Cleaning Service for Vacation Rentals: What You Need to Know When Hiring

For those just starting out in the vacation rental market, it may seem simple to deal with cleaning-related issues. After all, many people imagine that it is just doing something similar to what is done at home. However, that is not exactly how it works. This post comes to show a series of points that make the cleaning service for vacation rentals receive much more attention than the usual care present at home.

Thinking in the medium and long term, every growing season business needs recurring cleaning services. As the number of properties in the inventory increases, there needs to be a well-defined plan regarding sanitation, as without this the task can become a huge complication.

To get an idea of ​​the importance of the subject, we recently published a post that deals with How to Advertise On Airbnb Like a True Professional, in it we comment on how super-strict the platform is about cleaning. Airbnb considers this point to be one of the most significant hospitality criteria that directly impacts the success of a listing.

Apart from the specific issue of Airbnb, the subject “cleanliness” is one of the most recurrent themes in negative reviews that appear in OTAs (Online Travel Agencies). This has a direct impact on getting new bookings. After all, would you stay in a place that has received public complaints about poor sanitation? Probably not.

Now that you are aware of the relevance of the cleaning service for vacation rentals, find out some very important issues that need to be taken into account when hiring and guiding the professionals who will perform the tasks. Simply asking the professional to clean is not enough when this service will have a direct impact on the health of your business.

What you need to know when hiring cleaning professionals

In the cleaning service for vacation rentals, the following cannot happen: being taken by surprise with the news that the person responsible for the work will not be able to attend and, at the same time, be without a plan B. To avoid this situation, there are three options:

1) Have contact with several highly trusted professionals, with references and a history of commitment. If the previously hired professional is unable to attend, another professional will be available to fill in the hole.

2) Hire two people to perform cleaning at the same time. This is an excellent way to make the property clean beforehand, and in addition, if one of the professionals does not show up, the other will be present to ensure cleanliness.

3) Outsource this service to a specialized company. This is usually a financially more expensive option, however, it drastically reduces the possibility of unforeseen events, since the responsibility lies with the company.

Talk to guests to find out about the expected arrival and departure times. This helps to anticipate cleaning procedures. Some vacation rental agencies often block a new check-in on the same day as a guest’s check-out. This is a way to prevent a cleaning problem from compromising the next guest’s stay and possibly generating a negative rating.

There are also vacation rental administrators who choose to place strategic check-in and check-out times (check-in after 3 pm and check-out until 11 am). This gives a four-hour break to clean and a new guest can enter the same day.

Tip: when there is availability and the guest expresses interest, you can leave the option of checking in before or checking out after the time stipulated in the listing available, charging a partial amount. This is a great way to monetize your business.

When you have a vacation rental business, it is very important to work with the standardization of services, this also applies to cleaning. One way to ensure that everything is done properly is to prepare a checklist that contains all the activities that must be performed, such as changing bedding, taking out the garbage and cleaning all environments.

Organization and replacement issues can also be added to the cleaning service for season rentals, just negotiate with the professionals and include it in the checklist. It is possible, for example to:

• request that essential items (soap, towels and toilet paper) be replaced;
• check if there is any utensil missing;
• ensure that everything is working;
• insert notices in the toilet to indicate that the environment has been cleaned;
• pack the bath and face towels in disposable bags to signal that they are clean;
• leave a treat on the kitchen table, like a bottle of wine with glasses (before check-in).

The cleaning service for season rentals is very different from “normal” cleaning in that it needs to pass the “test” of the guest. The professional should not only clean, but also “have a good eye” for the smallest details. Kitchen utensils need to be spotless, everything must be 100% clean and look great inside the kitchen cabinets and the refrigerator.

Tip: The smell is powerful. So, in addition to worrying about cleanliness, also think of ways to leave a pleasant aroma to the environments. Nowadays there are super-discreet and soft scents, they can help to make the guest’s first impression excellent.

Especially for those who manage several seasonal properties, it is essential to be on top of everything that is happening in relation to cleaning. Having a software is the most efficient way to ensure accurate information. The Stays software has a cleaning management calendar module. With it, the administrator can view data such as: calculated duration by each cleaning and cleaning status of each property. The administrator also receives notifications of tasks in the software panel and by e-mail.

Have all these points been clear to you? It is important to remember that finding an excellent cleaning service for vacation rentals can do wonders not only for the properties you manage, but also as a strategy to optimize your time.