3 ways estate managers level up operations with a centralized property management calendar in Nines

When you manage multiple properties, you have to keep track of countless moving pieces. Every day, estate managers balance their principals’ ever-changing plans, staff schedules, vendor appointments and more. 

With so much to juggle, estate managers deserve a calendar that can keep up with them – one that fits into their workflow, and has the potential to save them time, rather than adding work to their plates. And they need a calendar that’s easy for both household staff and principals to see, so staff can work together seamlessly, and principals can get visibility into what’s happening across their properties.  

That’s why we’ve built a centralized calendar into Nines, the go-to platform for managing complex homes and everything that comes with them. With our calendar, you can: 

• Manage schedules for principals, guests, staff and vendors all in one place 
• Connect calendar events to vendor profiles, documents, and any relevant information in your Nines account 
• View upcoming tasks and events all at once, or filter down by property, staff member, category, and more 
• Sync with external calendars like Outlook and Google Calendar 
• Control permissions and ensure users have access to only the events you want them to see 

Curious to see how estate managers are using the calendar feature in Nines? We asked 3 clients to share their experiences so far. Here are 3 ways estate managers are leveling up their household operations with a centralized calendar.  

1. Schedule guests, vendors and tasks 

Maryland-based COO Jessica Barganski oversees staff and projects across four different properties. 

With one centralized calendar in Nines, she and her team can easily keep track of guest arrivals and departures, plan contractor visits, and schedule cleanings.  

“It’s been very helpful to know when people are going to be in residence in different properties,” says Jessica. 

Moving forward, she and her team also plan to connect guest visits on the calendar with the guests’ contact profiles, so they can easily plan around their likes, dislikes, allergies and more. 

2. Keep household staff on the same page 

As the Co-Owner of the North Carolina-based property management company C.S. Smith Management, Catherine Smith oversees second homes for 30 different clients. For one new client with three household staff members, consolidating information was a top priority. 

“We were tasked with bringing order to the situation,” explains Catherine. “The staff never had one centralized calendar, and we said, this needs to happen immediately.” 

In the past, the team had tried to implement an Outlook Calendar, but no one used it. Instead, the housekeeper, the house manager, and the exterior property manager each operated in their own siloes. 

“They just had their own agenda, nothing was cohesive, and nobody knew what was going on, the principals didn’t know what was going on,” says Catherine. “It was just texts and a lot of chaos.” 

Without a shared calendar, staff never knew when the principals were coming and going. Now, with a centralized calendar in Nines, staff can see the principals’ travel schedule, vendor appointments and upcoming tasks side by side. 

“It’s been helpful for staff to see when they have windows to get things done and not disturb the principals,” says Catherine. “With the calendar, all the staff is on the same page.” 

3. Plan around principals and easily identify windows of opportunity 

Bay Area estate manager Melissa Winstead says the calendar is her favorite feature in Nines. 

“The family I’m working for now, there’s so many layers to their life that the calendar has been awesome,” she says. 

Her two principals travel 120 and 250 days a year, and their schedules are always changing. Being able to track their travel and make updates quickly as things change helps her easily identify windows of opportunity for cleaning, maintenance and projects to get done.  

With connections, she can also tie calendar events to vendors, vendor contracts, properties and zones, which allows her to keep every piece of information she needs at her fingertips. Having everything in one place helps her save time and be more proactive. 

“I really like to get ahead of something, I like to notice something before a principal does and take care of it, so A) they don’t have to think about it and B) if they happen to think about it and they check in with me, it’s already done,” says Melissa. “Nines helps me to stay ahead of things, which makes me feel like I’m doing my job.” 

Ready to get started? 

Log into your Nines account to try out our centralized calendar today. Don’t have a Nines account yet? Schedule a demo to see how Nines can help you streamline your estate management.