Airbnb Cleaning Checklist for Short-Let Changeovers
The figures in the worked example are made up.
Most bad short-let reviews come from a few things a rushed clean missed. The routine, stock list and photos that keep your rating up and your damage claims paid.
- Category
- Short Lets
- Who it is for
- Short-let operators with one to twenty homes
- Time to set up
- A day to write, then ten minutes more per clean
- Saves or earns
- About £4,100 a year per flat
01The Problem
On Airbnb, the Guest favourite badge goes to homes that average above 4.9 stars, with high marks for cleanliness, check-in and accuracy. Superhost needs at least 4.8 over the last year. Guests can filter search to show only Guest favourites, so a flat that slips to 4.6 is shown to fewer people and has to be cheaper to win the same booking.
Low cleanliness scores nearly always come from the same short list:
Hair
In the shower tray, the plughole, on the pillows and on the bathroom floor.
The Kitchen
Crumbs in the toaster, a stained mug, grease on the hob, the last guest's food in the fridge.
Bedding
A grey or bobbled sheet, a mark on a duvet cover, a musty smell from linen put away damp.
Running Out
No toilet roll, no dishwasher tablets, an empty hand wash.
Something Broken
A flat smart lock battery, a blown bulb, wifi that does not work, a hob ring that will not light.
They get missed for one reason. The clean is squeezed between a late checkout and an early arrival, the cleaner works from memory, and nobody checks the result.
There is a second cost. If a guest damages something, Airbnb wants the claim within 14 days of checkout, with photos and receipts. A cleaner who does not photograph the place, or who quietly tidies the damage away, loses you the claim.
02The Cost
Take a one-bed flat that books 64 per cent of nights at £125. That is about £29,200 a year. Bring the rating from 4.6 back to 4.9 and a flat like this can typically book about 70 per cent of nights at £132, which is about £33,700. So roughly £4,500 a year of bookings rides on how well the place is cleaned.
On top of that, a typical 4.6 star year has two refunds of about £150 after complaints, and at least one damage claim of about £250 lost because nobody photographed the room. Together that is about £5,000 a year on one flat. Across five flats, it is £25,000.
03The Fix
Set the Window and Book the Clean Automatically
Checkout at 10am and check-in at 3pm gives five hours. Have your booking system create the cleaning job the moment a booking lands, with the checkout time, the next arrival and the number of guests. Turno, Breezeway and most property management systems do this. Keep a second cleaner on call for the days your main cleaner is ill.
Clean in a Fixed Route, Then Walk It as a Guest
The same order every time: strip the beds and start the laundry, then kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms, living room, and floors last. Then the cleaner goes out, comes back in and does a guest walk: sit on the bed, look up from the pillow, shine a phone torch across the shower tray and the bathroom floor, open the fridge, oven, microwave and bin.
Run Three Sets of Linen per Bed
One on the bed, one at the laundry, one spare. Two sets is why damp linen ends up on beds. Buy white only, so it can be bleached and matched. A commercial laundry usually charges about £8 to £15 per bed set. Bin anything stained or bobbled at once, because one bad sheet costs more than a new set.
Write the Stock List with Quantities and a Restock Point
For each stay: two toilet rolls per bathroom plus two spare, one dishwasher tablet per night, four teabags and two coffee pods per guest per night, hand wash and washing-up liquid at least half full, two bin bags. Reorder when the store cupboard drops below one stay's worth. Consumables usually cost £3 to £6 a stay.
Test Things, Do Not Assume
Every turnover: run the hot water, flush, light each hob ring, boil the kettle, check the TV and the wifi password on the welcome card, check the smart lock battery level, and press the test button on the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. A dead lock battery on a 10pm arrival can cost you the whole booking.
Take the Same Twelve Photos Every Time
From the same spots: each bed, each bathroom, the worktop, the hob, inside the fridge, the sofa, the floor and the front door. Upload them to the job so the time is recorded. If a guest says the flat was dirty, you can show it was not. If they broke something, you have the before and after for a claim inside the 14 days. Report any damage before the next guest arrives.
Keep the Safety Paperwork in Date
Short lets are covered by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and as the operator you are the responsible person. Write and keep a fire risk assessment using the government guide for small paying guest accommodation, which expects working smoke alarms and clear escape routes. Have the gas appliances checked every year by someone on the Gas Safe Register. Check at each turnover that the way out and the fire blanket are clear.
Pay per Turnover, with a Bonus for Results
A flat fee per clean, say £45 for a one-bed, plus £5 whenever the next guest gives 5 stars for cleanliness. A cleaner paid by the hour, with no link to the review, has no reason to do the torch check.
Fix Complaints Fast, and Never Pay for Reviews
Ask guests in your arrival message to tell you straight away if anything is wrong. Reply within 15 minutes, have someone there within two hours, and offer a small partial refund before they ask. A problem that was fixed quickly rarely becomes a bad review. Do not offer money or gifts for a good review, which is against Airbnb's review rules.
04The Result
Before
4.6 stars, 64 per cent booked at £125, two refunds and one lost damage claim
After
4.9 stars, 70 per cent booked at £132, no refunds and claims paid
Cost
About £900 a year for a third set of linen, the cleaner's bonus and ten more minutes per clean
Better Off
About £4,100 a year on one flat
The sums: about £4,500 more in bookings, £300 of refunds not paid and a £250 claim recovered, less the £900 of extra cost.
The Lessons
- Reviews are lost on hair, the kitchen, the bedding, running out and broken things.
- A fixed cleaning route and a guest walk beat a cleaner working from memory.
- Keep three sets of white linen per bed and replace anything marked straight away.
- Photograph the same twelve spots after every clean, so complaints and damage claims can be proved inside 14 days.
- Pay cleaners for results, and fix complaints within hours.
Need a Hand With Your Properties?
End of tenancy cleans, short-let turnovers and custom packages.