How to Finally Outsource Vacation Rental Cleaning (and Make Your Job Way Easier)

Ever get that nagging feeling that you’ve missed a spot in your rental property and that your guests are going to find a small corner covered in dust? 

Last-minute bookings, unexpected cancellations, and peak season can all lead to things falling through the cracks. 

It’s understandable. No one person can do it all. Here’s where outsourcing your vacation rental cleaning and automating your cleaning management can help reduce your workload and maximize your revenue. Because the more happy guests walk out of your door, the more 5-star reviews you receive. 

In this article, you’ll find out why you should outsource your vacation rental cleaning and how to accomplish that while reducing your workload and getting glowing reviews with automated workflows.

If you’re looking for a specific answer, use the links below to jump to the right section:

1. Why you should outsource your vacation rental cleaning 
2. How to outsource vacation rental cleaning 
3. Why automate cleaning management for your vacation rental 
4. How to simplify your tech stack with Jetstream

Do more without even lifting a finger.
Jetstream supports your business and gives your time back with automated cleaning management and 24/7 guest communications.

Book a Demo

Why you should outsource your vacation rental cleaning

Outsourcing your vacation rental cleaning can save you a lot of time and hassle as a vacation rental host, so you can focus on providing a personalized experience or scaling your business.

Hiring professional cleaning services also means that you don’t have to clean your property yourself or hire a team of cleaners and manage their changing schedules. By outsourcing, you’re handing over all the logistics and training to a professional team, and minimizing mistakes. You’ll end up with cleaner vacation rental properties and a more positive guest experience.

By hiring professional cleaners, you can provide a much better guest experience while freeing up your time and resources.

By outsourcing your vacation rental cleaning you can easily:

1. Reclaim your time
2. Meet guest expectations 
3. Save your resources 
4. Make your property pet-friendly 

Reclaim your time

Imagine if every time a last-minute booking came in, you didn’t have to leave work early or play calendar Tetris just to get your property clean before your next guest arrives.

Outsourcing your cleaning team lets you reclaim some of your time so you can focus on optimizing your Airbnb SEO, improving weak spots in your business, or just spending time with your family. 

Meet guest expectations 

One of the main reasons behind negative reviews is failing to meet guest expectations when it comes to cleanliness. Because cleaning for a paying guest is different from cleaning for yourself or your family. Most of your guests want to stay in a space that looks like it’s never been lived in before.

Poor house cleaning is often a top reason for negative reviews so it’s better to outsource these tasks to professionals with experience.

It’s not enough to just change the linens, run the vacuum, and dust surfaces. You also need to:

• Replace the toiletries 
• Clear out left-behind personal items 
• Polish wood floors 
• Clean and stock fresh towels 
• Clean window sills, light fixtures, and ceiling corners 
• Restock the fridge 
• Sanitize surfaces 
• Clear the bathroom drain

The list goes on and on. But professional Airbnb cleaning services can do it all to a very high standard, so you never have to worry about whether you restocked the coffee or missed a spot behind the toilet. 

Save your resources 

Trying to hit every item on your cleaning checklist by yourself is a drain on your resources, not to mention unscalable. 

Going DIY gets expensive since you have to pay for your own cleaning supplies,  and these costs add up with the more guests or properties you have. But if you outsource your turnover cleaning, you don’t have to worry about the finer details like staying stocked up.

Pro tip: you can offset restocking costs by charging a cleaning fee. But that’s on top of your nightly rate and, if charges get too high, you might turn guests away. 

Make your property pet-friendly 

Pet-friendly stays are one of the most popular searches on Airbnb. So advertising your property as pet-friendly can literally open your doors to more clients. But hosting pets gets messy.

Pet-friendly stays are extremely popular, but hosts need to take extra care when it comes to cleaning the property.

No one wants to stay in an apartment where they can find random hairballs or drool stains. Also, some guests might be allergic to certain animals, while many cleaning products like bleach and everyday carpet and window cleaners have chemicals that are toxic to pets. 

So if you’re going to offer pet-friendly stays, you need professional cleaning services. Make sure yours won’t leave a build-up of heavy-duty toxic chemicals but can still do a deep clean after every guest.

How to outsource vacation rental cleaning

A professional cleaning service provider will make it easy to manage your vacation rentals. But you need to make sure you have the right team for the job, otherwise outsourcing is more trouble than it’s worth.

Here are four steps to finding and working with the perfect cleaning service:

1. Google licensed cleaning companies in your area 
2. Search platforms that list vacation rental cleaning services
3. Ask for referrals and recommendations 
4. Get a cleaning management software 

Google licensed cleaning companies in your area 

The easiest way to find a licensed cleaning company in your area is to start with a quick Google search. A professional website, positive online reviews, testimonials, and online resources are all signs that the potential cleaning company is experienced and comfortable with technology.

Googling licensed cleaning companies near you is the fastest and easiest way to find cleaning services.

Pro tip: the best vacation rental cleaners have well-defined Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that clearly outline the company’s operations and workflows. This way, you’re crystal clear on how their business is run.

Search platforms that list vacation rental cleaning services 

Marketplaces and platforms like Yelp or Homeadvisor make finding cleaning services easier by bringing professional services providers all in one place. Make sure to reach out to potential companies and discuss the job, including the services they offer and their contingency plans in case an individual can’t show up for a clean.

Pro tip: if you’ve decided to make your property pet-friendly, or just care about the environment, ask if your professional cleaner uses pet-safe or eco-friendly cleaning products.

Ask for referrals and recommendations

Asking other hosts for cleaning service referrals helps you find a company that’s tried and true. Try reaching out on social media and checking out other hosts’ conversations about cleaners on your Online Travel Agency’s (OTA) community forum.

Relying on word-of-mouth to find a professional cleaning service might be cheaper than using platforms that charge a commission or sign-up fee.

Make sure to find out about the cleaning packages potential services offer, their experience levels, communication methods, and Turnaround time.

Get a cleaning management software

As a final step, consider getting a cleaning management software to 

• Automate your processes
• Manage your team
• Help you schedule cleans efficiently 

Cleaning management software like Operto Teams and Breezeway allows you to track work in real-time, get organized, reduce your workload, and make sure cleans are never missed. The best part? Jetstream integrates with both of these tools so you don’t have to figure them out on your own (but more on that later).

Cleaing management software like Operto Teams automate your workflow so cleans don’t fall through the cracks.

Why you need to automate cleaning management for your vacation rental 

Automating your vacation rental cleaning:

• Reduces your workload
• Allows you to scale your business 
• Helps you raise your hosting game

That’s because automations minimize human error, increase productivity, and reduce the administrative overhead of property management services in general. 

Reduce your workload

There’s no doubt that outsourcing professional vacation rental cleaning can save you time and money. But it comes with a tradeoff. You now have to spend time coordinating cleaners, informing them of check-ins and check-outs, and being the point of contact for irritated guests who just saw a cockroach in the bathroom.

Here’s where cleaning management software and automation tools help. These tools:

• Automatically schedule cleans when there’s a new booking 
• Streamline scheduling by syncing calendars 
• Help you get organized by providing a master calendar
• Store issues in one place so you can consolidate them easier
  

This way, you don’t have to worry about frantically scheduling a clean after a last-minute booking or forgetting to change the lightbulb in a unit. These tasks are all automated and seamlessly communicated to cleaners. 

Scale your business 

Automations create streamlined operations that can easily be applied to any number of doors. This means that if you have automations in place that schedule cleans after every check-out and notify cleaners of schedule changes, you can easily scale your business without having to worry about the extra hassle. 

Raise your hosting game

Lastly, automating cleaning management means fewer errors and more satisfied guests. 

If your unit is consistently spotless, the fridge is always stocked, and guest questions are always answered quickly, you’ll have the time and headspace to add personalized touches to wow your guests… and you’ll be sure to get  Airbnb Superhost status.

Automating your cleaning services can quickly put you on the path to earning and maintaining your Superhost status on Airbnb.

As an Airbnb Superhost, you’ll get special recognition and exclusive rewards from Airbnb, as well as more visibility to guests, which means more opportunities to maximize your revenue.

How to simplify your tech stack with Jetstream

Jetstream is the all-in-one solution for automated messaging, listing optimization, channel management, and content distribution. We help you spend zero time on administrative tasks and guest communications by

• Closing the loop between guests and your cleaning services with our 24/7 multilingual support.
• Syncing your cleaning service’s schedule with your booking calendar, and informing them of upcoming cleans and maintenance issues. This simplifies your operations, so they can be scaled.
• Combining the tools in your tech stack so you don’t have to manage dozens of tools or train a team to do it.

Jetstream alerts your cleaners through a shared calendar and SMS text to make sure units are cleaned, so you don’t have to.

Maximize your revenue and save time by outsourcing your vacation rental cleaning

Outsourcing the cleaning process helps you save time, meet guest expectations, save resources, and add to your client base by making your property pet-friendly.

You can find the right cleaning service and get the most out of outsourcing by

1. Googling licensed cleaning services near you
2. Searching platforms that list cleaning services 
3. Asking for referrals and recommendations
4. Getting a cleaning management software
   

Once you’ve found the perfect cleaning company for your vacation rental business,  you’ll deliver an even better guest experience by automating your cleaning management operations. Jetstream integrates with a powerful tech stack to automate your operations and provide around-the-clock guest communications, so you can focus on what you do best.

Do more without even lifting a finger.
Jetstream supports your business and gives your time back with automated cleaning management and 24/7 guest communications.

Book a Demo

Frequently asked questions about outsourcing vacation rental cleaning

Can you share your Airbnb calendar with a cleaner?

Yes, you can easily share your Airbnb or Vrbo calendar with cleaners using scheduling and automation tools like Operto Teams and Breezeway. 

How do I sync my Airbnb calendar with a cleaner?

Through its partnership with Operto Teams, Jetstream’s solution automatically syncs your booking calendar into Operto Teams’ Master Calendar every 30 minutes. This Master Calendar is then shared with your cleaner so tasks never fall through the cracks. 

Do Airbnbs get cleaned daily?

To retain a basic level of hygiene, Airbnbs must be cleaned before and after every guest. 

Does Airbnb take care of cleaning?

No, Airbnb itself doesn’t take care of cleaning tasks. Most Airbnb hosts charge a cleaning fee that covers the cost of cleaning their rentals after the guests have checked out. 

How much does vacation rental cleaning cost?

The cost of cleaning services depends on the frequency of cleans, your location, and property size. But generally, you can expect to pay between $100 to $150 per visit. Cleaning management software makes the cost worth it by helping you get the most out of cleaning services.