Managing properties properly

Property management firm Twiddy & Company  is using a business analytics solution for small to midsize companies to more cost effectively allocate and automate maintenance resource scheduling. By using the solution from SAS, Twiddy has reduced annual billing error losses by 15 percent. Twiddy, located on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, manages nearly 900 vacation rentals.

Laura Carver, CTO at Twiddy, says, “We turned to analytics giant SAS for reporting and analysis. In 2010, SAS Silver Alliance Program member Pinnacle Solutions helped us quickly implement SAS. We found it was easy to use and flexible. We plan to build out the solution ourselves as our needs change.”

According to SAS, its analytics software identifies trends, drawing from Twiddy’s SQL-based reservation system. Managers log into the portal, create reports on their own and drill down for details. Twiddy also plans to create employee dashboards to further promote fact-based decision-making and a homeowner portal to deliver everything from cost analysis to rental comparisons, SAS reports.

Clark Twiddy, chief maintenance director, says, “Homeowners trust us to match the right local vendors to each job, but we go much further. With SAS, we track and compare each vendor’s price/quality relationship. When service doesn’t match cost, we negotiate adjustments. Our homeowners know we’ll deliver cost savings without sacrificing the quality of hospitality their guests expect.”

According to SAS, Twiddy recently automated the scheduling of pool and spa service, which previously required a full-time employee. Now the SAS solution generates a service request with each reservation, selects the right vendor, e-mails the work order to ensure the home is ready upon arrival and automates follow-up status requests, freeing staff for other projects.

Twiddy says, “Analyzing revenue and costs lets owners know how their investments are working. No other agency in the vacation home property management industry delivers this level of reporting. It clearly enhances our reputation.”