For many serviced apartment operators, maintenance feels like a black hole: costly, constant, and reactive. From broken fixtures to emergency repairs and guest complaints, maintenance is seen as something you have to manage rather than something that can add value.

But that perception is costing your business more than you think. With the right strategy, maintenance can shift from being a financial drain to a process that drives better guest experiences, lowers long-term costs, and boosts your bottom line.

Let’s break down how to make that shift.

The true cost of reactive maintenance

When maintenance is treated as an afterthought, the consequences pile up quickly. Emergency repairs are not only expensive but create chaos for your team and negatively impact guests.

Here are a few hidden costs of reactive maintenance:

• Refunds and revenue loss: A broken AC unit or a water leak during a guest’s stay can lead to partial refunds or even full reservation cancellations.
• Negative reviews: Small issues can lead to major complaints, hurting your ratings.
• Asset depreciation: Without proactive care, appliances, flooring, and furniture wear out faster, leading to costly replacements.
• Operational inefficiency: When maintenance issues are handled manually, teams waste time chasing problems rather than preventing them.

Imagine this: a guest checks in on a hot summer day and finds the air conditioning isn’t working. Your team scrambles to find a technician, who charges a premium for after-hours service. The guest leaves a poor review and requests a refund for one night. What could have been a simple pre-season HVAC inspection just cost your business hundreds.

How maintenance can increase revenue

1. Preserve guest experience to protect reviews and revenue
   Maintenance is foundational to the guest experience. Functional fixtures, working appliances, and climate control aren’t “nice to have,” they’re expected. When everything works, guests don’t notice. When things break, they do. Delivering a consistently well-maintained stay earns 5-star reviews, repeat bookings, and positive word-of-mouth mentions.
2. Extend the lifespan of assets and amenities
   Preventative care reduces long-term capital expenditures. Appliances, flooring, and plumbing components last longer when they’re inspected regularly and maintained properly. By avoiding frequent replacements, you protect your margins and keep your units in top condition.
3. Reduce downtime between stays 
   Quick turnovers depend on things working as expected. A delayed repair means a unit can’t be booked, costing you potential nights. When maintenance is proactive, issues are caught early, fixes are faster, and units get back online quicker.
4. Improve team efficiency and reduce overhead
   When maintenance is organized and automated, your team spends less time coordinating repairs and more time focused on high-impact tasks. You also avoid costly emergency vendor calls, last-minute cancellations, and double-booked techs.

Use tools and technology to support maintenance ROI

Serviced apartment managers juggling dozens (or hundreds) of units can’t afford to rely on manual checklists or paper logs. Smart technology helps streamline maintenance by giving operators visibility, accountability, and control.

Richard Majewski, founder of ESSA Consultancy, emphasizes the critical role of guest services and maintenance in driving long-term success.

“It’s vital to have efficient software backing up your operations, especially for housekeeping and guest services functions,” says Majewski. “Whether it’s a lockbox code working properly or a cooker being fixed quickly, those touchpoints matter, and they’re what your guests remember. Without consistency and responsiveness, you risk damaging trust in your brand.”

His insight reinforces that maintenance isn’t just a backend operation, it’s a core part of the guest experience. Delayed fixes or mismanaged repairs don’t just cost money; they cost reputation and repeat business.

Here’s what the right tools can do:

• Schedule and assign preventative maintenance tasks automatically
• Track issue history at the unit level
• Enable real-time updates and photo documentation from staff or vendors
• Centralize communication across teams

Expert serviced apartment managers use Breezeway to reduce operational costs.

Edgar Suites, a leading serviced apartment brand with 500 properties across Paris, struggled with maintenance issues impacting guest satisfaction and straining the team. By implementing Breezeway, Edgar Suites transformed their maintenance operations. The platform helped standardize processes across all apartments, improved issue tracking and resolution, and ensured timely follow-ups.

The results:

• 50% reduction in guest complaints
• 2 hours saved per day on maintenance task scheduling
• Edgar Suites continues to add more apartments to their portfolio

Their team now uses Breezeway to manage thousands of tasks per month, ensuring every unit is guest-ready, every time.

Stop losing money on maintenance

When managed with intention, maintenance can be one of the most powerful levers to save money and grow revenue in serviced apartments. By shifting from a reactive to a proactive mindset, standardizing processes, and using smart technology, you can:

• Deliver a better guest experience
• Prevent costly breakdowns and asset depreciation
• Reduce downtime and improve operational efficiency
• Free up your team to focus on delivering value, not chasing repairs
  

Breezeway’s operations platform allows you to create custom maintenance checklists, automate recurring tasks, and ensure your team stays aligned across all properties. You can spot trends, identify recurring issues, and ultimately make smarter decisions that reduce costs and protect revenue.