From front desk attendants to general managers and beyond, Action Property Management is a company built on the foundation of embracing innovation and creativity. It’s a concept that’s deeply embedded into the culture of the company, and everyone on the Action team is encouraged and equipped to think outside the box to provide service that goes well beyond client expectations.
Property management is a challenging industry. There are thousands of moving parts within each community and building. Sometimes those parts work together in harmony, and sometimes they need fine-tuning. When adjustments are needed, Action encourages managers to dig deep into their toolboxes to find a better way. This kind of thinking often results in substantial savings for our clients. Here are a few examples:
MILLENNIUM TOWER
San Francisco
Under the direction of Assistant General Manager Tom Dippold, nearly $400,000 in savings have been recognized.
- Trash, Compost, and Recycling Services: The Action team worked with housekeeping leadership and conducted an audit of current trash, recycling, and compost needs. This led to the installation of an upgraded compost bin and a reduction in contracted pick-ups by the service provider, resulting in annual savings of $80,000.
- Telecommunications Contract: By reviewing the existing telecommunications contract and researching alternative companies, Action was able to save the HOA over $36,000 while maintaining the same level of service from the new provider.
- Associate Lounge: By removing all single-use products such as cups, plates, and silverware and replacing them with reusable items, Action was able to save the association $30,000.
- Valet Contract: When the Action team requested productivity reports from valet leadership, they were able to reduce staffing by three employees and still provide the same level of service, thereby saving $160,000.
- Door Hosts: Another review allowed the team to reduce the number of door hosts by two employees. Further improvements included retraining staff on post structure and expectations, which resulted in $100,000 in savings without altering the level of service.
- Employee Retention: While the actual savings have not been fully measured, the implementation of new standards, upgrades to associate areas, and the launch of an associate recognition program have led to an increase in employee retention which has resulted in reduced training hours, reduced overtime, and less third-party staffing.
PROMENADE WEST
Los Angeles
Mark Hawkins, Action’s general manager at Promenade West in Los Angeles, has recognized over $1 million in savings for the homeowners in his building.
- Roof Renewal: Acting on a hunch, Hawkins suspected that the project manager overseeing the roof renewal and Cal-OSHA-required installation of a guard rail system was taking advantage of the HOA, so he rebid to another vendor. The overall savings were almost $1 million.
- Cleaning Contract: Another $17,000 in annual savings were found by renegotiating the building’s cleaning contract. When the current company raised its rates, Hawkins rebid the job and used that information to negotiate with the existing vendor. As a result, the HOA was able to maintain the original rate without incurring additional charges.
2177 THIRD
San Francisco
Daniel Hastings, general manager at 2177 Third in San Francisco, saved his client upwards of $100,000 per year by paying attention to details.
- Electricity: When Hastings became the general manager at 2177 Third, he brought a list of contacts from his previous assignment with him. One of those contacts was a company that served as a liaison between customers and the energy company. This vendor helped Daniel make sense of complicated billing structures and then switch to a billing plan that was more appropriate for the building. This resulted in savings of nearly $100,000 per year.
- Natural Gas: Hastings applied the same strategy to the natural gas service and further reduced expenses by $11,000 annually.
THE INFINITY
San Francisco
Under the leadership of Stephanie Kay, the residents of The Infinity in San Francisco realized savings of $2.5 million over a three-year period and future savings of nearly $1 million per year.
- Electricity: An energy consultant hired by the association conducted an audit in 2018 and noticed that the charges for The Infinity were disproportionately high when compared to similar buildings. This led to a deeper review to learn the cause of the high bills. During this process, it was discovered that the building had been designed with subtractive meters that reduced total usage from the main meter. The subtracted changes were then reassigned to the residents using traditional meters. Due to a flaw in the system, seven of those subtractive meters were never set to reduce the main meter’s usage, thus resulting in the association footing the bill for those residential units. Despite the error, the residents were still charged for their portions, thus resulting in double billing. By the time a full review was complete, The Infinity was credited $2,517,992.54 for excess charges over a three-year period. Conservative estimates put the future annual savings at $900,000.
- Club Lounge: While not a savings project, the sudden windfall of funds into the already robust reserve account allowed the Board of Directors to approve a complete remodel of the building’s club lounge.
