Short-Term Rental Cleaning Services: What to Know Before You List

How do I clean an Airbnb ? Where can I find a reliable cleaning company? How often should I clean? We know, having a short-term rental can be economically rewarding, but it can also be exhausting – especially if you don’t have reliable short-term rental cleaning services. 

In this vacation rental cleaning guide we’ll try to make things a bit easier for you and go over all the questions you may have as the owner of a short-term rental who wants to provide a clean, comfortable experience for your guests. You’ll clear up any doubts about what to clean and how often, discover what to look for in a cleaning company, understand the best way to schedule services, and more. 

Can You Clean Your Own Airbnb?

Let’s start with the question most Airbnb owners ask before hiring short-term rental cleaning services. 

Can you clean your own Airbnb? Yes, of course. It’s nowhere stated that Hosts can’t clean their own listing. This said, there are clear advantages to hiring a professional Airbnb cleaning service as there are to DIY. 

There’s no best option, and running an Airbnb is all about trial and error, after all. Which one you choose depends on how much time you have available, how much money you want to spend, and, most importantly, how high you want to keep your rate of availability.

How Often to Have Your Vacation Rental Cleaned

There’s no negotiation here: every time a guest leaves and another one comes in you must clean your listing. It doesn’t matter if the guests stayed for one night only. You have to follow Airbnb cleaning guidelines (as you know). 

Why You Need an Airbnb Cleaning Service

There are multiple reasons why Hosts are better off hiring an Airbnb Cleaning Service. But the two main ones are:

  • You ensure you comply with all Airbnb cleaning regulations
  • You ensure you keep your place on par in a competitive market

While Airbnb has no regulations regarding who does the cleaning, they do have strict cleaning regulations Hosts have to follow to a tee. It’s called the Airbnb 5-step enhanced cleaning process, which is a set of cleaning practices that all Hosts must follow between guest stays. Yes, Airbnb takes the cleaning game quite seriously. And more than ever after COVID-19.

Professional cleaning companies know these practices well and train their cleaners on how to clean and maintain a listing so that it complies with the 5-step cleaning process (see below).

What Needs to Be Cleaned in Your Short-Term Rental

Whether you clean it yourself or hire short-term rental cleaning services there are specific items your cleaning must cover. Luckily, you don’t have to guess. Just as Airbnb has the 5-step enhanced cleaning process, they also have the Airbnb Cleaning Handbook, a guide complete with room-by-room checklists, supplies needed, and preparation. 

The 5-step enhanced cleaning process establishes how you need to organize your cleaning session: prepare, clean, sanitize, check, and reset. The Airbnb Cleaning Handbook contains step-by-step checklists so that you know how and what to clean in each room. 

You can check out the 5-step enhanced cleaning process here and download their Cleaning Handbook here.

How to Pick a Short-Term Rental Cleaning Company 

Picking the right short-term rental cleaning company can be a bit overwhelming. In a nutshell, your best bet is to hire one that specializes in short-term rental cleaning services. Mainly, because they’ll be familiar with how things should be done and even offer extra services tailored to the needs of airbnb owners, like snack restocking.

Once you find a cleaning company that offers Airbnb cleaning services, do a little bit of research on them. Below you’ll find pieces of info you need to evaluate before hiring them.

What to take into consideration:

  • The company’s background
  • Pricing (a natural consideration!)
  • Availability 
  • Reviews
  • Experience with short-term rentals specifically

How to Get a Quote for Vacation Rental Cleaning

Of all the matters you have to deal with when hiring a cleaning company, the most complex one is getting a quote for the cleaning service you want to book. Each company prices cleaning services differently. However, most of them will give you a quote based on the information you provide when booking (how many rooms, rental’s size, extra services, etc.). 

Here at Summit Maids, we can provide you a free estimate in seconds.

How to Schedule a Short-Term Rental Cleaning Service

Scheduling a short-term rental cleaning service is pretty simple. You just head to the company’s website and book the type of cleaning you need. 

But, since Airbnbs and short-term rentals have a heavy circulation of guests, you want to automatize the cleaning as much as you can. Booking and scheduling a cleaning service every time you need it can be extremely exhausting. Not to mention it can lead to unwanted confusion. 

The best thing to do here is ask your cleaning company if you can arrange a cleaning schedule ahead of time based on your guests’ arrivals and departures. You can also share your calendar with the company so they know when you need their services.


Want to receive your free estimate from us to determine if we’re the right company to help with your Airbnb cleaning service needs?

Author

  • Jacob W. Bailey

    Jacob is the Cleveland-based founder and CEO of Summit Maids, a local cleaning company with a mission to make a mark on its community by providing good jobs to more than 1,000 people.