PMPs Have Mostly Stayed Away from Offering Holiday Lighting

CLEVELAND – Many PCOs take this time of year to examine organic growth opportunities and – especially at this time of year – think about adding holiday lighting as a service.

It’s a growing market. In an article on Cleveland.com, Matt Scullin, owner of Window Genie Cleveland West, said his company did about about 50 holiday lighting jobs his first year (2020), and he is on target to do 300 jobs this season. Scullin said he attributes this growth to LED lights making holiday lighting more accessible, and in newer housing developments, where the homes have high peaks and high roof lines, putting up lights yourself has become more challenging.

Senske Services has been offering holiday lighting since 1998, and acquisition ambassador Chris Senske said during the last 25 years holiday lighting has become more popular and more accepted by consumers.  “They like it because it is easy, professional looking and many either can’t or don’t want to take the risk of working on ladders, on roof or in the cold putting up lights. Consumers like that we take down and store the lights for them and will change up the décor at their request.” 

Like many PCOs, Senske was seeking a service that would keep his team busy and gainfully employed during slow and colder months. It has grown into much more. “Soon after starting the service, within a few years, we were hiring specifically for holiday lighting to be able to complete the work in a timely manner,” he said. “Now we sell the service year-round and start installations as early as September, wrapping up installing about December 10.  We have actually done installations right up to and after Christmas Day.”

Senske said holiday lightning is a nice change from the company’s core businesses. “The team likes the change-up — doing something that brings joy to the client. And, of course, it does help the bank account (bottom line) at the end of the year rather than having a period that historically produced little income.”

Chase Hazlewood, CEO and owner of Go-Forth Pest Control, Greensboro, N.C., said his company has been offering holiday lighting services since 2013. “We started in order to pay our termite technicians more. And that worked out very, very well,” he said. Hazlewood also said holiday lighting aligns well with the company’s higher end residential customer base, “but it only represents 2 percent of our annual revenue. It’s pretty niche.”

Reasons that PCOs cited for staying away from holiday lighting include not wanting to invest in storage facilities for the lights and safety concerns. Keith Smith shared on LinkedIn that Evansville, Ind.-based Pass Pest Control steers clear of holiday lighting over concerns about employee safety, including working from ladders.

Ladder issues are less of a consideration for Pest Wildlife Pro, Miami, which is one of the reasons owner Rolie Calzadilla decided to offer holiday lighting services this year. He shared on LinkedIn: For me, being a bird/wildlife specialist who "lives" on ladders adding holiday lights is an easier transition. This is the first year I’m doing it, so we shall see how it goes.

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