Forever Destin Uses Coast’s QR Codes to 10X Response Times for Guests

Managing maintenance across 60 rental properties totaling 1,200 beds is no easy feat. That’s especially true if all guests report issues through the same service-line phone number. These phone calls routinely get missed because techs are already on a call with someone else or are out in the field making repairs. The result? Angry guests that have to repeatedly call to get something fixed when they’re just trying to enjoy their vacation. 

This was the daily reality for the property management team at Forever Destin Beach Rentals in Florida. And it’s exactly what drove Mallory Eubanks (pictured), home owner liaison for the company, to search for a better solution.

Streamlining Work Requests With Coast’s QR Codes

The team uses a more traditional property management software that offers a task management feature, but to make it work for maintenance was time-consuming, explained Justin Shane, the company’s co-owner and president of sales. So, the team was simply using Google Task to track their maintenance work.

A quick Google search led Mallory to Coast, and what drove her to sign up was the option for guests to submit work requests using QR codes. Guests simply scan the QR code on the refrigerator of the rental property when they need to report a maintenance issue. No more phone calls. Just an alert sent via Coast to the maintenance team, notifying them of the problem. 

“I didn’t even know the QR code thing was an option until we had a call with someone from the Coast team,” she adds. “Once we figured out how that worked, though, it was a no-brainer.”

Customizing Checklists to Match Internal Workflows

Since the team of five users started using Coast in the summer of 2024, they discovered several more things the app can do that they now use every day. For instance, the team uses the checklists feature to help manage every guest turnover. The maintenance team members have their checklists for the day separated out, and if one member falls behind, another can help pick up extra tasks if need be.

What’s more is they customized the checklists to match their internal terminology. So, they have all their tasks separated by inspections and to-dos. For example, one thing that they often missed was turning on the pool’s heat. So, there’s a daily task dedicated to that to ensure it no longer gets forgotten.

“I played around with [Coast] for a while, and we now have the checklist tab customized to, when we create a new checklist, it’s set up to match how we function,” Mallory says.

Effective Communication Leads to 10X Faster Response Times

Two people that use the app constantly are Rafe Eubanks, maintenance technician, and Jose Sanchez, maintenance supervisor. Apart from easy access to their daily checklists, the two like how Coast makes communication seamless. They no longer have to text or call each other because they can message each other in the app.

“As a whole, we get things done faster because our notifications come in immediately,” Rafe says.

Of course, communication with guests significantly improved since implementing the QR codes, which has cut out a lot of back and forth between the guests and the maintenance team. With Coast, the team usually responds to a guest issue within an hour compared to before when it would oftentimes be the next day. The team can also respond more easily to after-hours complaints because they see the request come through on their phones. With streamlined communication, they respond to problems at least 10 times faster than before.

Almost-Instant Coast Rollout

When the team initially implemented Coast, they found it easy to use from the get-go. Rafe describes his initial understanding of the app as almost instant.

“I knew it was going to be very beneficial,” he says. “It was never hard to figure out. It’s an app. So, in today’s world that runs on cellphones and apps, it’s as easy as using Instagram.”

What impresses the team beyond the features they’re already using is that they’re still learning new things every day in Coast. For instance, they want to start using the parts inventory management feature before their busy season hits this summer. 

In fact, Mallory’s biggest piece of advice to those using Coast for the first time is to take their time discovering all it has to offer. “Don’t just get it and think it’s one checklist or just work orders,” she says. “We have this whole entire list of things that we haven’t even had time to actually get and integrate. It offers so much more than that.”