Elevator Bookings

Dear Residents,

Last year, the Board of Directors had heard much negative feedback from residents regarding elevator bookings. As our building has a high rental rate, it also has a high turn-over rate as many tenants move in and out. In fact, in the last year alone, we had 527 elevator bookings (with as many as 26 bookings for one suite alone). 

On November 21, 2016, all residents were notified of a policy change regarding Elevator Bookings. You may view this notice on our website by clicking here: https://www.emeraldcityone.com/single-post/2016/11/21/Important-Change-to-All-Bookings

The notice was regarding Changes in Policies for Elevator Bookings, and it targeted two main points:

1. Temporary Holds for Elevator Bookings will be for 48-hours before the resident is required to provide all paperwork, or else it will be released. This ensures fairness and accessibility to all residents as it avoids cluttering up the elevators bookings only to be released on short-notice for last-minute cancellations.
2. The mandatory booking of Guards who are on-site for the sole purpose of supervising elevator bookings (small deliveries from professional companies are exempt and continue to be FREE, as most companies provide large delivery windows, and their professional employees can often move items in 15 minutes or less)

In accordance with Labour Laws and the price charged for guards by our security company, the cost of a dedicated Elevator Booking Guard was placed at $100 (all-inclusive). We’d like to make it clear that Property Management does not profit from this cost. This is the cost that the Corporation is charged, and as such, is the price that is passed on to the resident who requires the elevator booking.

Recently, there have been a couple residents who inquired about the $100 charge and asked us to provide all residents with options and a chance for feedback.

The options are as follows:

 

Option	Pros	Cons
Continue Current Policy: The person using the elevator pays for their own Guard.	(1) Each resident pays for their own use of the guard, therefore maintenance fees will not be affected. (2) The Desk Guard is able to perform his/her duties and be consistently available to assist residents. (3) Less damage to the building- cost of repairs is minimized for all owners.	(1) $100 fee charged to the resident booking the elevator.
Spread Out the Costs to ALL Owners via Maintenance Fees*: The cost of all the Guards hired for all moves is spread out to all owners.	(1) The Desk Guard is able to perform his/her duties and be consistently available to assist residents. (2) Less damage to the building- cost of repairs is minimized for all owners.	(1) Maintenance fees will go up by approximately 2%. This accounts for an additional $8-$13 per suite per month, depending on suite size.
Go back to how it was: Limited availability of desk staff and higher-risk bookings, and no fees for guards.	(1) no guard has to be booked.	(1) Maintenance fees will increase accordingly to account for additional damage caused by bookings without a dedicated guard to thoroughly supervise. These repair fees are particularly pricy where extensive elevator damage is concerned. (2) More damage to the building will be unaccounted for and furniture will be left behind- and the fee to repair and dispose will cost ALL owners via maintenance fees. (3) the desk guard will be responsible for elevator bookings as well. This will mean that residents may have to wait at the desk for 20-30 minutes before the desk guard is back, and will have to remember that Security is often unable to pick up the phone as they may be occupied or in a place without reception.

*For the second option (Spreading out costs to all owners through maintenance fees), we would like to provide the following calculations:

• In the last year, we have had 527 elevator bookings. If the cost of a guard were to be passed along to all owners, it would translate to an increase in maintenance fees of nearly 2%.
• An increase of 2% in maintenance fees would mean that each suite will pay an additional $8 - $13 per month, depending on suite size.

We have seen a drastic reduction in the costs of repairs caused by elevator bookings (damage due to accidents or carelessness) by placing a guard specifically for elevator bookings, and for the last year, have not received ANY complaints about the Security Guards from the Front Desk being absent for long periods of time due to assisting with Elevator Bookings.

We would like to ask for your feedback as to which policy you'd like to see going forward. 



Please consider the pros and cons of each option, as provided in the table, and make your choice below.