Am I the only one going through the difdiculties and stress of finding a reliable cleaning company?
Referrals are welcome.
My listing is in the Los Angeles area.
Thank you in advance.
It isn’t easy. I don’t know what we would do if we lost our cleaner. We much prefer an individual - a local shop owner who makes time after she closes. What we do to keep her:
- Pay way above going rate
- She defines the house rules
- We pay extra for messy or longer-stay guests
- Our schedule revolves around her (and we do the cleaning on occasion when it is inconvenient for her).
The main advantage is that the airbnb is always immaculate (our house never looks like that).
Using an individual rather than a company also has risks: Other hosts regularly ask her to take care of theirs as well, but she only wants to do one, and we make sure that is a worthwhile decision.
Without her as a cleaner we can count on, I expect we wouldn’t be running an airbnb.
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I’m not sure why a lot of hosts think they have to find a “cleaning company”, rather than thinking outside the box. For instance, there might be a neighbor- a retired and active senior, a stay-at-home mom, someone who works online from home etc., who would be happy to earn some extra income and would have a somewhat flexible schedule.
You might have to train them, but it’s not like even hosts with “professional” cleaners are always satisfied with the results.
I clean my guest space myself, but judging from posts I’ve read, one of the biggest mistakes hosts make when it comes to cleaners is not having realistic expectations about how long is needed to clean a place to high standards. If a host expects a cleaner to clean a 4 bedroom house in 2 hours, so they can flip it fast, they will not be likely to retain good cleaners, nor end up with good results.
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We’ve cleaned our listing ourselves in the past and still step in to assist when needed while the cleaners are there. Even though I work full time, we always do a walk-through after each cleaning. If we find anything missed or not done properly, we just handle it ourselves and move on.
I regularly point out important things for the cleaners to keep in mind—like turning off the AC and lights, locking the door, and restocking essential items. I’ve also adjusted our check-in time to allow a full 5-hour window between guests to ensure they have enough time to clean thoroughly.
I try not to complain too much because I don’t want to lose them, but it often feels like no matter what I do, nothing really sticks. We’ve had a high turnover rate, which actually means more consistent work for the cleaners, but still. I must say that we have been lucky hosting guests that do not leave the place messy.
I’ve never been too picky about who we hire—whether it’s a company or an individual. I know that I will not be able to clean my listing by myself. I have tried Turno but you are at the mercy of the cleaners time and that means leaving money on the table.
If I have access to anyone of that sort, I will grab them in a heartbeat. But unfortunately, I do not. I am not picky. I just want someone who can get the job done.
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May I ask how this works with your cleaners? I assume your check-in, check-out days vary? As in, you don’t have a fixed check-in/check-out day like only Saturdays so that always the same cleaner can come at the same time on the same day?
The companies we talked to just flat out avoid STR cleanings as we wouldn’t get the same cleaner (who we have to train) or any cleaner on specific days, as long as guest check-out on different days and depending on check-ins this may happen on the same day. Guests might extent or cut short their stay complicating things even more if a host would try to schedule cleanings with a company/cleaner.
It would be great to hear how you manage all that and how it works for you.
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I agree 100% with @ameyer. Our cleaner runs the show, so to speak. So many owners in my area think $15 an hour is a generous wage and wonder why they can’t secure a good person. mine charges 2x that but the house is pristine.
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Yes, our calendar days vary depending on bookings. So, it can be any day of the week. And we also have same-day check-in. Our check out time is 11am and check-in is at 4 pm to allow enough cleaning time.
I currently found a cleaning company that the owner claims he owns STR’s and started the company due to frustration from cleaners. I have scheduled my next cleaning with him. He claims that he has trained his staff regarding STR cleaning and housekeeping needs. I have my fingers crossed and hoping this is a prayer answered.
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So you’re having different cleaners (person) most of the times or is it really the same cleaner every time no matter how your booking schedule looks like? Maybe I expressed myself poorly or I didn’t understand correctly hence my question.
I have sympathy for the new cleaning company you found (owner also being a host) - we’ve been at this point as well 
but I always wonder how they handle it if two places need to be cleaned at the same time? And even if they hired a second person, at the beginning they rarely might have simultaneous cleaning slots and then there is a lot of downtime again. It’s not easy to manage that or to find workers who really have such a flexibility and do not care about extended periods of downtime.
I’m probably overthinking it. Still it’s a mystery to me how different cleaners (persons) could possibly know all your “key” spots to focus on unless you write a massive and detailed cleaning protocol?!?
I hope you have a detailed checklist for the new cleaners, and will have them photo the areas you specify in your list. Hope it works for you…
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I feel you. I wish I could help, but I’m down in South Florida. I own a cleaning business, and it’s been really tough finding good people to work, no matter how much I pay or how nice I treat them. I even go out of my way to pick them up, drop them off, bring them lunch I cook myself, good clean food, coffee, whatever.
When I started this business over 20 years ago, it wasn’t like this. People used to take pride in a good day’s work. Now everyone wants to make easy money. They think uber or doordash is better, but after gas, miles on the car, and maintenance, they barely make $10 or $11 an hour.
I tell them they can make double or triple that with me, but a lot of them act like cleaning is something to be embarrassed about. Everyone wants to be famous or go viral. I even had to fire someone just two days after hiring because kept taking pics and videos in the fancy houses, making it look like was on vacation.
I actually enjoy making a house look great and ready for the next guest. I just wish more people took pride in that too.
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I can’t even imagine how frustrating this must be. I agree with you that a lot of times, the companies have a hard time finding and keeping the cleaners hence the difficulty fulfilling clients cleaning needs.
Yes! I have a detailed cleaning check-list down to the last and minor details including where the keys are placed. I send pictures of how we things are placed. I try to make the whole experience seemless for everyone.
To answer your question, I use a cleaning company who have different cleaners to service all their clients. I send out check-out dates as soon as a booking is made so that they can prepare in advance and make sure the cleaners are ready and available. I have requested that they use the same cleaners for my listing since they are already familiar with the listing.
I have asked that they inform me timely if they are unable to fulfill the date. Sometimes, It takes 3 days for me to get a reply with a non-challant attitude to top it off.
Phew!
I realize it doesn’t seem to be common these days, but if it was me or a cleaner who cleans like I do, there wouldn’t be any instructions needed on “key spots” to clean- I clean everything. And if I found that the hosts didn’t give the cleaner enough time to clean thoroughly, I wouldn’t work for them. (Not that I’d want to clean Airbnbs for a living)
The only instructions I’d need would be regarding how the host likes the place set up (i.e. the orange throw pillows on the couch, the blue ones on the chairs), and how they want it restocked (i.e. how many towel sets to leave out, etc.).
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It’s boring, I know, but I have done exactly that. As I’ve written here many times before, I am my cleaner which can get pretty hectic.
As I’m usually fully booked and the really hectic part comes when I have to do both apartments during the same six hour window - because I clean extremely thoroughly.
However, I’ve never even considered going to a gym because I get all the exercise I need cleaning!
Occasionally, I’ve used other people to clean but things have to be desperate for me to do that. (In fact, the last time I used someone else, I was in a coma and even Super-Jaquo couldn’t clean then. 
)
So yes, I have an extensive manual. It’s on the back end of one of my websites and it’s password protected. It has plenty of photographs showing how things should be so that an emergency cleaner can have it open on their phone when prepping the apartments.
There is a woman who cleans my house once every two weeks for 4 hrs. (which I can only afford because I live in Mexico) But I have never had her clean the Airbnb room and ensuite bathroom- I always do that myself, because I’m much more thorough. She’s a good cleaner, just not as detail-oriented as I am.
The only thing in the guest room I’ll have her clean when it’s needed is the ceiling fan and the windows.
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Sounds like your business is apocalypse-proof! Impressive! Good to hear that you’re back from the coma.
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