People who use Airbnb don’t do it because they lack options. As a matter of fact, travelers who prefer to rent a short-term rental on Airbnb do it because they want more.
They have seen what conventional hotels offer and choose to go a different way.
When you run an Airbnb, you should recognize that guests want the same service they get when they stay at a classy hotel, plus a little more.
Your customers want your Airbnb to be clean and organized like a five-star hotel, but they also want it to feel personal, like their home.
As a business, you already know you need a sound marketing plan to succeed. You may also realize the value of partnering with non-competing businesses in your industry, to help expand your reach as you cross-promote each other’s products and services.
However, although marketing is important, it is small things like the cleanliness of the home that ultimately frame your guest’s experiences and feedback.
For Airbnb homes, reviews matter more than ads and the cleanliness of your rental is a major part of what creates that feedback.
This is why you should be systematic when you hire an Airbnb cleaning service. You must know how to identify a professional cleaning service that will enhance the guest’s enjoyment of the rental.
You must also know how to avoid cleaning companies that will hurt your short-term rental business, warns Gifford Properties & Management in Mandarin.
Why you need a cleaning service for your Airbnb
You may be asking why you even need to hire a professional cleaning service in the first place. What is wrong with just hiring someone – an amateur cleaner – to clean the home or cleaning it yourself whenever can? Here are the reasons to hire a professional cleaner.
● Cleaning an Airbnb is not the same as cleaning your home
An occasional deep clean is more than sufficient for your home, but it is the minimum requirement for an Airbnb. In cleaning an Airbnb, you don’t judge the results by your own definition of cleanliness but by the standards of the global hospitality industry.
● Cleaning an Airbnb is not just about cleanliness
It is a big part of your marketing strategy. Apparently minor things like a few stains are enough for guests to give you a two-star rating. If a professional cleaning service can help you avoid that catastrophe, they effectively become part of your overall success strategy.
● Automating your Airbnb cleaning will aid your success
The way you manage the cleaning of an Airbnb can impede the expansion of your short-term rental business. Managing an Airbnb takes hard work and commitment.
Unless you automate parts of the business – like cleaning – it is virtually impossible to successfully manage the various task involved in the operation of the rental.
How to find the perfect Airbnb cleaning service
● The company’s experience and reviews
Only search on trusted online platforms and stick to companies that have been around for a few years. It is not enough for the company to have experience in the cleaning business, it must be specific to short-term rentals.
Along with experience, check what customers and past employees are saying about the company. Be sure that the company actually exists by double-checking its credentials.
● The cleaning services offered
Understand what the company is offering before you agree to anything. Cleaning companies offer at least two types of cleaning: standard and deep cleaning (which includes cleaning of those hard-to-reach areas). At a minimum, the package you choose should include biweekly or monthly deep cleaning.
● Flexibility
Some cleaning services will ask that you give them 48-72 hours’ notice when you schedule a cleaning. Others are open to last-minute calls, and yet others will give you a hard time if you reschedule a cleaning.
As an Airbnb host, you can’t predict what your guests will do. That is why you need a professional cleaner who can adjust to sudden changes.
● Communication
Communication is vital when choosing a cleaning service for your Airbnb because you will not always be present at the home in person. You want a company that will respond to your queries promptly and thoroughly.
To determine the responsiveness of the cleaning service, contact them on different platforms or mediums, at different times, and for very different reasons.
● The turnaround time
How quickly a cleaning company can have Airbnb ready, particularly when you have guests departing the same day new ones are arriving, matters to the performance of your rental.
Typically, the company should take no more than 90 minutes to clean the property thoroughly. Unless a cleaner has the ability to do this, you cannot handle same-day departures and arrivals.
● The pricing structure
There are two ways cleaning services charge for their services; by the hour or a flat rate. Using a cleaner that charges hourly rates is not a good idea.
An hourly rate cleaner will cost you too much because they may intentionally take longer to complete tasks. A cleaning service that charges a flat rate is the better option.
