Airbnb Cleaning Starting Out

What do you need for Airbnb cleaning starting out when you have no house cleaning experience? How do you start and run a cleaning business for Airbnbs?

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Hey there, I’m Angela Brown, and this is Ask a House Cleaner. This is a show where you get to ask a house cleaning question, and I get to help you find an answer. You can find this and 400 other answered questions in this series on our YouTube channel.

Starting an Airbnb Cleaning Business

Airbnb Cleaning Starting Out, House Cleaner Confused About SuppliesHave you ever thought about starting a cleaning business specifically for Airbnbs? There is a house cleaner that wrote into the show and had this question. There are three or four different points, and I don’t want to miss any of them.

She says, “I NEED YOUR HELP! My boyfriend and I are starting a cleaning company since he’s already in the laundry cleaning industry we decided to do the cleaning service since a lot of people requested it. The problem is we don’t know much! I like cleaning and I know how an apartment or a house should look when it’s cleaned.

I’m having a hard time with the amenities for the Airbnb prices and it seems really expensive and I’m afraid that clients won’t pay and will run away! I want my amenities to be toilet paper, personal size of body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and paper towels.”

Congratulations on Starting a House Cleaning Business!

Airbnb Cleaning Starting Out, Man and Woman Cleaning So, the first thing is congratulations on starting a house cleaning business. How exciting for you. What’s even more exciting is that your boyfriend has decided to go into the business with you as a team, and that he has laundry cleaning experience.

Secondly, it’s also great that you have narrowed it down to the Airbnb industry. This is super important because it’s going to remove all of the guesswork from the other types of cleaning that’s out there.

Like move in move out cleans, deep cleans, all that stuff.  You know exactly what you want to do, so great! 

The Next Thing is the Amenities

Airbnb Cleaning Starting Out, Woman Cleaning Under BedSo, the next thing that it important to mention is the amenities. And then we’ll go back to the fact where you said you don’t know much but know what a house should look like. The amenities are not your responsibility. As a house cleaner you come in and you clean, and you restock the supplies that the Airbnb host gives you.

So as far as you buying them and then billing the customer back, not something you should have to do unless you want to. And usually, that’s the property manager’s project or part of his or her business.

If you want to do that you can set that up and that only comes with experience and it comes with a conversation with the host. So, if you’re going to buy those supplies and you’re going to build those into the cost, that’s up to you but usually not even recommended.

Usually, Hosts Determine the Supplies

Airbnb Cleaning Starting Out, House Cleaning SuppliesUsually what is the host will determine is what kind of supplies they’re going to provide and then they pay for them and have them drop-shipped from Amazon or somewhere so that the house always has a plentiful stock.

Then as a house cleaner, you show up, there’s usually a cabinet or a closet that has a lock on it so that guests don’t get in. And you open up the closet and then you have all of your restocking supplies. These are often things beyond what you just suggested. So, for example, there will be toilet paper that’s a given every house has toilet paper.

There has to be some kind of shampoo, conditioner and lotion, that is also a given. Guests get that when they go to a hotel, so they’re going to expect that also when they go to an Airbnb.

A Lot of Homeowners are Using Group Size Amenities

Airbnb Cleaning Starting Out, Soap Pumps in ShowerAnd so whether they’re personal-size or group size amenities, lots of homeowners are going to group sizes.  Where there is a sanitation thing on the wall, you sanitize your hands and you use the shampoo, lotion and the conditioner.

It’s usually a pump spray so that when the bottle runs out, you just replace the lid, or you get one that has a pump spray on it. That way they’re not going through lots of packaging and buying small sizes and all that stuff that you have to restock, especially if a family is going to be there.

Let’s say there are five people in a family that are going to stay at the Airbnb, and they’re going to be there for five days. That’s a lot of individual sizes when a group size would do just fine. So that’s going to be on the host. So that’s off your plate, you do not have to worry about that at all.

Take Some Courses Before You Jump Right In

Airbnb Cleaning Starting Out, Woman Greeting House GuestsThen, the next thing that is important to mention, is that you stated that you are new and don’t have the cleaning experience. So, its recommended that you take some courses before you go into cleaning someone else’s house.

For this reason, Airbnb is their business. That’s their bread and butter, that is how they make their living or part of their living. So, it’s an investment for most families. So, if you go into an Airbnb and you don’t know what you’re doing, and you use chemicals on surfaces that you don’t know if they’re are suitable to use on that surface, and you try to clean, sanitize and disinfect you could damage the surface. As a business owner, you are liable for that.

You Also Want to be Insured and Bonded

Airbnb Cleaning Starting Out, Cleaning Kitchen CounterSo, you also want to be insured and bonded for these very reasons. The bonding is not for damage, it’s for theft of services, theft of items that are stolen from the house.  And that is if you are caught stealing.

So that is separate but it’s great to have because bonding and insurance are usually part of the same package that people buy when they hire a house cleaner. The insurance is not if you willingly damaged something but if you are cleaning something, you are expected to know what the cleaning chemicals are used for and on what surfaces you can use them.

Even if you are spraying something and whoops, you accidentally ruined something, you still may not be covered. That’s why training is recommended.

Your Insurance Will Cover Any Accidents

Airbnb Cleaning Starting Out, Home InteriorBut if there’s an accident, like maybe you knocked a lamp by accident while  vacuuming and it breaks, then your insurance will cover that.  So, insurance, bonding and training first and foremost.

The next thing is what a house looks like when it’s clean does not necessarily translate to the Airbnb industry. Because you can clean a room and it looks oh nice and tidy, yay! But that does not necessarily account for the fact that Airbnb cleaning is very different from regular house cleaning.

With regular Airbnb cleaning, you have to open up the drawers next to the bed and you have to look inside and make sure someone did not leave a cell phone charger inside that drawer. And then also you’ve got to look underneath the bed.

Maintenance Cleans are Different From Airbnb

Airbnb Cleaning Starting Out, Man Cleaning Kitchen CounterNow, a lot of times on maintenance cleans you would look underneath the bed; vacuum under the bed. But in an Airbnb, you want to make sure there’s not even a hair on the floor. So, you’ve got to take extra care. Then you open up the bathroom cabinets, the closets, the coat closet and the linen closet and verify everything is there.

With an Airbnb, which is a little bit different than a regular home, you also do a damage control check that is a standard clean for any house cleaner in the Airbnb space.

What that is, is when you come in to clean, you’re going to do a once over of the property, and check for damage. If there’s damage that’s pinned on the last guest that came in because you do a damage check between every guest.

That’s different from a regular home. If you go to a home and there’s a little bit of damage, yes you would verify that to make sure that everybody knows you did not do it, but you’re not going to go looking for a little dent here and a ding here, and it’s not as high maintenance.

We Have a Ton of Videos on Airbnb Cleaning!

Airbnb Cleaning Starting Out, Woman Buying ShampooNow what I do want to recommend is at Savvy Cleaner; we have 39 videos targeted for the Airbnb industry. And you can watch these videos on YouTube.

So if you’re just starting out you can watch those free of charge. Those are shows that we have created through Ask a House Cleaner and they are here just for you. 

I’m super excited that you’re getting started in the industry, it is fantastic. Because it’s a huge industry, it’s booming and everybody that runs an Airbnb needs fantastic cleaners. Their ratings and reviews depend on it.

000 Savvy Cleaner Spacer Bar 2020Resources

that relate to today’s show. 

When you click on the links and buy the items you pay the exact same prices or less than if you found the links on your own elsewhere. The difference is that we make a small commission here at the show for sharing these links with you. 

Start Your Own Business, Sixth Edition: The Only Startup Book You’ll Ever Need – http://amzn.to/2yyAt9u 

How to Start, Run and Grow a Successful Residential & Commercial Cleaning Business – https://amzn.to/2REYCCc  

How to Start a Cleaning Business: Your Guide to Generating $2,000+ Income in 30 Days or Less – https://amzn.to/2qxixr9 

Your House Cleaning Business, A Blueprint for Success – https://amzn.to/2PJ97a9 

The 6 Figure Cleaning Business Master Class: Compilation of Class Materials – https://amzn.to/2JLX1Ys

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