Derrick Agyiri and Pierina Chacón from Cleanster: “Cleaning Plays a Vital Role in Your Success”
Whether you manage a seaside mansion, a downtown flat or a mountain chalet, there’s one constant challenge that every short-term rental (STR) host faces… cleaning!
Squeaky-clean properties, happy guests and glowing reviews. We want to check them all. But how? In our latest Hospitable Hosts podcast, we dive headfirst into the world of cleaning management with two experts who know it all — Cleanster.com’s Co-Founder Derrick Agyiri and City Manager Pierina Chacón.
Tune in to Hospitable Hosts now and find out why a streamlined cleaning process is an absolute must and how to achieve it the smart way.
Prefer to read the highlights? We’ve got a summary of the key takeaways below.
Love Is… Streamlined Cleaning?!
“One thing that drew my attention most was when I started working as a night auditor in a hotel — I did love the technology and the way they were running the hotel. And that’s when my love for hospitality came in.”
This is how Derrick explained his motivation to create a tool that helps hosts streamline their cleaning processes. He highlighted that it’s not just about maintaining cleanliness standards (although that’s super important), but also about the impact on various aspects, including:
Guest satisfaction and 5-star reviews
Guest safety and competitive advantage
Operational efficiencies and quickly scaling up
Despite the abundance of modern tools and strategies, establishing an ideal procedure is not easy in the vacation rental business. So, we discussed why.
We All Make Mistakes
During the high season hustle, even the proven cleaning processes can fall by the wayside. Derrick and Pierina pointed out the most common, yet avoidable mistakes.
Misallocation of time: setting appropriate check-in and check-out times is crucial to accommodate any unforeseen circumstances.
Underestimating the power of deep cleaning: regular deep cleanings are necessary to keep your property sparkling.
Lack of communication and training: a great practice is to provide clear instructions and even how-to videos, setting your cleaners up for seamless success.
Ignoring feedback: guest opinion is gold and will help you continuously add unique touches to stand out in the saturated vacation rental market.
Most importantly, Derrick made it clear that your focus should be to sell more and not spend less: “Property managers and hosts are having the wrong mentality, focusing on the cost side of the service, rather than focusing on adding value to their property and getting full occupancy.”
Get your time back and focus on what’s important!
High-Tech Is Your Best Co-Host
The expert guests also proved to share our long-standing belief — STR automation is the game-changer. Similarly to Hospitable’s communication, team and task automation tools, Cleanster.com swoops into your hosting journey, offering a platform to manage your cleaners effortlessly, including an incorporated translation system to remove any language barriers.
Pierina stressed the importance of consistency in your cleaning experience. Even the most experienced cleaners might need time to familiarize themselves with your property. And that is where a comprehensive checklist comes in to sync the cleaning routine for the whole team:
“We push for the proper information being something that hosts have to give to the platform and the cleaner from the get-go. So that the whole cleaning process goes smoothly.”
Bringing In New Standards
Derrick and Pierina agreed that the modern work-life balance drives huge opportunities for both the short-, mid- and long-term markets, especially for those prioritizing revenue generation.
“There’s a continued focus on technology… optimization of pricing, occupancy rates, communication. We’re already seeing our integration and other smart technology enhancing the experience. […] So, we’re probably gonna see a lot more tools coming in,” concluded Pierina.
As technology continues to dominate the scene, the industry is set to skyrocket to new heights, driven by both the ease of operations and the next-level quality standards as a value-added.
Explore the full episode of our Hospitable Hosts podcast to learn more about the tools that will help you stay on top of the game — and how to integrate those into your Hospitable journey!
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