Community Association Managers across the state of Florida utilized Sentry’s CommunityAPP ™ to communicate with residents throughout Hurricane Irma, the strongest Atlantic Basin hurricane on record.

The Sentry Management CommunityAPP is an app that can be personalized for each community and has a feature that allows community managers to push notifications directly to user’s phones. This function allows for fast and easy communication that is especially useful during times of emergency.

Before the storm hit, community managers used the notification feature to send updates about the severity of the storm, to inform residents that gates would be left open in case of power outages, and when common areas such as the pool and exercise rooms would be closed.

The Stonebridge subdivision located in Orlando, FL was one of the communities that employed the app during the hurricane to communicate with residents.

“The CommunityAPP was an invaluable tool that we used to communicate hurricane readiness information as well as updates about what steps the association was taking to safeguard the community facilities,” Fran James, Community Association Manager, Stonebridge Place said.

Not only was the app useful in communicating hurricane preparedness to residents, it was also a remarkably beneficial tool to use during the aftereffects of the storm.

The Aftermath

“Following the storm, I used the CommunityAPP to send out instructions to owners and tenants about how to report damage, and to update everyone during the weeks of cleanup that followed,” said Fran.

“It saved us a lot of phone calls and emails and it also saved residents the headache of not knowing what to do during the cleanup process,” she explained.

After the hurricane, Fran was able to use the app to update residents about when contractors would be working on repairs and community managers across the state were able to send notifications to residents about when downed trees would be removed when debris would be picked up, and how to report property damage.

Other details, such as when community gates would be operating again, and when common areas would reopen were also notifications that residents received through the app.

Residents appeared to appreciate the open communication that the app provided during the storm. “Thank you so much for keeping us informed, and up to date,” one Stonebridge resident said.

Some of the other features the app offers are an assessment payment center, links to community sites, community convenience tabs, and non-emergency contact numbers.

Sentry Management is a full-service community management company. Sentry’s business is the day-to-day operation of communities, homeowner associations, and condominiums. Sentry is accredited as an AMO® (Accredited Management Organization) by the Institute of Real Estate Management, providing independent evaluation that Sentry has one of the highest operating and financial standards in the industry. View our full list of services here: http://www.sentrymgt.com/for-association-boards/services/.