Yes, I mean flash light. Look how my ‘clean floor’ isn’t so clean after all… 
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@eyeborg Good one:) I think I have a special gift. I don’t need a torch. I just look against the window at an angle. I spot everything. My wife says I’m weird. I guess I am:) Still. Your photo is self-explanatory. By the way, where did you get so many hairs? :))
I am lucky in that due to my chronic pain and other health issues, I had a cleaning lady before I started Airnb. Now I have her come more often. I do wionderful why it takes so many hours for some hosts to clean, I’ve heard 4-5. My unit is set up with limited clutter, so it’s easier to clean. Even so, damp mop and vacuum floors, clean bathroom, clean kitchenette can be done in less than two hours. I like making beds, dread the vacuum, so I strip the beds, do the wash and make up fresh. Since the spider complaint, I go around all rooms shortly before people come to get the latest webs. Mind you since I’ve started telling people to expect bugs, my cleanliness rate is now all 5 stars.
My trick for the laundry is to wash all the bedding, then bundle it into the car, on my way to work, I pop into the laundromat and use 3-4 dryers. This gets it all done in less than 30 minutes. I fold there. My unit has 1 queen and 2 double beds. I don’t provide towels other than for the kitchen. Lots of issues if there is a beach, and I didn’t have the cash t invest in a pilot new towels. People don’t mind. I do have so spare towels if people forget, but I keep them upstairs.
Yes. It’s attached to my house. Separate apartment.
Same here. It would be quite a bit more in fact.
If we lived in a country where domestic help costs pennies I would have someone clean for sure.
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We are in a position where we could not reasonably clean it ourselves (I’m off site, co-host has achy back, five listings total) so we have to use a cleaner. Thank the heavens we found our current person. She’s responsible, a perfectionist, and helps with some of the hosting duties as well. I’m not not sure what we would do without her. Her pay comes directly from the reasonable cleaning fee, so it’s worked out great for us so far.
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That’s how long it takes me. I want to know your secrets!
I have a “back up” cleaner if I am not available or out of town. I do the cleaning 95% of the time. I had a student do it a few times for a reasonable amount, but he always did a poor job. A couple of negative reviews on “cleanliness” could ruin my business. I cannot risk that.
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How many rooms/bathrooms + Kitchen(?) do you clean in 4-5 hours?
For through cleaning of my 380 square foot studio (bathroom, fully equipped kitchen, living room, patio outside) my cleaner needs anywhere from just one hour to 2 h and 15 mins. It depends from the guests.
It takes me three to five hours depending on how many guests I’ve had and how much of a mess they’ve left. In the guest room I wash all the linens, move the furniture to the middle of the room and vacuum, dust the wood furniture and wipe down every surface that’s not wood with Clorox. I scour everything in the bathroom and mop the floor. This is for turnover. I deep clean the kitchen once a week, dust all the wood furniture as necessary (which is a lot with the drought) and vacuum pretty much daily. I think that one of the differences in cleaning time is whether the listing is a single family residence or an apartment/condo. Houses have doors that lead directly to the garden which means that dirt gets tracked in the house and blows in through the windows. Add dogs that can freely go outside and track dirt in the house and you’re cleaning a lot.
@MarkP I’d say that’s good-weird!
The long, thin, harmless but pesky snakes present in the photo have all arrived since two days ago. They breed at an astonishing rate, and despite negotiations and threats they are undeterred in their quest. They originate from a large, blonde colony situated on top of my head.
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Only two area rugs, ceramic tile, laminate. Minimal decor. I live in the woods, so now we are dealing with falling leaves blowing in. I can make a bed in a short time, never timed it, but there is a benefit to being a nurse. Clorox countertops, tubs, sink but nothing else.
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True. We have an apartment that we rent on Airbnb and we don’t live there. If there is one single thing that struck me the most since I began hosting is the amount of hair guests can leave. Sometimes my cleaning lady sends me the close shots with hairs all over the place. They are everywhere. Kitchen, bed, living room, in the wardrobe closets (!?), and especially in the bathroom. My wife has long hair too but never ever have I seen so much hair until I started hosting. Luckily, I don’t have to deal with that as I have my cleaning lady to do that for me. Still, I wonder if people come to my place to cut their hair or something;)
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I need your secrets! Ours is 450 sq. ft. - a complete apartment. 99% of our guests leave it in great shape so why does it take me so long?
It takes just as long to clean a fairly dirty place as it does to clean one that’s not too dirty. I have to go over all the surfaces, do laundry etc. regardless. I only thing I cut corners on is the mattress pad when the guest has obviously slept on top of the bed like they tend to do at my place.
Yes, I agree. For example, even if guests have done the dishes and put everything away, I still check them to see if they’ve been washed properly (often, they haven’t). Then there’s the fridge - guests rarely leave that spotless. There are so many things…
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There’s one reason, you are rewashing all the dishes etc. Cleaning fridge, toss food. Wipe shelves, wipe front. Empty trash, recycling, new bags. Wipe kitchen counter, clean sink, wipe microwave, stove top, cabinet front, clean coffee maker ( usually not needed,) but some don’t take out old grounds/filter. Clean sink. Quick check that dishes etc are clean. Replace t-towel, paper towel. Whole kitchenette 20 minutes max.
Maybe you could streamline your approach. But it might freak you out.
My place is 3 bdrm 1200’sq ft.
But then the bathroom. The bedroom and the living room. Dining area. Outside balcony…
Pretty much the same. my cleaning lady does the floors/surfaces, bathroom, kitchen, Windows, usually takes her 90 minutes for the entire unit. I pay my brother to cut grass, leaves etc. When I’ve had to do it myself I takes me longer, but I have to rest every 20 min or so.
I strip and make beds, inspect cleanliness, supplies. Compared to my part of the house it’s much easier to clean as the guests leave it’s usually tidy, sadly, I’m messy, projects, papers, shoes to be put back in place.