A dirty rental home is a big letdown for the guests at the beginning of their trip. Just some hair on the pillowcase or in the shower is enough to freak out your guests and ruin the whole picture of their dream vacation they have been planning for a long time. Vacation rental cleaning is also the critical cause of guest complaints and negative reviews and comments.
Keeping your vacation rental house sparkling clean is an essential step in running a successful rental. However, it is a heavy cross to bear for busy vacation rental managers, especially those in charge of managing multiple short-term rentals in different locations. Here are a few vacation rental cleaning tips to help keep your home immaculate and provide your guests with homey vibes.
‘You never get a second chance to make a first impression.’
Will Rogers
Put Time to Good Use
Be realistic in filling your occupancy calendar and dedicate a reasonable amount of time to cleaning and preparing your home for the next guests. Don’t let your calendar get packed with back to back reservations and set your check-in or check-out times in a way that you can clean the house inside out.
As one night bookings require a lot of vacation rental cleaning, try to rent out for more extended periods to keep your cleaning expenses low and save yourself more time and energy.
Set a specific time for getting each cleaning task done and estimate the total amount of time for your vacation rental cleaning. Prioritise your tasks and try to start your job from the most time-consuming household tasks like washing and drying the linens.
Read our blog 5 Reasons Why You Need a Vacation Rental Linen Service to find some useful tips to cut down on the time spent on this task.
Decide to Self-clean or Get the House Cleaned
Depending on the number of properties you manage and how far you live from your rental, you can choose one of the ways below for your vacation rental cleaning:
- Carrying out the cleaning by yourself
- Hiring trusted local cleaners
- Making a contract with a vacation rental cleaning service
Many owners of small properties who live close to their short-term rentals prefer self-cleaning to cut down on their cleaning costs, while others decide to save their time by hiring local cleaning staff.
However, as typical house cleaning and cleaning a vacation rental are totally different, entrusting your operations management to a vacation rental cleaning service is highly recommended, especially for the managers of several homes in multiple locations. As professional cleaning service companies are specialised in cleaning rental houses and serviced apartments and can meet vacation rental standards, they will ensure your property is kept in its best condition.
What to Expect From Vacation Rental Cleaning Services
Before making a contract with a vacation rental cleaning service, ensure that they have enough experience working in the industry and are familiar with the cleaning and maintenance codes for short-term vacation rentals.
Besides, ask them for references and observe some of the vacation rentals they have been working with to make sure of their service level.
Read more on this topic in our blog post What to Expect From Vacation Rental Cleaning Services.
Make a Vacation Rental Cleaning Checklist
Whether you choose to self-manage your home’s cleaning tasks or use a hired service, make a full checklist of your cleaning tasks and outline your standards. This way, you can provide your cleaning staff with clear work instructions and make sure they can provide the level of cleanliness you prefer.
Just bear in mind to tell your cleaning crew to not only adhere to the list but also go beyond it, and spot check their work.
Assure Your Guests that You Have cleaned the House Before Their Arrival
To show your new guests that you have cleaned the house tip to tail, you should not only make it spotlessly clean but also make sure there aren’t any traces of the previous guests left in the house.
Unload the dishwasher, take the garbage out, throw away any left behind items from the previous guests like open and half-eaten food, and empty the refrigerator and cupboards for the new guests.
Inspect and double-inspect the house for stray hairs, pet hair and food crumbs which might disgust the newcomers.
Keep Your House Well-maintained
Look for damages and breakages and roll up your sleeves to fix them right away. Make sure all the appliances in the housework properly. Nothing is more disappointing than promising amenities that are not working at all. You can read about vacation rental maintenance tips as well.
Anticipate and Avoid Dirt
You can implement some tricks to keep your vacation rental stay clean for longer and reduce your cleaning expenses and time. You can send your guest a copy of your house rules before their arrival or put a copy of it in an easily noticeable place at your property. Some rules like not eating in bedrooms, taking out the garbage, or not dislocating the furniture can reduce your cleaning staff’s workload.
Buying some items for your home can also prevent stains and dirt. For instance, getting a luggage rack will stop the guests putting their suitcases on the beddings that you have washed and ironed with care.
Take an Extra Step to Impress Your Guests
Besides providing your guests with a rental as clean as their own homes, make some additional efforts to wow your guests. Do a quick research about your guests and find out where they are coming from and what they are interested in to cater them based on their taste. Provide them with enough cleaning essentials until they get to the store.
If you are renting out during the current pandemic, you can leave them a welcome note and tell them how you take safety and cleaning protocols and precautions like sanitising surfaces. You can also offer them some free hand sanitisers, disposable gloves or face masks as a welcome gift.
Using an air diffuser is also a pretty good idea to kill the smell of bleach and other cleaners and make your home smell fresh.
To meet and exceed your guests’ expectations, you should address their primary concern: cleanliness. A sparkling clean vacation rental can provide your guests with a 5-star guest experience and your listing with 5-star ratings. Efficient vacation rental cleaning is also key to standing out from the competition.