Rental Company providing Linens for Vacation Rentals

Many vacation rental management companies choose to place their trust in a third party specializing in linens rentals for all their linen needs.  This leap of faith allows the property manager to focus on more pressing issues of the day, while pushing the linen duties to a trusted partner.  To be appealing to both parties the cost needs to be low, thus resulting in low profit margins for the linen company.  It becomes a numbers game, so we must find efficiencies in the process.

The primary challenges are (1) pulling the reservation from the property management system and (2) pushing the corresponding invoice for services back to the property management company.  There are a certainly other efficiencies to be had in the workflow (i.e. scheduling), but these two processes are the big opportunity for automation.

The booking is obviously critical to the process as it provides the check-in/check-out dates, the property location, and any notes that need to be passed along.  IF the linen company is utilizing software or digital process to manage the current workflow, these reservations are typically keyed in manually.  ELSE the linens company is not using a digital process (i.e. paper, email, phone), and we have an obvious opportunity for the integration of intelligence and efficiency into the workflow.

Regardless of the process to pull reservations being used today, API technology has provided a means of automating this process without human intervention.  API, or Application Programming Interface, provides a conduit for 3rd party software applications to securely talk to property management systems and pull/push reservation data on demand.

Once the reservation is in the hands of the linens rental company, several milestones must be achieved to ensure success.  The following are a few processes between the reservation import and the invoice export where AI and automation can be introduced:

• Reservation Updates.  Getting updates to reservations in a timely manner will save countless hours and fuel.  Whether check-in / check-out dates, property switch, add/remove line item, or delivery notes, getting these updates quickly is of utmost importance.
• Rental Items.  Management of rental items and corresponding inventory.
• Customers.  A central place to store all your customer data, including direct as well as real estate or property management companies.
• Property.  Maintain intelligence about the properties you serve.  Address, rental items standard (bed configuration), keys, occupancy, and delivery route order are all data used to improve process.
• Custom Pricing.  Maintaining custom pricing for EACH customer or property manager can be a major undertaking.
• Packing Label.  Simple right?  An overlooked aspect of streamlining the load and delivery process as you digitize your business.
• Delivery Route / Schedule.  Efficiently manage your delivery routes through Google Maps API integration and routing algorithms to save thousands each year in time and fuel.
• Key Report.  Trivial, but an hour each day spent sending a list of keys needed to property manager
• Truck List.  Adding trucks during busy times can add to the already chaotic schedule.  If the truck is active it becomes part of the delivery algorithm, thus items will be routed to the truck.
• Communications.  Track and document all communications regarding a reservation so that all involved are privy to this information.  Send messages to customers as events are triggered.  Improved communications throughout the process just makes everyone’s role easier! 
• Point of Sale.  As direct customers call in or make an online reservation, process that credit card transaction immediately.
• Mobile.  A secure, accessible from anywhere application that is the system of record for business.

Once the pickup has been made, the corresponding billing for services rendered is triggered.  Most rentals companies will already have software to help them with invoicing, accounts receivable, and other accounting functions.  It can be a challenge to accurately get the reservation invoice into accounting, not to mention tracking the payment status of that reservation.

Currently, the mainstream linen rentals company does not use a software application designed for linens rentals to manage their business workflow.  If they have employed digital processes, they are generally limited to a one-size-fits-all POS system, or an excel spreadsheet in combination with an email inbox.  While the business is able to operate with this approach, there is little room (if any) for growth due to the lack of automation and intelligence built into the system.  With a low profit margin, high volume business model, it’s going to be tough to compete without technology on your side.