Vacation Rental Cleaning: A Comprehensive Guide

It’s crucial for hosts to arrange routine cleanings for their rental property as part of good vacation rental management. Regular cleanings help keep your vacation rental spotless and make sure that your guests arrive in a welcoming environment that will have them leaving glowing reviews.

Every vacation rental owner has had to deal with negative reviews at some point and knows that a bad guest experience can really damage your bottom line.

A common complaint that may result in a negative review from guests is the hygiene and cleanliness of a vacation rental property. To prevent this from happening, hosts should always put in the cleaning time to keep their properties properly guest-ready. 

Discover all the ins and outs of the cleaning process, including how to find the best cleaners and put the Airbnb enhanced cleaning protocol in action.

Vacation Rental Property Cleaning vs. Regular Cleaning

Cleaning vacation rental properties might sound like a normal cleaning job, but there are some differences. 

Cleaners often work from a checklist they receive from hosts. This ensures quality control and that the cleaning requirements of the rental property are met. Soap and water are not enough to ensure proper cleaning. You should not just clean but disinfect your short-term rental to remove gems and reduce health risks for your guests. 

In addition to regular cleaning operations, cleaning a vacation rental property requires some extra steps to have the space guest-ready.

• Sanitizing and wiping down all surfaces such as: 

  • Shelves

  • Tables

  • Countertops

  • Light switches

  • Doorknobs

  • Handles

  • Handheld items e.g. remote control

• Deep clean living room furniture and carpets.

• Conducting a stock inventory of all rooms for essential supplies

• Recording stock count for each room and replenishing any low stock.

• Clean and dust the ceiling fans.

• Conducting a property inspection for damage or breakage. Testing amenities such as taps, water pressure, geyser, television, jacuzzi, etc.

• Reporting any missing items or damages to the host or property manager.

• Dusting and polishing furniture.

• Scrub and disinfect sinks and check drainage.

• Scrub the shower.

• Sanitize all surfaces in the bathrooms.

• Vacuum or steam the curtains.

• Ensure there are fresh linens for the next guest.

• Kitchen cleaning and sanitizing including all appliances.

Maintaining vacation rental properties requires cleaners to go above and beyond. They are also responsible for taking stock and checking the working conditions of the property’s facilities.   

Benefits of Automating Your Cleaning Operations

To schedule and organize cleanings, hosts often opt for vacation rental software, such as iGMS, to manage all necessary arrangements and bookings. Using iGMS, hosts can plan and automate all steps of the cleaning process from start to finish:

• Invite cleaners to become members of your cleaning team

• Create cleaning tasks for each rental property

• Assign cleaning tasks to a team member/members for a property

• Notify team members of new tasks and task details

• Create a checklist for your team to follow while they complete their cleaning tasks

• Track the progress of your cleaning task in real time as it’s completed

• Create reports of cleaning tasks, cleaners who worked, and total time spent cleaning. Use these reports to keep track of tasks and calculate monthly payments.

Self-cleaning Vs. Hiring a Cleaning Service: Pros and Cons

When planning a cleaning, you need to decide if you will hire a cleaning service or clean your rental property yourself. There are pros and cons of both choices, and you should base your decision on several factors:

• Your rental’s location

• Your rental’s size

• The average time it takes to clean

• The amount of time you have available to commit to cleaning

• The number of short-term rentals you manage.

If you live far away from your rental, then it would be convenient to hire an external cleaning team to clean for you. Also, if you don’t have the time in your busy schedule to commit the time spent just to cleaning, then it’s best to leave it to a team of professionals.

If you live in or near your rental and can manage cleaning it on your own, then you may not need to hire a cleaning company. If this is the case, be sure you can commit to the necessary cleaning at the required schedule.

Usually, cleanings take place between guests checking in and out. So you will often be working with limited time and this can be difficult when dealing with a last-minute booking. 

Hiring a cleaning service:

Pros:

• You can rest assured knowing that your properties are being handled by efficient professionals.

• Having someone else clean frees up your time, which you can devote to other business matters.

Cons:

• You will need to spend time interviewing and screening companies to find a suitable one.

• Hiring a cleaning team will cost more money, which could translate to lower net profit. However, you can factor this in when charging guests cleaning fees.

Self-Cleaning:

Pros:

• Cleaning is an ongoing operation, and doing it yourself may save you more money in the long run.

• You never have to worry about quality control for your business.

Cons:

• You will spend a lot of time on cleaning tasks, as your rental must be taken care of every time a guest checks out.

• You will have less time to attend to other aspects of your business and scale your profits. 

• You may become overwhelmed if you manage many rentals that need constant cleaning.

• Cleaning supplies are costly so weigh this up against the price of a service.

How to Find the Best Cleaning Service for Your Vacation Rental Property?

If you decide to hire a vacation rental cleaning service for your property, it’s important to do some research before deciding on a company that matches your needs.  To start, look up some licensed professional cleaning services in your area. Make contact with them to find out about the structure of their company and how many teams they use.

Some important questions to ask a cleaning company before hiring them are:

• Do you specialize in cleaning vacation rentals?

• How many team members make up a cleaning team?

• What is the exact list of services you offer for a standard vacation rental cleaning? 

• Are you willing to provide additional cleaning services if requested?

• Do you work from a cleaning checklist?

• Does your company offer deep cleaning services?

• What is your contingency plan for emergencies and last-minute call-outs?

• What happens if a team cannot make a cleaning due to unforeseen circumstances? 

• Who will supply cleaning products?

If you are satisfied with their answers, ask them for references from past or current clients. A stellar cleaning company, with a proven track record, should not have an issue supplying references. If the company seems hesitant or unwilling to do this, it could be a sign that its services are not up to scratch. 

If the company has no problem giving references, ask them for a quote for their cleaning fees. Using this method to screen companies will help you to get quotes from only the most reliable ones. From there, you can compare quotes and hire the best company that offers the services you need. 

Client testimonials and reviews play a crucial role in evaluating the quality and reliability of vacation rental cleaning services. Positive feedback from hosts and guests alike can provide insight into a cleaning team’s efficiency, attention to detail, and professionalism. These reviews not only help new clients make informed decisions but also build trust and credibility for cleaning services in the highly competitive vacation rental market.

How Much Does a Vacation Rental Cleaning Cost?

The cost of a rental cleaning varies and will depend on things like your property’s size and location, as well as the fee structure the company uses. Companies can charge a fee ranging from under $100 in a quiet town, right up to $350 in a big city like New York.  Hosts commonly charge a cleaning fee to guests that cover the cleaning costs.

Hosts can either charge a separate fee to the booking cost, or they can include it as part of their nightly rate.  Try to keep your competitors in mind when you are calculating your fee. If your vacation rental cleaning fee is much higher than your competitors, it may put guests off from booking with you. You can always check what your competitors are charging, as a reference, when setting your own price for your vacation rental property. 

Platforms For Finding and Booking a Cleaning Service

Now that you have your hiring process planned, you can start searching for potential companies. Check out the platforms below to find a range of vacation rental cleaning companies:

1. HomeAdvisor

2. Yelp

3. Airtasker

4. Handy

5. Angi formerly Angie’s List)

6 Handy Apps for Vacation Rental Cleaning

As a host or property manager, cleaning your rental is one of the many responsibilities you need to oversee on a daily basis.

Fortunately, technology is here to help, with a host of handy apps to make booking an experienced cleaning team much easier! Mobile apps for hosts are transforming the way property managers and owners manage their rental operations, particularly when it comes to cleaning schedules and team communication.

These apps, available on both iOS and Android, streamline cleaning management by offering features such as early checkout notifications, real-time updates, and seamless communication with Airbnb cleaning teams.

Hosts can also set up automatic payments for their cleaning staff, ensuring a smooth and efficient process.

1. GuestPrep – GuestPrep is a company that specializes in vacation rental cleaning and laundry services, based in Washington DC.

2. Properly – With Properly, hosts and cleaners can interact with each other in real-time through instant messaging and photo sharing.

3. Airhosta – Airhosta is a platform connecting hosts with a variety of service providers, including cleaning companies.

4. Handy – Handy offers a range of vacation rental services on top of cleaning, including handyman maintenance, tech installation, and furniture assembly.

5. Airtasker – Airtasker is an Australian platform where homeowners can post a variety of task requests, ranging from cleaning to gardening, and receive offers from qualified and trusted professionals.

6. Tidy – Tidy offers a variety of cleaning plans for vacation rentals and also customizable cleaning plans for hosts. They have offices located throughout the US and are easily reachable for assistance. 

Putting Airbnb’s Enhanced Cleaning Protocol in Action

In response to current discussions on hygiene and safety, Airbnb has released a standardized cleaning protocol for vacation rental hosts called the Enhanced Cleaning Initiative.

This initiative aims to help hosts follow the strictest possible hygiene standards when cleaning their rentals. This comprehensive cleaning process consists of a five-point checklist that hosts should follow:

1. Prepare – Prepare for cleaning which includes washing hands, wearing a mask, wearing gloves, and gathering all necessary cleaning materials.

2. Clean – Removing all dirt, grime, and germs from surfaces. This includes washing, dusting, mopping, vacuuming, and wiping down surfaces.

3. Sanitize – Once all materials and surfaces have been cleaned, they are sanitized by disinfectant sprays and liquids. 

4. Check – After all rooms and surfaces are cleaned and sanitized, hosts must check that each room is properly stocked and that there are no maintenance issues.

5. Reset – To prevent cross-contamination hosts must dispose of, or wash, their cleaning supplies and protective gear, before beginning another cleaning. 

 Hosts who commit to this cleaning process can accept a “commit to clean” agreement on Airbnb’s website. Their property listing will then be updated with an “Enhanced Clean” badge. This will show guests that they are following Airbnb’s recommended cleaning guidelines. 

Final Thoughts

Arranging vacation rental cleaning requires a lot of consideration and careful planning. With smart management and automation tools, you can ensure that your guests have the best possible stay at your properties. If you consistently deliver a great guest experience you’ll see your bookings soar and your business boom.