kettle should work straight away. If it trips again, tell me and I will have someone look at it.
Thank you, and sorry for the trouble. I am checking with our technician now to see how soon he can come, and I will confirm a time with you within the hour. There is a spare kettle in the top cupboard in the meantime.
Always ask for a photo when you can. It settles most "do we need a person" questions in one look, and it is a record for later.
The process after the reply
A good reply is half the job. The rest is a short loop.
- Log it. Apartment, what broke, date, who was told. A note on your phone is enough. Memory is not.
- Tell the person who fixes it, with the photo and the time window. On LINE in Thailand, WhatsApp in most of the rest of the region.
- Confirm with the guest once the fix is booked. Then confirm again once it is done, with a one-line "all sorted, thank you for your patience."
- Update the cleaning brief. The cleaner should know the handle was replaced so they check it on turnover, and know about anything left behind by the technician.
- Ask why. If the same kettle died twice, buy a better kettle. If the same lock sticks every month, it is the lock, not the guests.
Alex, who runs six units in Bangkok, keeps a one-page list per building of what broke and how often. Three items caused half the messages. He replaced all three.
Mistakes hosts make
- Asking "what did you do to it?" Even if you are curious. The guest hears blame and stops reporting things, which costs you more later.
- Promising a time the technician has not confirmed. One missed window is worse than an honest "I am confirming."
- Sending the guest to deal with the building office. They do not speak Thai and do not know the system. You do it.
- No spares. The cheapest fix for most breakages is a drawer of them.
- Not closing the loop. The guest does not know the handyman came unless you tell them. Say "all sorted."
- Fixing without learning. The same broken thing three stays in a row is a decision you have not made yet.
How Tokay handles it
In Tokay, your front desk agent Pam answers guests from your rules and the three-level knowledge base, so the "that socket has its own breaker" reply is written once at building level and covers every apartment in the tower, in the guest's own language. If the instruction for a specific fault is not on file, Pam asks you rather than guessing. A guest reporting damage is a sensitive situation, so Pam's draft comes to you first for approve, edit or deny with a tap, and Pam will not promise a technician's time you have not agreed.
Sam, the operations agent, writes tomorrow's cleaning brief every night and updates it when plans change, so the handyman visit and the replaced handle are on it, and cleaners and contractors are reached on LINE. Angela turns the photo of the handyman's receipt into an expense record. Leo's morning message lists what happened overnight and what needs you, so a 2 AM breakage is on your phone at breakfast with the rest. If the stay ends in a review that mentions it, Andy drafts the reply the morning it lands.
Questions hosts ask
Should I charge the guest for damage?
Only for clear, significant damage, and through the platform's process, never as a demand in the chat. For ordinary wear, a broken glass, a loose handle, let it go. The goodwill is worth more than the cost.
How fast should I reply to a maintenance message?
Within fifteen minutes with "thank you, here is what happens next," even if the fix is tomorrow. The reply speed is what the guest rates, not the repair speed.
What if the guest reports something at 2 AM?
If nobody is unsafe, a short acknowledgement and a workaround is enough, with the real fix in the morning. Guests do not expect a handyman at night. They expect to be answered. The guest locked out page covers the one case where the night cannot wait.