Early last month, Hurricane Irma made a serious impact on everyone living in, and traveling to, Florida. There was a lot of uncertainty leading up to the storm and many families were left unsure of what they should do about their vacation plans. There was a lot of work that had to be done in a short amount of time, to make sure that everyone was safe and that all properties were protected and secure. Our team was tasked with a tough challenge and met that challenge in an amazing way!
I cannot tell you how proud we are of the entire Jeeves team, they really did go above and beyond for our homeowners and guests in preparation for Hurricane Irma. In our line of work, we have to plan for all situations and it can often involve a lot of moving parts in a short window of time to make sure that all things are thought through and executed effectively. The reservation staff worked overtime in the field, alongside our inspectors and maintenance teams securing homes. Our accounts department still managed to close end of month, getting statements and owner payments out on time with no delay - amazing work! In our newsletter, we advised owners of the impending hurricane and kept them informed with an outline of our action plan.
On the Thursday before the storm, we were inundated with calls from people wanting to evacuate from Miami and the surrounding areas. Then on Saturday, the phones were very active with people wanting to evacuate the Tampa and Naples areas. We made the decision to keep rates at the bare minimum to try and help people wherever possible.
Prior to the hurricane, we delivered instructions to our guests and started removing potentially dangerous items from pool decks. Again, we sent an email to all owners informing them of the following actions we were taking. At that time, all phone lines were directed to the owners of Jeeves Florida Rentals, to reassure owners and guests.
The owners stayed at Reunion so that they could be close by in an emergency, as we assumed curfews would be in place. Any guests due to arrive during the days leading up to the storm, because of the hurricane and curfews, we offered the options of either changing their dates or being refunded. As soon as the hurricane was over, we emailed owners again to tell them that home to home inspections would commence and by the end of the week we would notify them of any damage to their homes. We set about the inspections and putting furniture back outside, prioritizing the occupied homes and those homes that were due to have arriving guests.
Many of our owners emailed us, offering their homes to any staff who were unable to stay in their own homes, a much appreciated gesture, as several of our staff needed housing.
We received numerous emails from grateful owners, thanking us for the communication line we kept open with them.
Here are a few messages from homeowners and guests, praising our team for their efforts:
Hi Sharon and Paul,
Just a note of thanks to you and the Jeeves team for the care that you have demonstrated for your clients leading up to the storm and in the days following, and for the communication throughout. Much appreciated, particularly knowing that you and your staff were in the midst of concerns for your own property, family, and friends.
Thank you and hope all is well.
Carey and Leanne Drader
Hi Sharon,
I hope you, your family, staff, and everything is all fine after the hurricane. We are ok and back home in Weston.
I am writing this email to compliment Jeeves' concern and attention to us during this time in Orlando. We had the necessary assistance to clarify information and take steps to prepare for the hurricane's passage. We especially appreciate your agility in resolving our issues.
We are so thankful for every help.
Kind regards,
Gabriela