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Before the code Step 01
The ID check, the signed rental agreement, the house rules and the pet question all clear first. A yes on pets collects the fee, and the door code comes last.
CASE STUDY
HomeHop
HomeHop cut its lockout calls and collected $118k+ in damage waiver fees in nine months
- $118k+in damage waiver fees
- 2,900+stays with a damage waiver
- 133listings, up from 107 in January
TL;DR
The whole story in three lines
THE PROBLEMWhen a lock dropped offline, the backup code did not always work, so the guest called support. Slow season brought parties.
WHAT HOMEHOP SET UPDoor codes held until the pre-arrival checklist clears, backup codes preloaded on every lock, a flag on bookings within about 20 miles, and a damage waiver fee offered on each stay.
THE RESULTLockouts and parties down significantly, small replacements off owner statements, and $118,500 in damage waiver fees by October.
- $14k/modamage waiver fees since JuneUp from $7,000 in January. Guests pay it at the deposit step, before the door code goes out.
- $0small items billed to ownersThe fee pays for linens, towels and chairs, so the team replaces them without a manager's sign-off.
- 26listings added since JanuaryHomeHop went from 107 to 133 listings this year while access problems went down.
COMPANY
- Location
- Northeast Ohio
- Property Type
- Pool and hot tub homes, Lakefront houses, Hocking Hills cabins, City flats
- Employees
- 18
- Number of properties
- 133
AT A GLANCE
HomeHop Property Management is a short-term and mid-term rental manager based in Northeast Ohio, with homes in and around Cleveland, Akron, Columbus, Cincinnati, Lake Erie and Hocking Hills. Founded by Nate Klatt and Dan Mitchen, it runs an 18-person full-time team that handles guest messaging, cleaning, maintenance and interior design in house.
Integrated with SuiteOp
Guesty
Zapier
Slack
Stripe
Viator
Ecobee
Schlage
Yale
SuiteOp features HomeHop uses
- Damage waiver
- Pre-arrival checklist
- Smart lock codes
- Guest portal
- Upsells
- Workflows
THE CHALLENGE
Lock codes were the biggest headache in the business.
A lock drops offline at one of HomeHop's listings. The guest is at the door, the code fails, the backup code fails too, and the call lands on guest support. Dan Mitchen, Co-Founder and COO, ranks it first among HomeHop's problems before SuiteOp. Codes had run through three different setups, and the support team was the fallback.
Dan calls the arrival paperwork manual friction. Rental agreements, plus the extra one for the house with a treehouse, were done by hand. Small replacements like linens, a kitchen towel or a chair needed a manager's sign-off and landed on the owner's statement.
Slow season brought parties.
If I had to only pick three softwares to go with, it would be our property management software, our pricing software, and SuiteOp.
Dan MitchenCo-Founder & COOThe Transformation
The four steps HomeHop set, in the order a guest meets them.
The radius rule Step 02
A billing phone within about 20 miles flags the booking to #guest-approvals for a few more questions. Nothing is declined on its own.
At the door Step 03
Backup codes are programmed while the lock is online. A guest who can't get in taps “My code isn't working” and gets one, no call needed.
Behind the scenes Step 04
A yes to an upsell like pool heating fires a webhook to Zapier, and an Asana task lands with whoever turns the heat up that day.
The result: lockouts and parties are down significantly.
An 18-person team runs homes from Lake Erie to Hocking Hills.
HomeHopNortheast Ohio
Visit HomeHop(opens in a new tab)Dan MitchenCo-Founder & COOIf I had to only pick three softwares to go with, it would be our property management software, our pricing software, and SuiteOp.
Use cases
Use Case 01
Codes that wait for the checklist
BEFORE
The team handled rental agreements by hand, one more manual step before every arrival.
WITH SUITEOP
The code goes out only after the ID check, the signed agreement, the house rules and the pet question. A yes on pets collects the pet fee. Rules live per property, so each house asks only for its own terms.
RESULT
In Dan's words, the manual friction before arrival is gone.
Use Case 02
Backup codes guests pull themselves
BEFORE
An offline lock meant a stuck guest and a call, and the backup code did not always work.
WITH SUITEOP
Backup codes are programmed while the lock is online, and a guest taps "my code isn't working" to get one.
RESULT
Access problems significantly decreased, in Dan's words. Most stuck guests now get in without a call.
Use Case 03
A radius flag on local bookings
BEFORE
Slow season brought parties, and the team had no early signal before a local booking turned into one.
WITH SUITEOP
Card on file, a signed agreement, and a flag when the billing phone number is within about 20 miles. The team decides in HomeHop's Slack approvals channel. If no one replies in 15 minutes, HomeHop's AI assistant recommends an answer from its SOPs.
RESULT
Parties at HomeHop properties are down significantly.
Use Case 04
A damage waiver that pays for linens
BEFORE
A towel, a set of linens or a chair went to the owner as an expense after management approval. HomeHop held off on a fee, expecting bad reviews.
WITH SUITEOP
A damage waiver fee offered on each stay and paid at the deposit step. It covers small items, so owners no longer see them.
RESULT
Just under $45,000 by May, $118,500 by October.
WHAT SUITEOP RUNS
What runs on its own at HomeHop
- The pre-arrival checklist and the door code release
- Pet fee collection when a guest says yes
- Backup codes loaded on every lock while it is online
- The radius flag on local bookings
- Damage waiver fee offered on each stay
- An Asana task, through Zapier, when a guest buys pool heating
SuiteOp's IMPACT
$118,500
in damage waiver fees since HomeHop went live in January 2026.
- 2,900+stays with a damage waiver
- $55,000in upsell purchases since January
- $14,000a month in fees since June, up from $7,000 in January
What changed at HomeHop
- Backup codes are loaded while each lock is online, so a stuck guest gets in without calling support.
- Each property has its own pre-arrival checklist, and the pet fee collects itself.
- A local booking inside the radius gets a second look in the Slack approvals channel before anyone says yes.
- HomeHop's one regret: not signing up sooner.
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HomeHop cut its lockout calls and collected $118k+ in damage waiver fees in nine months
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