Over the last 12 months we scheduled 1,869 turnovers across the homes we run. Every one of them depended on a cleaner showing up on the right day, at the right time, and leaving the house the way the listing photos promise. Guests forgive a lot. They don't forgive hair in the shower.
We don't find cleaners for owners. It's the one part of a rental that has to be local, and you'll know in 2 visits whether someone is right for your house. But a lot of owners come to us without one, so here is what I'd do if I had a home and no cleaner tomorrow.
Where to look
In this order.
- Other hosts in your town. Find 2 or 3 listings near yours with 50-plus reviews and message the host. Most will tell you who they use. A cleaner who already turns over rentals knows the drill: checkout at 11, guests at 4, strip every bed whether it looks slept in or not.
- Turno. It's the app we put every turnover on, and it has a marketplace of cleaners who already use it. Filter to your area and read what other hosts say.
- The person who sold you the house, or your realtor. They know who cleans the houses that sell.
- A local host group on Facebook. Ask who people use, and who they'd stay away from. You'll get both.
Skip the big residential cleaning companies unless they say they do short-term rentals. A weekly house clean and a 4-hour turnover with laundry are different jobs.
The 5 questions
Ask these before you talk about price.
- Do you clean other short-term rentals now? How many, and for how long. You want someone who already does this, not someone who's happy to try.
- Can you do same-day turnovers? Guests leave at 11 and the next ones arrive at 4. If the answer is "usually," ask what happens on the days it isn't.
- Does your price include laundry? Sheets and towels are half the job. Some cleaners wash on site, some take it home, some don't do it at all. Know which.
- Who covers for you? Everyone gets sick. A cleaner with a backup is worth more than a cheaper one without.
- Will you send a photo of each room when you're done? This is how we check a turnover without being there, and a good cleaner doesn't mind. It protects them too when a guest claims the place was dirty.
What to pay
Pay the going rate for your town, and price your guest cleaning fee to cover it. In the homes we run, the fee guests pay is usually close to what the cleaner gets per turnover. Don't try to make money on the cleaning fee and don't lose money on it either.
Pay per turnover, not per hour. A turnover has a fixed scope and a fixed deadline, and per-turnover pricing means neither of you is watching the clock.
The one thing that makes them stay
Pay on time, every time, and never make them chase the schedule.
Most cleaners quit a rental because the owner is a bad client, not because the house is hard. The booking came in Tuesday and nobody told them until Friday. The guest asked for a late checkout and the cleaner found out at the door. The invoice sat for 3 weeks.
Two things fix almost all of it. First, put every booking on their calendar the day it lands, with a note when it's a same-day turn. We use Turno for this and the cleaner sees the whole month on their phone. Second, buy 2 sets of sheets for every bed and 2 sets of towels for every guest. The cleaner makes the beds with the clean set and takes the dirty set with them. Nobody waits on a dryer.
Get a backup before you need one
Ask your cleaner who they'd trust with the house. They'll have a name. Get that person's number, send them the house guide, and pay them for one turnover when your cleaner is around so they've seen the place once. The week your cleaner's kid has the flu, you'll be glad you did.
If you don't have a cleaner yet, that's fine. It's the most common "not yet" on our sign-up form, and we talk through it on the call.
Questions about your own home? Write to [email protected], or read the other posts.