Preparing Your Airbnb for Cleaning

When it comes to preparing your Airbnb for a deep clean, the most important step is to remove all clutter from the space. This allows you to completely focus on cleaning and not be distracted by items that need to be put away. Cleaning surfaces can also be much easier when they are free of clutter.

In Nashville specifically, we often deal with large groups and the beloved (or dreaded, depending on how you look at it) bachelorette party. These groups often bring with them lost of groceries and decorations, and tend to leave behind a good amount or trash or garbage. Even if you are a host that asks guests to take out garbage prior to their check out, more often than not, there will be items left behind on counters, in bathrooms, on beds, and on floors. It is important to remove this trash, ensure all dishes that need to be cleaned are gathered, and prepare the home in a way that allows you, as the cleaner, to be more efficient.

In addition, it is important to check the short-term rental agreement to make sure that you are not missing any items that need to be cleaned or replaced. Make sure that before getting started, you have with you the amenities that you will need to leave for the guests after cleaning. Paper towels, toilet paper, coffee, and shower soaps all need to be accounted for before hand, in order to ensure the most consistent and efficient result for guests.

Kitchen

Top Down - Bedrooms and Bathrooms

The next step in the process is the bedrooms and bathrooms. We always start at the top floor, furthest from the front door, and work our way out. Using appropriate cleaners on furniture, toilets, showers and tubs, side tables, mirrors, and windows, we work our way down. Be sure to pay special attention to things like ceiling fans, under beds, inside cabinets and dresser/side tables, and especially closets for personal items and trash that guests may have left behind. Be sure to check bathroom trash bins, empty them, and put in a fresh can liner.

In bathrooms, your worst enemy is going to be hair. Later, we will be vacuuming and mopping the floors, but using a Swiffer mop pad, although designed for the floor, is a great way to get hair off of things like shower walls, sinks, or glass.

For chemicals, we recommend ZEP's foaming wall cleaner for walls, painted furniture, and light switches (it does a great job and does not damage paint). We also use ZEP's bathroom cleaner, and a commercial grade bleach where necessary. We always spray bleach into corners of showers and tubs to help prevent to growth of mold or mildew.

Beds and Linens

Our next step is to make beds. This will likely take as long as doing everything else, but it depends on the size of the home and the amount of beds that you are having to make. In Nashville, we regularly turn-over 4 or 5 bedroom homes that have 16 beds in them. Rooms with 2 or 3 sets of three high bunk beds may have you rethinking the whole cleaning thing, but they are incredibly important to successful hosting, so its something you will have to get used to.

At Honeysuckle, we bring clean linens from offsite, but if you are washing laundry on site, be sure to start the sheets first, and do so immediately upon arrival. There really isn't any tricks for making beds, it just takes time and practice. We recommend keeping a lint roller handy for once you are done, and to "hotel tuck" comforters under the mattress. For high volume units, you may also want to consider "triple sheeting" your duvet covers. This is much quicker than changing out those dreaded duvet covers, but still protects the duvet insert and provides a clean, soft layer on both sides. Tuck your sheets and comforter as tightly as possible, it works wonders to create a feeling of high quality cleanliness, and shows that the beds where definitely made professionally.

After the beds are made, we will lay out towels, wash cloths, hand towels, and makeup cloths. This will be up to your discretion on how you want to present and stage your towels, but we fold them and neatly place them at the foot of the beds, often on top of a decorative throw blanket. It is a MUST to ensure that your towels are stain and hair free. Any stains or hair on towels or sheets will give guests an immediate excuse to ask for a refund, so its not worth trying to hide a stain. This is a drawback of using residential washing machines and detergent, but you can also check linen before washing and pre-treat where necessary.

Amenities

After the majority of our cleaning is done, but prior to doing the floors, we will go around and ensure all of the listed amenities are restocked and ready for guests. Things like coffee, toilet paper, paper towels, and shower soaps should be refreshed and supplied for guests. We will typically leave two rolls of paper towels in the kitchen, and 3 rolls of toilet paper in each bathroom. Ensure soaps are re-filled, and that there are fresh kitchen sponges and towels easily visible and available.

Floors

The floors are the one area of the home that the guests will always be in contact with. It is a must to vacuum and mop every inch of the floors between every guest, and to pay special attention to areas under furniture, in corners of stairs, and under kitchen cabinets.

We use portable, commercial vacuums due to the improved efficiency, but most vacuums will preform fine, just be sure to check and empty bags and filters regularly. As mentioned previously, hair is going to be a focal point here, especially in bathrooms. A good tip is to use those Swiffer dry mop pads before vacuuming to pick up and trap a majority of the hair. We also recommend vacuuming couch cushions, especially if the sofa is a pull-out bed. You definitely don't want guests to fold the bed out only to find some chips from the previous guests, so be sure to check these areas to avoid bad reviews and refund requests.

For mopping there are multiple ways to go. We have found the most efficient solution is to use a microfiber mop with a reusable mop pad, and to spray down a PH neutral floor cleaner with a touch of scent to invoke the feeling of cleanliness. A PH neutral solution will avoid leaving streaks, and not damage any expensive or delicate flooring. It is also very important to change and wash your mop pads very regularly, to be sure you aren't simply moving dirt around. Start "up and away" and work yourself "down and out" the front door.

In Conclusion,

The first impression your guest haves, regarding the cleanliness of the home, will go a very long way in their satisfaction and eventual review. Likewise, if this impression is a bad one, the guest will likely begin looking for things to invoke a refund. Once a guest starts doing this, there is little you can do to stop them, so it is vital to blow the guest away with a feeling and appearance of cleanliness and freshness.

It is very important to have some sort of quality control in place for many reasons, but mainly because although the property may look brand new compared to when the previous guests left, there are often little things that get missed. Our quality control people are able to enter the home with fresh eyes, and what we refer to as a "guest mindset", looking for issues and missed items, and resolving them before the guests arrive. If you are a one-person team or a host than cleans your units yourself, I would recommend leaving the home for an hour or so, and returning with fresh eyes and looking over your work with specific attention to detail.

If you have short-term rental properties in Nashville, and are looking for a cleaning partner that will be able to give you operational piece of mind while consistently providing a 5-Star level cleaning, we would love to talk with you about how we can best serve you an give you more time and energy to focus on growing your business. You can reach out any time via Email, phone, or you can fill out an interest form and we will contact you!

Complete Guide to Cleaning Your Airbnb for Maximum Results