“Did someone fix the shower in 318 yet?”
It’s been on a sticky note for 4 days. Reception thinks maintenance has it. Maintenance thinks housekeeping reported it but never sent the details. Housekeeping is sure they told someone. The guest in 318 is checking out tomorrow morning with a cold-shower review forming in their head.
This is the maintenance black hole every hotel pretends doesn’t exist. Tickets that aren’t really tickets. Status that’s nobody’s status. Accountability that lives in spoken handovers between three different people across three shifts.
What Repairs does
Every maintenance issue logged the moment it’s noticed. Photo, location, priority, category. The right person picks it up — or self-claims it — and the ticket goes from open to in progress with one tap. Blocked because of a missing part? There’s a state for that, with a reason. Done? Photo proof if you want it. Closed? Reopen-able by the original closer if it comes back.
Every status change is timestamped with a name attached. Full audit trail. No more “I think we fixed that already?”
Status flow
open → in_progress → completed
↓ ↑
blocked ←──────────
↓
cancelled- open — reported, awaiting pickup
- in_progress — being worked on, with assignee
- blocked — waiting on parts, vendor, or external dependency, with reason
- completed — done, with timestamp and closer name
- cancelled — false alarm or duplicate, with reason
Reopen of completed or cancelled tickets is allowed for admins, the current assignee, and the original closer.
Auto-claim on Start work
When transitioning open → in_progress on an unassigned repair, the system assigns the actor automatically and notes that the assignment was auto. No “tap to claim, tap to start” — one tap covers both.
Quick-repairs row
Six default presets ship in 4 languages — Light bulb out, Leaking tap, AC not cooling, Door lock issue, TV not working, Wi-Fi issue. Tap a preset → compose dialog opens with title, category, and priority pre-filled. Two taps, ticket logged.
Admins can replace the defaults via the Manage quick-repairs dialog with their own presets. When a hotel adds even one custom preset, the defaults are no longer shown — admins replace, not extend.
Permission model
Built around hotel reality, not generic IT helpdesk roles:
- Status change: admin, repairs editor, or assignee
- Reopen: admin, repairs editor, current assignee, or the original closer
- Edit fields: admin, repairs editor, or reporter
- Add photos: admin, repairs creator/editor, reporter, or assignee (assignees attach progress photos without a hotel-wide perm grant)
- Self-claim: any user with read access can claim an unassigned active repair to themselves
- Delete: admin always; reporter can withdraw while still open
Categories
9 fixed system categories (Electrical, Plumbing, HVAC, Furniture, Doors & locks, Bathroom, Floor & walls, Exterior, Other) plus an admin-managed custom list. Removing a custom category leaves existing repairs intact but stops new ones from selecting it.
Dashboard
5-stat header (Open, In progress, Blocked, Closed-30d, average time-to-close). Open-by-priority stacked bar with legend. By-category bars (top 6). Oldest open repairs (top 10 with red flag at 14+ days). Top reporters and top closers in the last 90 days.
The same elevator buzzer reported 6 times in 3 weeks isn’t a series of incidents — it’s a problem that needs a different solution. Patterns surface themselves.
Who it’s for
Maintenance managers replacing email + spreadsheet + sticky note workflows with one canonical ticket flow. GMs measuring time-to-close and identifying recurring issues before they become guest complaints. Heads of housekeeping reporting issues from the rooms with photos in 30 seconds. Owners auditing maintenance responsiveness across multiple properties.
If your hotel logs more than 5 maintenance tickets a week (it does) and currently tracks them in any system other than this, the math works.
The honest part
Hotel maintenance is one of the most under-invested operational areas in the industry. Tools that fit the way hotels actually work — fast logging, mobile-first, clear handover, reopen on regression — are rare. Most hotels run on email, spreadsheets, or generic ticketing systems built for IT helpdesks.
A good repairs system pays for itself in the guest reviews you don’t get. Quietly. But measurably.
How are maintenance tickets tracked at your property today — paper, email, spreadsheet, or actual workflow?