Running an Airbnb? 7 Things You Need to Know Before Booking a Changeover Cleaning Service

There’s a particular moment every Airbnb host knows.

The previous guests have checked out. The next ones are arriving this afternoon. Somewhere between those two things, the property has to become fresh, welcoming and completely ready for people who have never seen it before.

You don't yet know what you'll find when the door opens. Maybe the guests were wonderfully tidy and all that's waiting is a normal clean, a few stripped beds and some towels. Maybe breakfast is still decorating the kitchen worktop. Maybe someone has used every clean towel in the property.

And, for reasons nobody can explain, there are three empty shampoo bottles in the shower.

This is the slightly unpredictable world of Airbnb changeovers.

For guests, the transformation is invisible. They simply arrive, put down their bags and expect the property to look exactly as it did in the photographs. Fresh bedding. Clean bathroom. Tidy kitchen. Everything where it should be.

For the host, there can be quite a bit happening behind the scenes to make that moment possible.

So if you're thinking about booking an Airbnb cleaning service, don't just ask how much someone charges to clean the property. There are a few other conversations worth having first.

1. Work Out What 'Changeover' Means for Your Property

Ask ten Airbnb hosts what they need from their cleaner and you'll probably get ten slightly different answers.

For one host, it's straightforward: clean the flat, change the bedding and leave everything ready for the next guests. For another, the cleaner may be the person keeping the whole changeover moving. Beds need stripping and remaking. Used towels need dealing with. Clean linen may need collecting. Guest supplies need checking. Perhaps something needs replacing before the next booking.

That's why we don't think there is much value in pretending every Airbnb needs exactly the same service.

At Let's Shine, we agree what's required around the individual property. That might mean pricing by room, linen change or complete changeover, depending on what's involved.

The important conversation isn't really "What's included in an Airbnb clean?"

It's "What needs to happen in your Airbnb between one guest leaving and another arriving?"

Once you know that, everything else becomes much easier to organise.

2. Sort Out the Bedding Before It Becomes a Problem

There is nothing particularly glamorous about linen logistics. There is, however, quite a lot of it.

One set is on the beds. Another is being washed. Another needs collecting. Towels are somewhere in the equation too.

It all works beautifully until you discover that the next guests need three beds made and there are only two clean sets waiting at the property.

Different hosts solve this in different ways. Some keep enough spare linen at the Airbnb to cover several bookings. Some use an external laundry. With some of the properties we look after, we collect fresh linen from the laundry or drop used bedding off as part of the arrangement.

None of these systems is necessarily better than the others. It simply needs to be clear who is doing what. Because fresh bedding isn't something you want to be figuring out when the next guests are already on the M27.

3. Think About the Things Guests Expect to Find

Contrary to some common belief, cleaning an Airbnb isn't quite the same as cleaning a home.

When you run out of washing-up liquid at home, you add it to the shopping list and get on with your day.

When your Airbnb runs out, the next guest notices. The same goes for toilet roll, bin bags, hand soap and whatever other essentials you've decided to provide. Once again, the arrangements of this don't fit into a one-size-fits-all model. Every host has a slightly different approach. Some offer just the basics. Others leave coffee, tea, toiletries and little extras.

Whatever you choose, somebody needs to notice when those things are running low.

Sometimes our role is simply to flag it to the owner. With other properties, we've agreed that we'll pick up what's needed so it's there before the next guests arrive. It's a small part of Airbnb housekeeping, but an important one. Guests shouldn't have to wonder why there's a beautiful coffee machine on the counter and absolutely nothing to put in it.

4. Don't Compare Changeover Cleaning Prices Until You Know What You're Comparing

This is where Airbnb cleaning prices can get confusing.

Two properties can both be advertised as two-bedroom Airbnbs and require very different amounts of work.

One might have a single bathroom, straightforward linen arrangements and everything the cleaner needs stored neatly in a cupboard.

The other might sleep six, have two bathrooms, several beds to prepare, linen to collect and supplies to replenish.

They're both two-bedroom properties.

They're not the same changeover.

That's why Airbnb cleaning can be priced in different ways. You may see charges per room, per linen change, per changeover or a price agreed around the particular requirements of the property.

When asking for a quote, give the cleaning company the full picture. How many people can stay? How many beds might need changing? What happens to the laundry? Who handles supplies? How tight is the turnaround?

A realistic quote starts with realistic information.

5. Accept That Guests Are Unpredictable

Most changeovers are pleasantly uneventful.

Then occasionally the front door opens and you think:

Right. This one's going to take a while.

That's part of hosting people.

One group may leave barely any trace that they were there. The next may somehow use every mug, glass and plate in the building during a two-night stay.

A cleaner working with Airbnb properties needs to understand that difference.

There will also be times when the property needs more than its normal changeover clean. Dirt gradually builds up in places that aren't practical to tackle thoroughly between every booking. A particularly busy period can take its toll too.

That's where an occasional deep clean comes in.

We can arrange deeper cleaning when a property needs it, tackling the areas that don't necessarily fit into the normal turnaround window and bringing everything back up to standard. The trick is dealing with those jobs before they become visible to the guests. Because guests have an impressive ability to spot the one thing everybody else has stopped noticing.

6. Five Hours Can Be a Very Short Time

Let's say your guests check out at 10am.

The next booking can check in from 3pm.

Five hours sounds reasonable.

Until you start filling it.

Strip the beds. Clean the bathrooms. Clean the kitchen. Dust. Hoover. Mop. Make the beds. Replace towels. Check supplies. Deal with the linen. And that's assuming the property was left in reasonable condition and nothing unexpected has happened.

Changeover days run much more smoothly when your cleaner knows the booking schedule and there is a clear way to communicate when something changes. Because something eventually will.

A guest asks for a late checkout. A same-day booking appears. The laundry isn't ready. Someone reports a problem just as they're leaving. You don't need an elaborate system. You need everyone involved to know what's happening.

7. Find Someone Who Understands That Airbnb Housekeeping Isn't Just Cleaning

Of course the cleaning itself has to be good. That should be a given.

But when you're trusting someone with an Airbnb property, there is another kind of value in having a person who understands the bigger picture. They know another guest is coming. They understand why the beds can't wait until tomorrow. They notice there are no bin bags left. They tell you when something isn't right. They can adapt when today's changeover isn't quite like last week's.

For many hosts, particularly those who don't live near their Airbnb, that flexibility is what makes the relationship work.

You're not simply paying somebody to mop a floor. You're trusting them with those few hours when your property passes from one guest to the next.

The Best Changeovers Are the Ones Guests Never Think About

A guest opens the door. The beds are made. The bathroom is spotless. The kitchen is ready. There are fresh towels waiting and the little things they're expecting are exactly where they should be.

They don't know somebody collected the linen that morning. They don't know the toilet roll was running low and more had to be bought. They don't know the previous guests left the kitchen looking as though they'd cooked Christmas dinner for twelve.

And they shouldn't.

They've arrived at the beginning of their stay. Everything that happened before that moment belongs backstage. That's the part of Airbnb housekeeping we understand at Let's Shine.

We work with Airbnb and short-term rental owners in Southampton to create arrangements that suit the property rather than forcing every host into the same package. That can include changeover cleaning, bed linen changes, collecting or dropping off laundry, replenishing supplies, shopping when agreed and deeper cleaning when the property needs a proper reset.

Some properties need all of that. Others don't.

The first step is simply a conversation about yours. Contact us today to tell us!