Jack-n-Jill Bathroom/Cleaning System

[Daniel2365]

I have a bit of an odd setup in my house, and I'm trying to figure out the best cleaning system.  Basically, I live in a 4-bedroom home with a roommate, and there are also two additional bedrooms that I rent out on Airbnb.  The two bedrooms have a Jack-n-Jill bathroom in the middle and guests can rent out either of the bedrooms individually with a shared bathroom or rent out the entire two-bedroom suite with a private bathroom.  I'm in a highly desirable area and have about 90% occupancy with 4-5 turnovers for each bedroom per month, and maybe one turnover happening between the two every 4 days on average.  I have been cleaning all the common areas, including the shared bathroom between the two bedrooms on each turnover, which works okay, but there's always the posssibility that two different guests will book each of the two bedrooms for over a week, and then there will be no turnover cleanings.  Conceivably, the bathroom in the middle could get dirty.  Or if one bedroom was unoccupied for a number of days since the last turnover, while a gruest was staying in the other bedroom, these shared bathrooms could get dirty as well.  I'm trying to come up with a better system, maybe cleaning these common spaces occasionally independently of turnovers (or if there are no turnovers for around a week), but one issue is getting to the shared bathroom requires access through one of the two guest rooms.  Any suggestions?  Should I put in the listings that the cleaners will need to access the common bathroom through the rooms guests are staying in?

I have had some guests who drove for Uber at night etc. and were usually sleeping during normal turnover/cleaning hours....  So this could be tricky.  I might need "do not disturb" signs etc.  At the moment, I'm not really sure what to do.

[Christine615]

I'm at a loss, but my inclination is to say the bathroom should be cleaned if one of the rooms goes vacant. You have to turn over that bedroom anyway, so why not refresh the bathroom at the same time? And alert the tenants. I know people have odd hours but there is a reasonable expectation that cleaners perform their work during the day (even if the cleaner is you.)

[Daniel2365]

That is the current system....  However, I have had people book for over a week a time.  It was just a coincidence that there was at least one turnover each week so far.  People could book up both bedrooms for two weeks each, and then I imagine the bathroom would get dirty from heavy use.  I may have to put something about cleaning people needing access to that common bathroom in the listing and give the guests do not disturb signs.  There are two rooms, so really the cleaning people could access it through either.  It's unlikely, but possible  that both guest rooms would be occupied by people on a really late schedule.  I guess if that was the case, they just wouldn't get that bathroom cleaned.  I have the maximum stay set to 14 days, because I only want travelers, not a long-term tenant, so I guess it couldn't get too bad.

[Sarah977]

@Daniel2365  Another possiblility is that you let that bathroom be a private bathroom for only one of the bedrooms and the other bedroom utilizes the bathroom that you and your roomate use, i.e. a shared bathroom situation, if that's feasible (meaning the bathroom is located in a hallway, rather than ensuite in your bedroom or your roommate's. Then you could drop the price a bit on the bedroom that has a shared bathroom situation. In that case, you'd have to have a way to lock the bathroom door between the room that has the private bath, so that the guest from th other room couldn't access it.

[Daniel2365]

I could make the bathroom a "private" bathroom for one of the bedrooms and lock it from the inside (because of the fire code, I cannot install a lock that allows it to lock on both sides).  The only issue is these bedrooms are on the second floor and the other shared bathroom is on the first floor.  That would mean the guest witout the private bathroom would have to go all the way downstairs to get to the bathroom.  This is a pretty big incovenience.

[Daniel2365]

At one point, I did occupy the larger of the two bedroms with the bathroom in the middle as my "private" bathroom.  This is a pretty desirable situation.  My roommate on the other side didn't like it though, becasue she had to walk all the way down a steep staircase and to the other side of the house, if she wanted to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.  (I live in large Victorian house with an old staircase, and the only common bathroom that is not ensuite is adjacent to the kitchen, opposite from where the staircase comes down, by the front door.)  I live in a few blocks from an arts district with lots of bars and nightlife, so I'm kind of imagining people stumbling down those stairs buzzed from a night out drinking, trying to make their way to that bathroom.  I do have a warning about the steep staircase right in the "other information" before people book though and could put something in there about the bathroom being on the ground floor.

[Sarah977]

@Daniel2365   Well, as you describe the house layout, my suggestion doesn't sound practical, as the other bathroom is downstairs. I don't know how big the Jack and Jill bathroom is, but a friend who hosts did this- she had a large bathroom with a bathtub that opened on one side to her kitchen and on the other to a bedroom she was turning into an Airbnb suite. She had the bathtub taken out, as well as the sink, put up a wall down the middle of what was formerly one bathroom, installed shower stalls and small, modern rectangular sinks, and a new toilet on the guest suite side. In other words, she turned one large bathroom into 2 small ones. An expense for sure, but has paid off in the long run. 

[Daniel2365]

The bathroom is a very small one and is too small to divide like this.  It would be an expensive remodel anyway, and I would have to shut down everything to do it.  Right now, I cannot afford to do that.  I need the Airbnb income to recoup the expenses I already have put into renovating this house.