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Our build is slipping on time and budget

Opening in December, the shell not yet watertight, and a change order every week — the project is in charge, not the owner.

Typical for: houses running the conversion "on the side" · operations without their own site management · projects whose opening date was fixed before the plan

Documented by Hospis

Updated: 25 August 2026

How you recognize it

  • The owner learns about delays on site, not from the schedule
  • Change orders get waved through because "it's already under way anyway"
  • There is no single point of contact who keeps costs and dates in view together
  • The owner's decisions take weeks because they fall between season and family
  • The construction schedule was drawn up once and never updated
  • The opening was announced before the build had confirmed it

Matching Hospi

MU

Much Untertrifaller

Architecture · Building in existing stock · Alpine building — Bregenz
AdviseImplement

Fills the owner's seat alongside the running operation: costs, dates and decisions in one hand, with a change-order rule and a weekly site meeting.

Mapped to root cause
Owner's representationChange-order ruleSchedule as a toolDate from the build plan
View profilePersonally vetted · independent match

Which path fits your situation?

01

Diagnosis

390 € fixed price

A vetted Hospi analyses your situation in a structured way — in conversation and with a written result. Every statement clearly labelled: FACT, BENCHMARK, HYPOTHESIS or CONCLUSION. You get a concrete path, not a sales meeting.

  • A legitimate outcome is also: no engagement needed.
  • If an engagement follows, the diagnosis fee is fully credited.
02

Urgent support

Acute situation? Your case is reviewed with priority — response within 48 hours.

Cause fields — how to tell them apart

Building projects don't get out of hand because tradespeople are slow. They get out of hand because nobody on the owner's side is steering.

These fields are complete, and many properties get there on their own — that is what this page is for. The cost simply does not appear on an invoice: internal hours, a few attempts, and a season that keeps running in the meantime.

01

The owner's seat is empty

How you spot it

The hotelier runs the house, the family, the season — and the build on the side. Decisions wait, questions pile up, site and operation compete for the same person.

The way out

Owner's representation as a role of its own: internally with protected time, or externally. One person who is reachable daily, decides or brings decisions about, and sees costs and dates together.

02

Change orders have no system

How you spot it

Every change order is a one-off decision under time pressure. There is no running total, no ceiling, no question whether the change is needed at all. In the end the budget is a third over — in small steps.

The way out

A change-order rule: every change in writing, with cost, schedule impact and reasoning; the running total visible; approval only against the question "what happens if we don't". A reserve in the budget, but with a custodian.

03

The schedule is a document, not a tool

How you spot it

There is a construction schedule from the planning phase. Nobody has updated it since. Delays are noticed when they become visible — weeks after they arose.

The way out

A weekly site meeting with an updated schedule, critical path and decision list. Deviations are named while they are small. The plan is only worth as much as it is current.

04

The opening date came before the build plan

How you spot it

The opening was set — for the bank, the guests, the family — before the build had its plan. Now the date sets the pace, not the construction sequence. That produces change orders, mistakes and compromises.

The way out

Derive the date from the build plan, with a reserve, and only then announce it. If the date is already out: check squarely whether it holds, and postpone in time rather than open badly. Related problem: Pre-opening without a plan.

Frequently asked

Isn't the architect the site manager?
Site management runs the site. The owner's representative runs the project — costs, dates, decisions, operation. Those are two roles, and the second one is usually missing.
What does an external owner's representative cost?
Less than an average volume of change orders. Anyone who knows that number decides quickly.
We're in the middle of the project — is it too late?
No. A current schedule, a change-order list, a decision list — that can be set up within a week and changes how the project is led immediately.

Describe your situation

The problem context is automatically included — you do not need to repeat anything.

Problem
Our build is slipping on time and budget

Related situations

Conversion budget is drifting before construction starts

Estimates rising, lender getting nervous, opening date locked.

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Pre-opening in 90 days without a concept document

Construction is on time — the operating concept isn't.

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Our building services are dated and costly to run

High consumption, frequent faults.

View solution
See all problems