Automating Your Airbnb Vacation Rental

Renting your extra bedroom or investment property as a short term rental is a great way to supplement your income, increase your rental profit, and connect with travelers from around the country and around the world. Booking platforms like Airbnb, VRBO, and Homeaway have made it easier than ever to get your vacation rental out to the world!

However vacation rental hosts are held to very high standards of service and quality - keep in mind you're being compared against 5-star hotels that have been doing this for decades

Cleanliness is one of the major standards hosts are required to meet. Hosts who consistently receive low cleanliness scores may be subject to penalties.Meticulously changing linens, wiping counters, scrubbing bathroom tiles, and sweeping floors between every guest booking can be both mentally and physically draining. Not to mention, keeping a clean and tidy rental property is only ONE part of your duties as a host.

Fortunately, there are several ways to automate your Airbnb cleaning. This will effectively take some of the load off your shoulders.

After all…wouldn’t it be nice to be able to sit back and relax while someone else takes care of tidying up your vacation rental property between bookings?

Here are 5 easy ways to automate your Airbnb cleaning:

1. Hire a professional Airbnb cleaning company between guest bookings

Guests on Airbnb will hold hosts to the same high standards of cleanliness as full-service hotels. They don’t want to trade down.

Meeting these rigorous hospitality standards can be incredibly difficult because you don’t have access to the same full-time housekeeping crews that hotels do.

However, hosts can bring in a professional Airbnb cleaning company to scrub their rental properties from top to bottom between guest bookings.

They will be taking care of the ENTIRE turnover cleaning process…

Your Airbnb cleaning crew should take care of a number of services, including:

• Making the beds.

• Cleaning and putting away the dishes.

• Sweeping and mopping floors.

• Vacuuming carpets and rugs.

• Cleaning toilets, bathtubs, and showers.

• Taking out the trash.

• Wiping countertops, door handles, and light switches.

• Checking for damages and reporting low inventory.

These professional Airbnb cleaning services will ensure your guests feel comfortable while renting out your space without requiring you to lift a finger.

2. Schedule periodic DEEP cleanings

Although cleaning your vacation rental between guest check-outs will keep your property looking fresh and tidy most of the time, it’s important to schedule periodic deep cleanings of your unit, too.

This type of deep cleaning isn’t required all the time but is necessary several times per year.

You’ve heard of spring cleaning right? Same things, but do these deep cleans at least twice per year.

When hiring a short-term rental cleaning company, ask about their ability to handle more in-depth cleanings in addition to their basic cleaning services. If they can’t do it, then you will have to!

It’s best to have the same company do both regular and deep cleans because the crew will already be familiar with your property and any unique requirements you may have.

Deep cleaning services that you should think about including:

• Wiping baseboards.

• Cleaning inside & under the oven and fridge.

• Shampooing carpets.

• Cleaning inside any cabinets.

• Any specialized cleaning of your bathrooms or appliances.

• Cleaning closets corners.

3. Keep tabs on toiletries and supplies

Keeping your rental unit adequately stocked with toiletries and other supplies is an important part of ensuring guest satisfaction (and in turn, ensuring positive reviews and ratings).

It’s easy to slip up and forget to replace supplies like paper towels and toilet paper, and you can bet your guests will certainly take notice!

A guest without toilet paper is NOT going to be happy.

It’s worth hiring a vacation rental cleaning company who will take the time to do a quick inspection of all your property’s supplies.

After they have taken inventory, they can notify you of anything that needs to be replenished before the next guest checks in.

Automating this simple (yet crucial!) step allows you to be proactive about ensuring your guests’ satisfaction, all without requiring you to add another step to your to-do list.

4. Get notified of any damage

Unfortunately, dealing with damages is something that many hosts have to deal with from time to time…it’s just part of the job.

It’s never fun to have to inspect for and correct damages, but an even bigger problem is failing to notice them in the first place!

If you miss the damage during turnover you two risks:

1. Allowing the damage to spread or become worse, or

2. Receiving negative reviews from future guests who were inconvenienced by the damage.

Some cleaning crews may be able to look out for and notify you of any damages, helping you to achieve peace of mind by knowing that potential damages won’t go unnoticed.

Better yet, some companies will even photograph damages for you, ensuring that you have adequate documentation for reimbursement when making a claim.

Airbnb Pro Tip: I highly suggest you make sure your cleaners snap pictures between EVERY guest. A walk through video that highlights all the rooms is great as well. You want this evidence because you/your cleaner may not notice the damage right away, or maybe a claim is made that you didn’t expect. It’s better to have this evidence rather than WISH you had it!

5. Schedule cleanings and submit payments instantly online

As an Airbnb host, you’ve got enough on your plate with managing guest bookings and providing a positive guest experience.

Stopping by another store or picking up the phone every time you need to schedule a cleaning can eat up a lot of the time you could be spending on your guests.

Free up more of your valuable time by opting for an Airbnb cleaning company who allows you to schedule all of your upcoming turnover cleanings, send messages and share notes, re-schedule cleanings, and submit payments with just a few clicks in an online platform.

There are a number of ways for you to save time and avoid headaches when it comes to managing your Airbnb…and automating your cleaning is one of them.

By doing some research and finding the RIGHT company for your Airbnb turnovers and cleanings, you’re surely going to have a lot fewer headaches.

With a quick Yelp or Google search in your area, you can easily find a professional Airbnb cleaning service. If you’re in Arizona, check out Peak Cleaning Service.

P.S. We're one of the only local companies ranked on the first page of Google for Vacation Rental Cleaning in Arizona