Task Management

Task Management is where every job your team needs to do lives — cleaning a turnover, fixing a broken AC, restocking supplies, running an inspection. Tasks create themselves from your reservations, go to the right person automatically, and get handled from a phone in the field.

What it does

Your operation runs on hundreds of small jobs every week. Task Management keeps all of them in one place so nothing slips — from the moment a job is needed to the moment it's paid for.

Task types

• Turnover clean — Between two reservations
• Deep clean — Periodic full clean
• Maintenance — Repairs and fixes
• Inspection — Quality check
• Laundry — Linen swap
• Custom — Anything else you need to track

How tasks get created

There are three ways a task appears on the board:

1. Automatically from reservations. When a guest checks out, a turnover task is created for that property with the right time window and any special instructions. Mid-stay cleans work the same way.
2. From a guest message. If a guest texts "the toilet is broken," Vanio AI reads the message and creates a maintenance task for you — no one has to type it in.
3. Manually. You can create a task yourself from the dashboard anytime.

How tasks get assigned

You have three options, and you can mix and match:

• Direct assignment — You pick the cleaner. They get notified instantly by app or SMS.
• Offer cascade — The system offers the task to your primary cleaner first. If they don't accept within a few minutes, it rolls to your backup, then to your full team.
• AI auto-assign — Vanio picks the best available person based on who's nearby, their skills, and how much they already have on their plate.

What your team sees

Your cleaners and maintenance staff don't need to learn new software. They can use the Vanio app — or just text messages. Either way, for each task they get:

• Property address and access code
• The full checklist, room by room
• Estimated time
• Pay rate
• Special instructions from you

To accept, they reply "1". They take photos as they work. When they're done, they text "done." That's it.

While the task is in progress

• A timer runs while they work, with pause and break support
• Photos attach to the task as they're taken
• They tick off checklist items as they go
• If they find something wrong — damage, missing supplies, a broken appliance — they tap Report Issue, snap a photo, and you're notified right away

The task timeline

Every task keeps a complete history: when it was created, who it was offered to, who accepted, every photo, every comment, every status change, and the final completion time. Scroll back and you can see exactly what happened.

Checklist templates

Create reusable checklists for different job types so your team follows the same steps every time. When you create tasks, Vanio automatically applies your most recently updated default checklist template unless you've created a property-specific template for that listing.

Setting up templates

1. Go to Settings → Checklists
2. Click Create Template
3. Add your checklist items room by room
4. Save and name your template

Once saved, you can apply any template to new tasks. Your team sees the full checklist on their phone and ticks off items as they complete them.

How Vanio chooses which template to use

When creating a new task, Vanio follows this order:

1. Property-specific template first — If you've created a custom checklist for a specific property, that always gets used
2. Most recently updated default — If no property-specific template exists, Vanio uses your most recently updated default template for that task type

This means updating your default cleaning checklist will automatically apply those changes to all properties that don't have their own custom checklist.

Managing templates

From the checklist settings page, you can:

• Edit — Update checklist items or reorder them. Changes save automatically when you click Save Template
• Add/Remove Items — Click Add Item to include new checklist steps, or use the delete button to remove items you no longer need
• Duplicate — Copy a template to create a variation
• Delete — Remove templates you no longer need

When you delete a template, it's permanently removed from your account. Tasks that already used that template keep their checklists — only the template itself is deleted.

Tips for editing templates

• Save early, save often — Changes only persist when you click Save Template
• Test your edits — After making changes, create a test task to verify your checklist appears correctly
• Keep it simple — Clear, specific checklist items help your team work faster and more consistently
• Update your defaults regularly — When you improve your default template, those improvements automatically flow to all properties without custom checklists

Marketplace

For larger operations, you can send tasks to a marketplace where vetted service providers bid on them. You review the bids, pick one, and they take the job. It's useful when your in-house team is full or you need a specialty service you don't staff in-house.

Billing and payments

Each task has a rate — flat or hourly. When the task is marked complete, Vanio can pay the cleaner automatically, either same-day or on a batch invoice cycle. See the Payments doc for setup details.

Ways to view your tasks

• List — Everything in one scrollable list, filterable by date, status, assignee, or property
• Schedule board — A visual timeline of each cleaner's day. Drag and drop to reassign.
• Kanban — Cards sorted by status: to do, in progress, completed
• Grouped — Group by time of day, by assignee, or by property

Real-time updates

The dashboard updates the moment something changes. When a cleaner accepts a task or marks it done, you see it instantly — no refresh needed.

Common questions

Can my cleaners use this if they don't speak English? Yes. Messages between you and your staff are auto-translated both ways.

What if the primary cleaner is sick? The system offers the task to your backup automatically. You can also override and assign it to anyone on your team.

Can guests report issues themselves? Yes, through the guest portal. The issue becomes a task you can assign like any other.

What if a task is running late? The dashboard flags overdue tasks in the operations view so nothing gets forgotten.

What happens to tasks when I delete a checklist template? Existing tasks keep their checklists — only the template is removed. You won't be able to apply that template to new tasks.

Why didn't my checklist changes save? Make sure to click Save Template after editing. If you close the template editor without saving, your changes will be lost.

Which checklist template will be used for my tasks? Vanio uses property-specific templates first if they exist, then falls back to your most recently updated default template. This ensures your latest improvements are always applied consistently across your properties.