Everyone has been there. You arrive at the short-term rental you booked for the long weekend. Based on the listing’s pictures, you expect shining porcelain floors and beaming white linens. Except, that is not what you get. Instead, you arrive to find somewhere that looks tired, lived-in, and a bit grubby. It will do, but it’s not the place you hoped to treat yourself to on your well-deserved break.
If you’re familiar with this feeling and rent out a home yourself, you must ask if anyone ever felt this way when arriving at your property. You may think that your guests arrive to an acceptable standard of cleanliness. However, is your rental giving that ‘wow’ factor that everyone wants to experience when they first open the door? Or perhaps do you even not see the property for months at a time and hope that the cleaning fees included in the rates turn around acceptable results? Cleaning is more than just a quick task to tick off before your next guests arrive; it is the foundation of what sets the quality and standards of your rental.
Business Models Limit Results
Within the private rental industry, there is often the misconception that a win-win solution is not possible for all parties. Either the owner spends less on services and the experience is worse for the guest, or the owner is forced to raise prices to compensate and the guest pays a higher rate.
However, the future is in creating an “and” solution instead of “either-or”. This philosophy is desperately needed in the short-term rental industry. Everyone witnessed the fragility of this industry over the past couple of years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many short-term rental owners feel the need to raise prices to stay afloat. But is the hike in prices returning a better result for guests? The long-term viability of this industry will certainly be shaped and determined over the coming years. However, will the standards that hosts commit themselves to over profits lead the decision and shaping?
Rethinking Revenue Models
With rental companies like Airbnb, a portion of revenue goes towards cleaning. This compensates for things like: wiping down used surfaces, disinfecting the bathroom, sweeping the floors, doing laundry, changing linen, washing dishes, and paying for the cleaner’s time. Ask yourself, does this sound like $65-$80 worth of work? It sounds like it is probably far more. So, as a result, guests probably get a job that looks like $65 worth of cleaning.
To ensure the highest standards, short-term rental owners must allocate a flat rate towards cleaning, not a portion of their revenue. There is simply no way to undercut the service without standards suffering in the process. Moreover, regardless of how much revenue you bring in, service and maintenance must be factored in. This is even when the property isn’t hosting guests. To guarantee an exceptional level of cleaning, owners dedicate a portion of the income to a flat-rate cleaning and maintenance fee. This way, the standard of cleanliness in the apartment is not relying on customer demand alone.
A Clean That Guests Remember
You can’t re-do a first impression. The moment when your guest enters the apartment is the single most important determining factor in what kind of review they leave. Cleaning must go beyond the basics like fresh towels and bedding. Proper cleaning and maintenance regularly include factors like professionally laundered linens, monthly replacement of air filters, regular battery changes, furniture leg inspections, replaced door and cabinet hinges as needed, drain testing, and inventory checks.
The list goes on, but the difference between a cleaning fee per guest and a monthly, flat-rate service is the attention to all details. Trusting a company that believes and works by this philosophy is the first step. There is a win-win solution where hosts and guests alike feel satisfied from receiving the high standards they paid for.
