Every property manager has the same Saturday-night problem: tenant calls about a leak, you're at dinner, now you're working. The playbook below shows how to categorize, route, and close after-hours emergencies without you being the dispatcher.
Quick answer
Categorize emergencies into 6–8 types (roof, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, lockout, pest, other). Assign primary + backup vendor per category, drawn from a single shared list. Route via a URL the tenant taps in your voicemail and auto-reply. Confirmations close the loop two-sidedly: tenant taps Yes after they reach a vendor, OR vendor taps 'I've got it' in their dispatch email. Owner cc'd on everything but doesn't have to act unless something fails.
→ Built for this
OutOfOfficePro was originally built for property managers.
Tap-to-call vendor dispatch, primary + backup per category, two-sided closure. 14 days free.
Active water intrusion (roof leak, burst pipe, sewage backup) — risk to property and habitability.
No heat in winter (below 60°F) or no AC in extreme heat (above 85°F).
Electrical issues (no power to unit, sparking outlet, smoke from outlet).
Lockouts (only if local law obligates you to address).
Gas smell (always — also call the gas company).
Active break-in or police-involved incident.
Garbage disposal not working.
Loud neighbors.
Dishwasher won't drain.
Internet/cable issues.
Hot water lukewarm but present.
The 6 standard categories
Plus a catch-all 'something else (urgent)' that routes to your fallback contact.
🌧 Roof leak / water from above
🚰 Plumbing / water leak (interior)
🔥 No heat / no AC (climate-dependent)
⚡ Electrical / no power
🔑 Locked out (local-law dependent)
🐀 Pest emergency
Building the vendor list
For each category, you need primary + backup. The catch most property managers miss: backups should have different availability, not just be a second name.
Primary: your go-to vendor. Picks up most of the time during their hours.
Backup: someone with different geographic coverage OR different hours coverage. If primary is local 9–5, backup is regional 24/7. If primary is a sole operator, backup is a larger firm.
If you only have one vendor for a category, your routing has a hole. Find a backup before you go on vacation.
The dispatch flow
For each emergency:
Tenant calls/voicemails or hits routing URL.
Tenant picks property + emergency type.
System resolves the routing for that property × category.
Tenant gets vendor's phone number with tap-to-call.
System emails vendor a ticket: tenant name, phone, address, issue, your contact info, accept/decline buttons.
Vendor accepts → tenant page shows 'Acme confirmed they're on it' OR tenant taps Yes → loop closes.
Vendor declines → backup auto-dispatched.
If neither vendor reachable → fallback contact.
You're cc'd on every dispatch email (or muted, your call).
Setting expectations with tenants
Put the routing URL in: lease packet, welcome email, recurring tenant communications, property entry signage, your voicemail, your email auto-reply.
The line: 'For after-hours emergencies, please go to [URL] — it'll route you to the right vendor immediately. For non-urgent issues, please use [normal channel] and we'll respond within 1 business day.'
Train tenants on this for 30 days; after that, the urgent calls go to the URL by default.
What this looks like over a year
Property managers who deploy this report:
After-hours calls to the owner's cell drop ~85% within 60 days.
Vendor relationships strengthen because the dispatch flow is consistent.
Vacation becomes possible — you can leave for a week without the place falling apart.
Tenant satisfaction often improves because the response is faster than waiting for the owner to call back.
// Built for property managers
The complete playbook in one product.
OutOfOfficePro = the playbook this guide describes, deployed in 3 minutes. 14 days free.