Proper vacation rental housekeeping is an absolutely indispensable part of owning a successful vacation rental. Perhaps the number one guest complaint in the hospitality industry is cleanliness, or lack thereof. This post is geared towards owners that self-manage and choose to handle cleaning duties themselves. I will talk later about the benefits of hiring a cleaning company.
Consider How Vacation Rental Housekeeping is Different
Vacation rental housekeeping is different from the work performed by a typical house cleaner. It isn’t just about cleaning the house. The house also has to be guest ready.
Cleaning a vacation rental includes the normal cleaning, sanitizing and sweeping, but also a host of other duties such as:
- Laundering the linens
- Being on the lookout for damage and missing items
- Restocking basic amenities such as paper products and soap
- Ensuring various items such as the TVs and Wi-Fi service are working correctly
- Performing various minor maintenance tasks
Put Yourself in the Guest’s Shoes
Everyone knows that the kitchen and bathrooms are obvious places that guests will expect to be clean. As a cleaner, you need to delve down further and anticipate how your guests will use your property. It is difficult to clean every single area of a large home after every guest, but put yourself in the guest’s shoes.
For example, your guest will certainly open up dresser drawers to store their personal items. It would make sense that you should check the drawers and clean them out if necessary. Another item that often gets missed is under furniture, as guests will often move chairs and other items around. You don’t want them to see a dirty mess under that chair in the living room.
Invest in the Right Cleaning Supplies
Just as you have invested in quality furnishings and amenities for your vacation rental, you should not cheap out when it comes to cleaning it. Purchase quality cleaning tools and chemicals that will hold up under constant use and get the job done correctly. Every cleaner has their own favorite products to use, so you may have to experiment with works and what doesn’t.
Have a Cleaning Checklist and Use it
A cleaning checklist is especially important for anyone new to cleaning, however even experienced cleaners can still find them useful. A happy guest is the ultimate goal, so this will help you avoid inadvertently skipping certain steps. Here is a sample cleaning checklist that you can modify to your home and the order that you prefer.
There is a Certain Order to Vacation Rental Housekeeping
Every cleaner has their own style or routine. You will figure out what works best for you with experience. That said, there are certain cleaning procedures that make sense. Generally I would recommend cleaning a vacation rental in the following order:
-Start the laundry and dishes first
Strip the beds, gather up all the towels and get these started in the washing machine first. Laundering linens is the most time consuming aspect of cleaning, so you will want this to occur while you are performing other tasks. Load up any dirty dishes and get those started in the dishwasher.
-Next remove any trash or items left by the previous guest
A good vacation rental guest will follow your check out procedures and hopefully dispose of their own trash. Unfortunately not every guest is a good guest. You will want to dispose of any trash quickly to avoid unpleasant smells for the next guest.
I recommend disposing of any items (that obviously have no value and were not left mistakenly) that were left by the previous guests. This includes (especially) food products. Many owners like to leave previously used condiments or spices for the next guest. This is a bad practice. There is no way for you to ensure that these items have not been tampered with, so please throw them away in the interest of guest safety.
-Work room by room
Next go room to room cleaning surfaces. Some cleaners prefer to start in the bedrooms and bathrooms and finish in the kitchen. It’s up to you on what makes sense in your mind, but be methodical in your movements. Make sure to pay special attention to the toilet, shower, sink and vanity mirror in bathrooms. The most obvious places in the kitchen are the fridge, microwave, oven and sink. Pro tip: vacation rental guests can wreak havoc on a kitchen garbage disposal. Check to make sure that it works and is not clogged or emitting foul odors. A sliced up lemon run through the disposal can do wonders for the smell of your kitchen
-Check and clean any outdoor areas
One big mistake is to only focus on the inside of your home, ignoring the outdoor areas. Make sure the garage, any patio areas, swimming pool areas, etc. are clean and presentable to guests.
-Make the beds and hang towels
By now the linens should be clean and dry. The next step is to make the beds and fold/hang up towels. I’m sure your mother taught you how to make a bed, but paying guests have a bit higher expectations. Everyone loves a clean, perfectly made bed at a hotel.
Luckily this is the internet age and there are plenty of resources to help a new vacation rental owner. This video does a good job in showing how to make a bed like a hotel.
Here is a great video on how to fold and hang bath towels.
-Finish with the floors
Sweep and mop the floors last. The floors will take time to dry and you do not want to walk all over your freshly cleaned floors.
Use Quality Linens and Towels and Replace as Needed
Vacation rental guests will take issue with even the best cleaning job if linens and towels are starting to show wear and tear or are of low quality. Invest in high quality products and keep several on hand as backups. Linens can only be washed so many times before they start to appear translucent and rough. No one likes a scratchy towel.
You can re-purpose old linens into cleaning rags or provide them to your guests in a basket for pet cleanup if your property is pet friendly.
Have Someone Inspect your Work
This is perhaps the best vacation rental housekeeping tip I can offer to a beginner.
I am always telling my staff that even the best cleaners are human. They make mistakes. You may think you are the perfect cleaner, but you will undoubtedly make mistakes too. Our company will not check a guest into a vacation rental without someone else putting a second set of eyes on the property.
Think of it as quality control. If you are married, perhaps you and your spouse can take turns with cleaning and inspection duties. Otherwise have a friend or neighbor inspect your cleaning job after you have completed. I recommend having a second checklist that your inspector will use to make sure the vacation rental is guest ready.
Perform Periodic Deep Cleanings
A deep cleaning is exactly what it sounds like. It is a much more thorough form of vacation rental housekeeping. A vacation rental deep cleaning can include cleaning around and under furniture, scrubbing scuff marks on walls and deep cleaning carpet and upholstery.
You need to do at least one deep cleaning a year on your vacation rental. I recommend doing this twice a year. Ideally you will have a deep cleaning performed before and after your busiest season.
