AUMANA is not a corporation. We see a person in every guest, not a line in a P&L report. Service philosophy, the expectation system, the Care Department, the guest journey stage by stage and ready-to-use texts for the team.
This guidebook is the result of the work of the True Real Estate consulting department for the property management company AUMANA. It is based on True Real Estate’s own practice in managing and launching properties in Bali, an analysis of thousands of guest reviews of competitors, and a benchmark study of the philosophies of the world’s leading hotel brands.
Large chains manage flow. Their strength is scale, processes and standards. Their weakness is that, to them, the guest remains a booking number. No one knows their name, the reason for their trip, or what truly matters to them.
AUMANA is built on the opposite principle. From the very first message, the guest should feel they are speaking not to a system or a call centre, but to a small team of people who genuinely care. This team has names and faces. Guests can message them directly. They remember who you are, why you have come, and what you love.
This is not about the size of the company. AUMANA may manage dozens of properties — and still remain a small, soulful property management company for every guest. Scale lives inside: in systems, processes and control. On the outside, the guest sees only people.
The philosophy is the same across the entire portfolio. What differs is the depth of execution.
In the Signature line, each property receives its own story and its own service scenario. The guidebook sets the framework, while the property scenario fills it with content: who greets the guest, what the arrival ritual is, which local experiences we offer, and what tone of communication we use.
From large chains. Chains offer predictability, but not warmth. We provide the same reliability in the essentials and add what chains do not have: a personal introduction, memory of the guest, and flexibility.
From private owners and small property management companies. A private owner often has warmth, but no system: today the service is there, tomorrow the owner is busy. At AUMANA, warmth is built into the standard. It does not depend on the mood of a particular day.
The only measurable indicators of service quality are:
To maintain these indicators consistently across the entire portfolio, service must be approached systematically. The system consists of two layers: infrastructural and emotional.
The first layer is infrastructure. This is the core, the foundation on which everything else stands. Without it, service is not even up for discussion.
The second layer is emotional, human. People want a personal approach, whatever infrastructure they may be in. It is very easy to undermine even strong infrastructure if the service is not personal enough and not friendly enough.
1. Alignment with the listing. The property must match what has been promised: floor area, contents, photographs, description. No level of service can fix the situation if the real unit does not match the listing.
2. Condition and functionality. Anything that may give a guest the impression that the property is not being cared for must be resolved before arrival, not after a complaint.
3. Cleanliness. The most important part of the foundation. Dust, streaks, linen that does not feel fresh create rejection in the absolute majority of guests — regardless of the property class.
Also included here: fast internet, a complete set of tableware and essentials, and an always-available contact person who takes responsibility for resolving the issue.
Human attention today is a very valuable currency. In a large hotel, no one knows or studies their guest. This is precisely why AUMANA competes through personalisation and care.
If a guest personally knows the name of the person responsible for their stay and can write to them directly, they will forgive many imperfections in the infrastructure. What matters to them is that there is a person they can complain to, ask a question, and speak with.
Care must be proactive, but not intrusive. Most guests do not expect to be cared for at the level AUMANA provides. That is where our reserve for exceeding expectations lies.
Good service is, above all, about managing a person’s expectations. A guest arrives with expectations shaped by the listing, photographs, reviews and previous experience.
The baseline expectation level is the “OK” level, the level the guest is counting on. Wow service is about exceeding that level.
The task is twofold:
The first principle of service that exceeds expectations is personalisation. We need to know each guest well enough for the surprise to be created personally for them.
What happens without personalisation. If every guest is given the same gift, very quickly it will appear in reviews, stop being surprising and become a given. Guests will start arriving already expecting this gift.
Why this happens. The wow effect is about working with a person’s dopamine system. People quickly get used to constant, identical surprises, and they stop bringing joy.
What turns a gift into an event. The same gift works completely differently if it is personal and unexpected. Suddenness, personalisation and warmth create a strong emotional response.
Dear Andreas and Susanna, congratulations on your wedding anniversary! 25 years is a wonderful milestone. You met in Holland, and now you are celebrating this occasion in Bali. The AUMANA team, and personally your guest manager [name], would like to congratulate you and gift you a bottle of champagne and a massage session with our therapist — [name, contact].
Rules for a personal gift:
The heart of AUMANA’s service is the Customer Care Department. It is not a call centre and not a support desk. It is a small team of empathetic people who systematically plan, monitor and manage each guest’s experience.
In True Real Estate practice, two highly empathetic people work well for a group of properties: one plans, the other monitors execution. As the portfolio grows, the department grows too, but the principle remains the same — the guest always has a specific person.
At each property, a person responsible for the guest is appointed — the guest manager. They get to know the guest, introduce themselves by name, remain in direct contact throughout the stay and personally ask for a review at checkout.
The responsible person receives a bonus for a positive review in which they are mentioned by name. A good, detailed review is the main marker that everything has been done correctly.
At AUMANA Signature properties, a property may have its own “face” — the host of the house, the chef, the master-keeper. This is the person who embodies the story of the property: personally welcomes guests, shows them the house, tells its story and takes part in special moments.
The face of the property is not a marketing character, but a real person from the team. Their story must be true.
All information about the guest is recorded in AUMANA’s internal system:
Spontaneous gifts are built into the plan for exceeding expectations. Their budget is approved in advance for each line — separately for AUMANA and for Signature — and monitored by the Customer Care Department. The principle: maximum emotion for minimum money. The gift should not noticeably affect the owner’s income.
The personal experience begins with the booking. Every booking provides a communication channel: e-mail, phone, platform messaging.
Platform messages are often not read carefully. That is why AUMANA uses an introduction website — attractive, vibrant and in the brand style. It allows us to learn what we need about the guest in order to create a personalised experience.
The invitation should feel interesting, not like yet another “please fill in the form”.
Dear Andreas, we are delighted with your booking! My name is [name], and I will be your personal guest manager at AUMANA, staying in touch throughout your holiday. We have prepared a small introduction page for [property name]. It will help us get to know you a little better and prepare your stay so that it feels truly yours. Please take a moment to read our reviews — you will understand why it matters so much to us that you complete it.
The website is created in the AUMANA style; for Signature properties, it is designed specifically for the individual property. It includes a welcome message, a short story about the property and the team, and a questionnaire.
The guest is offered a choice: a short questionnaire or “I want the full AUMANA experience”. In the second case, we ask more personal questions.
Based on the answers, the care department can clarify the details in order to prepare a truly unforgettable experience.
If the guest has not completed the questionnaire, we ask a couple of the main questions in a message. The question about allergies is the most natural and inviting one to answer.
Information is also added during the stay — from all team members who interact with the guest.
We tell the guest about the property: its features, atmosphere, surroundings and rules. We honestly state what is not available and immediately offer an alternative. For example, if the property does not offer breakfast, we provide recommendations and partner discounts at the best nearby cafés.
Three tools: a spontaneous gift, addressing the guest by name, and a personalised surprise.
The care department maintains a system of gifts and surprises for different situations. The logic of scale:
If the guest has completed the questionnaire, we prepare a personalised welcome:
We ask how the guest is enjoying their stay and whether everything is all right.
A spontaneous gesture: in the morning, a coconut with a personalised card. In the evening — an offer to arrange a massage with a therapist coming to the property.
Departure is handled by the person responsible for the guest — either in person or by message. They ask whether the guest enjoyed everything and whether they were happy with their personal service.
How has your stay been? Have you been happy with my service and with the way we have looked after you?
I would personally be very grateful for your review. It means a great deal to me and to the whole AUMANA team.
If the guest says that they enjoyed everything:
I would greatly appreciate it if you left a review and mentioned my name. It is very important and valuable to me and to the AUMANA team.
Then we provide a direct link to leave a review on the relevant platform.
People are happy to leave a review in two cases: when they are very satisfied or very dissatisfied. Those who are moderately satisfied stay silent.
That is why we receive a review when the guest is:
Even if the stay was average, but a person personally did everything they could and asked for a review in their own name, the likelihood of receiving a review is many times higher.
Forgives. Shortcomings in infrastructure, if they see attentiveness, warmth and care from the staff.
High ratings and strong listings mean future bookings, higher ADR and owner income. Owner income means developer trust and growth of the AUMANA portfolio.
The circle closes: service brings reviews, reviews bring bookings and price, bookings provide the resource to make the service even better.