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FBO Partners has launched a solution to the complex issues facing FBOs when it comes to hangar space. HangarIT is a cloud-based management platform for FBOs, airports and other owners and property managers of aircraft hangars.
Fuel margins are under more pressure and many FBOs have turned to managing another revenue stream with hangar rentals. While hangar rentals offer another source of income when fuel supply or geopolitical events strangle the primary source of revenue for FBOs, many find that the legal agreements and regulations are primitive and come with a unique set of complications. Commercial real estate companies developed concepts like per-square-foot rates and charges, common area maintenance fees and annual consumer price index adjustments. These real estate concepts may now be commonly used by FBOs, but the management of those hangar, office and parking agreements is not.
"The Big Dark Secret of aviation property management is that most FBOs actually manage their customer leases through nothing more than a Rent Roll spreadsheet, and a DropBox, if that," FBO Partners said on its site. "That means annual increases are missed, rents stay stagnant, lease documents no longer reflect the current tenant relationship, fall into month-to-month status, or worse. And that certificate of additionally insured status you we're supposed to get? There is never a good time to find out your tenant is month-to-month and you no longer have a current insurance certificate for them. How did we get here as an industry? Simply put: No property management software specifically built for FBOs ever existed, until now."
HangarIT is a dynamic, central repository for FBO and airport property management, allowing all airport ground leases, customer subleases, insurance certificates and critical dates and rates to be kept in one place. With automatic reminders to renew a lease or increase a price, this program will assist FBOs with property management like never before. HangarIT will automatically generate QR codes for leasable spaces, which you can place on the hangar door. Simply scan the QR code with a smartphone and add the tail number of the aircraft being moved in or out and HangarIT will automatically geolocate the hangar, identify the aircraft as a tenant or transient and time stamp the movement. The square footage of the aircraft will be automatically calculated to drive occupancy percentages.
Another feature FBO Partners said is coming soon is HangarIT Marketplace. Push hangar availability to aircraft operators through the app. Let transient aircraft operators know when there is availability directly, marking it as available, rentable, or overnight hangar space right through the app.