Airbnb Cleaning Checklist: Don’t Miss a Spot

Regardless of the type of accommodation you offer on Airbnb, cleanliness is of the utmost importance to your guests. If your guests notice one small thing that was not cleaned properly, they’ll let you know that your cleaning standards aren’t up to par.

It’s way better to put your efforts into ensuring an excellent guest experience rather than managing bad reviews, right?

Whether you clean your property yourself or hire someone to do it, you need an Airbnb cleaning checklist to follow during each changeover. This way, you can ensure your Airbnb rental is perfect for the next guest.

In this article, you’ll find a thorough Airbnb cleaning checklist that you can use to simplify your turnover cleaning process and keep your property guest-ready.

Vacation Rental Cleaning Checklist: What to Include in Your Cleaning Plan

Cleanliness is a crucial factor that can make or break your Airbnb business because it’s one of the categories in the Airbnb ratings, and guests always comment on the space’s cleanliness in their Airbnb reviews.

We’ve put together a vacation rental cleaning checklist so that you or anyone cleaning your short-term rental knows how to get your property spotless.

The vacation rental cleaning checklist for each turnover should include these essential tasks to prepare your rental space for the arrival of the next guest:

• Inspect your property and remove left-behind items.
• Wash and change sheets and towels, and make the beds.
• Clean the kitchen and put away the dishes, toaster, kettle, stove, and other utensils.
• Dust furniture and other surfaces.
• Sweep and mop floors, and vacuum carpets and rugs.
• Clean toilets, bathtubs, and showers.
• Wipe countertops, door handles, and light switches.
• Clean windows and mirrors with the appropriate cleaner.
• Take out the trash.
• Restock the amenities you provide in your space, including coffee, trash bags, paper towels, hand soap, shampoo, and dish soap.
• Do a final scan of the whole house to ensure all tasks are complete and add finishing touches.

The core success ingredients of keeping your rental place neat and tidy for every guest are:

• The precision of your cleaning team
• Timeliness of their arrival

But before you start cleaning your house, make sure you have all the necessary tools and cleaning products:

• A good vacuum for carpets and vacuum bags
• A lot of microfiber cloths
• A microfiber mop for hardwood floors
• Glass cleaner
• Wood cleaner and polish to add the finishing touch
• All-purpose cleaner for kitchens and floors
• Air freshener
• Dishwashing soap
• Foaming shower cleaner
• A toilet brush
• Disinfectant for such germ-prone areas like toilets, bathtubs, and others
• A scrubbing brush
• Several scrub pads for extra stubborn grime
• Sponges
• Detergent
• Paper towels
• Gloves (disposable or reusable)

It’s a basic list of must-have cleaning products, so you may need to include some specific cleaning tools and supplies for your own rental house.

Airbnb Cleaning Checklist by Room

What else should you include in your Airbnb cleaning checklist? We asked experts who have proven business in the rental market before writing this article. They provided us with the necessary information based on their own experience.

Each property is unique, so you can use our professional Airbnb cleaning checklist as a template and modify it slightly to suit the specifics of your Airbnb rental.

Failing to maintain ideal cleanliness is an obvious hosting blunder. Want to know the other popular revenue-draining mistakes? Download our free list and make sure that you don’t recognize yourself in any of those cases.

Cleaning Kitchens

A well-furnished kitchen is the heart of any home, and it’s one of the biggest reasons why travelers choose Airbnb vacation rentals over hotels. So you should always give your kitchen a deep clean, and here are some important things to remember:

• Wipe down and disinfect the outside of all the appliances, worktops, drawers, and cupboards
• Clean all the utensils—run them through the dishwasher if you have one
• Clean the stove
• Clean hoods and vents
• Wipe down the microwave inside and out
• Wipe down the inside of the refrigerator
• Clean and disinfect the sink and sink drain
• Throw out leftover food
• Replace the dirty garbage bag with a clean one
• Clean windows and mop the floors

Pro tip: Start cleaning each room from the top and work your way down: First, dust and clean higher surfaces, and clean the floors last. This way, you can prevent dirt from falling onto already-cleaned areas.

Cleaning Living Rooms

Your guests will use the living spaces to relax and hang out. These are areas where they spend most of their time while staying at your property. Therefore, ensure your living rooms are free and uncluttered to create an inviting atmosphere and keep your guests happy.

• Dust all surfaces and polish wood furniture
• Disinfect light switches and all remotes
• Vacuum all sofas and under furniture
• Mop hard-surface floors and vacuum all rugs
• Clean away all cobwebs
• Clean windows
• Dust baseboards and moldings
• Ensure that furniture, décor, throw pillows, and other accessories are neatly arranged

Cleaning Bathrooms

No one would want to stay in a place with a dirty bathroom, so you should do everything to ensure that yours is in excellent condition. Here’s what you should focus on:

• Sanitize and clean the toilet
• Clean and sanitize sinks, tub, and/or shower
• Make the faucet and the mirror shine with a window cleaner
• Clean tile surfaces and grout
• Clear the tub/shower drain from hair or blockages
• Change/launder bathroom linen
• Restock toilet paper, hand soap, shampoo, and other toiletries
• Arrange all bathroom items nicely

It is best if your cleaning team also handles laundry. However, if you use different providers for cleaning and laundry, it’s essential to ensure they work together effectively.

Cleaning Bedrooms

Your guests want a relaxing getaway, so you should do everything to ensure they can get a good night’s sleep. Here are the steps to keep your bedroom clean, neat, and tidy.

• Replace the used linens of slept-in beds with fresh ones
• Clear any trash
• Dust all surfaces
• Clean windows
• Disinfect light switches or remotes
• Dust/clean light fixtures/ceiling fans
• Empty out all dressers and closets
• Polish furniture
• Vacuum under the bed for dust
• Sweep or vacuum the floor

Cleaning Utility Rooms

Laundry and mudrooms are often used as an entrance to your property, so they can get nasty and require regular cleaning.

• Make sure there is no trash or lint in the dryer
• Wipe out the washer and dryer
• Disinfect the knobs, buttons, and doors of the machines
• Clean the sink and clear out the sink drain
• Clean windows and blinds
• Refill cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, and softener
• Check whether laundry baskets or drying racks are clean and ready to use
• Dust baseboards and molding
• Clean/vacuum floors and rugs

If you have any outdoor areas, be sure to sweep up dirt, debris, leaves, and other debris so that your exterior areas are neat and tidy, and dirt isn’t tracked into the house.

Whether you plan to clean your Airbnb rental property yourself or prefer to use a professional cleaning agency, it’s essential to plan every detail of the cleaning tasks. Having a detailed checklist is always a smart move to enhance efficiency and ensure consistent results. And, of course, you should keep a printed copy of your cleaning checklist in an accessible location so that your cleaners can refer to it easily when needed.

Hiring a Team of Professional Cleaners for Your Airbnb

Any short-term rental property should be as spotless as a 5-star hotel. If you keep your booking calendar full and want to be the best host for your guests, maintaining a clean property can quickly become a full-time job.

That’s why hiring a professional cleaning service specializing in cleaning vacation rentals makes sense. It’s the easiest way to ensure thorough and consistent turnovers and impress your guests, who are sure to appreciate a neat and tidy space. You can charge an Airbnb cleaning fee to help you cover your cleaning costs.

You can go the more old-fashioned route and find someone in your area through word of mouth or look for a local cleaner online, for example, on Turno. This platform helps short-term rental hosts hire, schedule, and pay for cleaning services, and it has direct software integration with Hospitable.

When selecting a cleaning service for your Airbnb rental, consider factors such as pricing, industry-specific experience, and turnaround time. It’s also important to perform a background check and read a review of the cleaning company from other hosts.

You may want to check out our podcast, which offers tips on building a great cleaning team for your vacation rental and explores real-time management tactics.

Conclusion

It’s crucial to set up a protocol for cleaning to keep you or your cleaners on track. Using an Airbnb cleaning checklist is one of the most comprehensive and scientifically backed ways to ensure that you have covered everything and no detail is overlooked.

If you check off every item on this vacation rental cleaning checklist, you can ensure a welcoming environment for your guests, making a great first impression and setting the tone for the rest of their stay. Then you won’t have to worry about another Airbnb guest complaining about your cleanliness, and you are more likely to get the best reviews.

You don’t need to make mistakes to learn. We’ve collected a list of horrible hosting mistakes that we want you to avoid. Happy reading!