5 Ways to Automate your Airbnb Cleaning

It’s 2022. That means if you’re still scrambling to get cleaning schedules set up, playing phone tag with cleaners, or using pen and paper (what are you, a caveman?) to organize it… you’re behind. Let’s get that sorted, shall we?

Here are five easy ways to automate your Airbnb cleaning!

1. Buy cleaning supplies in bulk

First things first: you need to have supplies handy and available at all times. Plus, you want to save some dollars, so you must buy cleaning supplies in bulk. That means spending a couple of extra bucks every year on a Costco membership, BJ’s, or Sam’s Club… or even just hitting your local Walmart.

Companies also offer great deals and discounts online, so that’s always a good bet, too.

The point is the first step into automating your Airbnb cleanings is having the supplies ready to be used whenever they’re needed. That includes toiletries and kitchen supplies, too, if you’re having them available for guests.

Putting together a check-in kit is a great way to save time and money in the process. You can have these ready with all the basics that need to be at the rental upon a guest's arrival, such as toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, dish soap, hand soap, etc.

2. Keep an inventory of your cleaning supplies

What’s the point in planning and buying in bulk if you have no record of what you have in stock? You must keep an inventory of your cleaning supplies. The larger your rental portfolio, the greater the need for a precise inventory.

You can do this with a simple excel spreadsheet with different tabs per room or per unit, for example; and even have them printed out so cleaners can check them during guests’ check-out and check-in.

This may seem unnecessary, but it truly isn’t. And in the long run, it’ll save you time and money.

3. Hire a professional cleaner or cleaning service

If you’re doing the cleaning yourself, please reconsider. Home cleanings in general have a lot of details and tricks, and vacation rental cleanings are a completely different beast. Think of a hotel: they have their own housekeeping staff, trained to tend to the needs and cares of the rooms, right?

It’s the same with vacation rentals.

Things need to be a certain way so every guest feels at home. Not at your home, but at their own home for the time being. So it has to be clean and tidy, but not overly personal. Warm and inviting, but not to make them feel like a guest in someone else’s home.

Professional cleaners know this inside and out. Hire them, pay them well, and keep the ones you truly love and can rely on. You won’t regret it.

4. Schedule deep cleanings every six months

If you’re cleaning between every check-in and check-out, why should you worry about a deep cleaning? Well, because nobody cleans behind the refrigerator during quick cleanings. Or behind the stove.

The baseboards are basically forgotten. So are the windows, the gutters, the ceiling, the couch…

And you might even think that’s not a big deal, but the build-up over time gets harder and harder to clean and can eventually stain and damage your property.

So, schedule a deep cleaning every six months. Again, a professional cleaner will know exactly how to handle them. That involves upholstery cleaning, disinfecting, and cleaning all the nooks and corners that are forgotten during the routine cleaning.

5. Automatically book cleaning jobs

You might be thinking that none of the suggestions above is actually about automating your Airbnb cleaning. The truth is that those are basic, fundamental steps to take so that in the long run, your Airbnb business is running as smoothly as possible.

But we haven’t discussed technology yet. This will put you on a whole new level.

Imagine being able to sync your reservation calendar with your cleaning schedule. That means that every time a new guest books a unit, your cleaner of choice will be booked for a cleaning job in that place.

Yes, without you having to move a finger.

Imagine also sending out automatic reminders to that cleaning professional regarding the job, being able to chat with them directly in a shared inbox (so your team members can access it, too) and even putting together a to-do list for each and every single Airbnb.

We have imagined that scenario. So we created it. TIDY is here to fully automate your Airbnb cleanings. Well, after you start buying in bulk. Talk to us today.

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