I joined the airbnb host community about 5 years ago and managed a single property by myself. I lived quite close to my rental home which made it easy to do personal check ins, turnovers when the guest left, and attend any other issues that needed my attention. I usually would clean my own property which worked well because I am very particular about how the home should look for every guest that comes in. Back then, I had one very reliable cleaner who had been a family friend for some time, she knew exactly how to take care of my property and was a huge asset for my business. As time went on, my long time cleaner found new opportunities in her own career path, I am so happy for her but this left me without someone that I relied on for so many bookings.
Today I have 3 properties and I do not live very close to the other 2. I have been able to find cleaners for these properties but scheduling always seems to be an issue for us and I am not as flexible as I once was due to my location and increase in rental homes. Last week I received my first negative review regarding the cleanliness of one of the bathrooms and in another house I received a less than: ideal message regarding the state of the kitchen. I decided to compensate the two different guests by giving them back $$$ and apologizing for the inconvenience.
i.e. Kitchen comments: "dirty sink and trashcan has some rubbish still in it. There seems to be some sticky areas on the counter and it seems like the fridge is a little dirty as well"
Bathroom: " the toiletries did not seem to be fully stocked and I couldn't find the extra toilet paper. The bathtub was not deep cleaned and I could feel some residue when I stepped in. Mirrors were clean but had streaks in them."
I want to keep expanding the amount of rentals I manage but I am worried that I will not be able to handle the volume of turnovers unless I find additional/flexible cleaners. Primarily, I need to get my cleaning teams under control and fine tune the job that they are doing on my current properties before I expand. Currently, I communicate with the cleaners through text and call and I view their schedules on google calendar. This is working for me but I've heard there are apps out there that make this job easier.
What are your thoughts on how I can improve my operations? What software is most useful for you and how do you use it? Is it crucial is for them to have insured/bonded/licensed cleaners?
