Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Airbnb Cleaning Service
To ensure vacation rental properties look their absolute best, more and more property managers are turning to an external Airbnb cleaning service. Airbnb guests have high expectations of the rental property they book.
As a host, you know, that the most important standard you should meet (and exceed) is cleanliness. The rates for Airbnb cleaning services depend on various factors, including the size of the property, the frequency of cleanings, and any additional services required.
No doubt, keeping your vacation rental clean features high on your to-do list. However, cleaning is just one of the duties you need to carry out to keep things in order. Sometimes, managing all your daily tasks and managing a successful short-term rental business can turn into a real challenge.
If you are thinking of hiring an Airbnb cleaning service, it is crucial to choose a reputable cleaning business to ensure high standards of cleanliness. Use this algorithm to find the most appropriate one. Read on to discover more about how to find and choose the right Airbnb cleaning service for your rental.
Why Do You Need a Professional Vacation Rental Cleaning Service?
Running a vacation rental business requires lots of commitment and hard work, especially when you’re managing several Airbnb properties. To save time and optimize efficiency, it is good practice to automate some parts of your business – such as cleaning. Hiring a professional Airbnb cleaning service can significantly aid in property management by ensuring consistent cleanliness and guest satisfaction. Maintaining high levels of cleanliness is much easier with a trusted cleaning company by your side.
Choose an efficient Airbnb cleaning service to rest easy that your rental will be spick-and-span for your guests. Meeting and exceeding guest expectations will earn you positive reviews, and attract more guests to your gleaming rental.
What is Expected of an Airbnb Cleaner?
When managing a vacation rental, ensuring the highest standard of cleanliness is not just a preference—it’s a necessity. An Airbnb cleaner plays a crucial role in maintaining these standards and enhancing guest satisfaction. Here’s what is typically expected of an Airbnb cleaner:
Thorough Cleaning
An Airbnb cleaner is expected to perform a detailed cleaning of the entire property. This includes dusting, vacuuming, mopping, and sanitizing all surfaces. Special attention should be paid to kitchens and bathrooms, which must be left spotless. Appliances should be cleaned inside and out, and no area should be overlooked, including under furniture and in corners.
Replenishing Supplies
Beyond cleaning, an Airbnb cleaner must ensure that all necessary supplies are replenished. This includes items like toilet paper, soaps, shampoos, and any other guest toiletries. Additionally, ensuring that there are sufficient clean linens, towels, and possibly even pantry staples (like coffee and tea) is part of their responsibilities.
Inspection for Damage
Cleaners are often the first to discover any damage incurred by previous guests. It’s expected that an Airbnb cleaner will inspect the property for any issues and report these immediately. This allows the host to address repairs promptly, maintaining the property’s quality and guest experience.
Adhering to Cleaning Checklists
Most Airbnb hosts provide a cleaning checklist tailored to their property’s specific needs. Following this checklist ensures no tasks are missed and that the cleaning meets the host’s standards. This list might include everything from wiping down remote controls to checking for left-behind items in drawers.
Preparation for New Guests
An Airbnb cleaner is responsible for setting up the property for new guests. This includes tasks like making beds neatly, arranging decor, and possibly setting up a welcome basket. The presentation should make guests feel welcomed and valued from the moment they step through the door.
Time Management
Airbnb cleaners must effectively manage their time, especially during busy seasons or when there are back-to-back bookings. Cleaners need to ensure that the property is ready by the check-in time without compromise on the quality of cleaning.
Communication
Effective communication with the property manager or host is essential. Cleaners need to provide updates about the cleaning status, any supply shortages, or unexpected issues with the property. This communication ensures that the host can make necessary decisions promptly and keep operations running smoothly.
An Airbnb cleaner’s role is pivotal in ensuring that the property not only looks appealing but also feels welcoming and safe for guests, ultimately contributing to positive reviews and high guest return rates.
How to Find a Suitable Cleaning Company?
The best way to find a trusted, professional Airbnb cleaning service is to ask other local hosts and vacation rental owners for recommendations. Word of mouth is a foolproof way of learning about various companies operating in your area. Why not explore the many forums available for Airbnb hosts and rental owners? These are often a useful source of information – offering up plenty of information on reliable cleaning companies.
You can also search online for professional rental cleaning services in the locality – and read their reviews at the same time.
Check out the top 5 platforms featuring Airbnb cleaning services:
Top 5 Criteria to Take into Account When Choosing an Airbnb Cleaning Service
1. Pricing
The first thing to consider is the pricing structure the company uses, as the rates for Airbnb cleaning services depend on various factors such as property size, cleaning frequency, and additional services. Some cleaning companies will give you a flat price after assessing your vacation rental property. You will pay this flat fee each time a cleaning job is successfully completed.
Other professional cleaners charge by the hour, but this may not be the best option. Prices can vary from cleaning to cleaning. Fluctuating prices can make it difficult for you to include an accurate cleaning cost in your monthly budget plans.
It may also take the cleaning team longer than planned to finish your rental property. This will not only have a knock-on effect on other daily tasks and plans but will also cost you more.
We recommend you use cleaning services that offer a flat rate to avoid excessive spending. It’s also worth considering adding a cleaning fee to your listing to help with the cost involved. Understanding cleaning fees and how they can be included in the listing can strategically encourage shorter or longer stays. This way you can offset the cost of using a professional Airbnb cleaning service.
2. Cleaning Package
You could also think about exploring the cleaning packages offered by many companies. We suggest you do your homework on this early on to find the best deal.
Usually, professional cleaners offer a couple of different cleaning packages at different costs, such as standard or “deep clean” packages. Be sure to ask what’s included in each package before choosing the company. Some cleaning packages may include additional services like laundry service to ensure fresh linens for guests.
The best idea is to opt for a standard cleaning package with an additional monthly deep cleaning. Deep cleanings should cover all those hard to reach places; this is a more thorough cleaning service. Opting for a deep clean once a month will help you maintain high levels of cleanliness.
3. Cleaning Experience and Reviews
Experience and reputation are also essential when choosing the right company to work with. Check if the company has enough experience in the short-term rental industry.
Industry-related experience is important because last-minute bookings are frequent with short-term rentals. This means you will need cleaners who are able to adapt to your business requirements and still do a thorough job.
It’s also wise to check the credentials of the company. Make sure they really do exist and find out how long they have been operating. Explore negative reviews (if any) as well as the positive ones. Read comments left by other hosts and clients to help you make the right decision.
4. Turnaround Time
Another important criterion to take into account is the turnaround time. A professional cleaning company will typically take up to 90 minutes to clean a property. Therefore, hiring a professional Airbnb cleaning service will enable you to efficiently manage guest turnaround time. It’s especially important for handing the same-day departures and arrivals.
You’ll be able to delegate all cleaning tasks and automate the majority of the cleaning process. This will make the turnaround time and guest check-in and checkout processes swift and smooth, and stress-free.
5. Communication
It’s not always possible for hosts to be present during the turnaround period – so communication should be impeccable. When choosing the right company, you can assess levels of communication before you commit. For example, you can contact the company through different channels/mediums to check their response time prior to making your decision.
Top 6 Questions to Ask When Choosing a Cleaning Service
1. Who Will Provide the Cleaning Supplies?
Ask the cleaning service what cleaning supplies are provided and what you need to provide. This avoids confusion and keeps things straightforward. Hosts are often expected to supply larger items such as vacuum cleaners.
2. Will You Be Notified in Advance About Additional Charges?
This is another important topic you should discuss with the cleaning company. Be sure to ask about potential scenarios that might result in additional charges. Request the cleaning company to notify you in advance too. This will give you time to act should extra cleaning charges be levied at you.
3. Can a Cleaning Company Help You Handle Property Damage?
Having a professional Airbnb cleaning service is especially useful in situations when damages are caused to your rental property.
The same person or several people will be in charge of cleaning your rental frequently. Thus, they will notice if any damages or breakages are made by guests. Being notified in a timely manner (during cleaning after guests’ departure) means you can resolve the issue quickly.
You can also ask your cleaners to take pictures of the rental between each guest turnover. This can prove useful should you need evidence of any damage caused.
4. How Much Notice Does a Cleaning Company Need Ahead of Time?
You should keep in mind that some cleaning companies are able to help with emergency property cleanings and last-minute requests. Others may require more notice to schedule cleanings.
Ask the cleaning company if they will be able to assist you with impromptu tasks. This way you will be prepared and will know what to do in such situations.
5. How Does a Company Screen Its Employees?
The way in which a cleaning company screens its employees could prove key to the quality of the cleaning service provided. If the company does a thorough screening, it’s more likely they have hired reliable people.
Professional companies that care about their reputation and their employees run background checks and hire only trustworthy people. Thus, you can rest assured that your rental is in good hands. Moreover, you won’t have to worry about, or deal with, any unpleasant situations, such as breakages, damage, or even theft.
6. How Should You Schedule Cleanings?
Figuring out the best way to schedule cleanings will help you to stay on top of all your daily tasks. Be sure to discuss this topic with your cleaning company at the very start of your collaboration.
It can prove very useful to have several options for scheduling cleanings, such as via emails, phone calls, or even software. The latter is particularly helpful when running a vacation rental business remotely. Efficient scheduling ensures the property is always ready for the next guest, maintaining a high standard and potentially boosting your superhost rating.
Enhance Your Cleaning Routine By Using Automation
To stay in control of the cleaning tasks, use vacation rental software, such as iGMS. This type of software allows vacation rental property owners to plan and run all cleaning operations quickly and smoothly.
With iGMS, vacation rental hosts and property managers can set cleaning tasks for specific crew members. This makes it easy for them to track their scope of work, plan ahead, and schedule cleanings much more efficiently.
You can also automate the cleaning assignment process, which will save you a lot of time. Moreover, when assigned to tasks, your team members will be notified by email or text message (or both).
By automating your cleaning tasks, you can rest assured that your guests will arrive in a spotless and well-kept property.
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