One of the biggest aspects of managing a vacation rental is keeping it clean. If you turn over guests a few times a week, housekeeping quickly becomes a full time job. While, having your vacation rental professionally cleaned is preferable, things happen and sometimes you just have to get your hands dirty (pun intended). We’ve put together a vacation rental housekeeping checklist so that you or anyone cleaning your short-term rental knows how to get your property spotless.
Download Your Printable Checklist
Kitchens
Kitchens are the heart of the home. While guests can forgive a little dust in the living room, they will not tolerate what appears to be a dirty kitchen or bathroom. Finding crumbs will gross out your guests and give them the perception that your whole house is dirty. Untidiness is one of the biggest factors in bad guest reviews.
You’ll find some guests will want to cook while staying in your short-term rental and others will only make coffee in the morning. Regardless, giving your vacation rental kitchen a deep clean more often is smart. Here are some things to remember when cleaning the kitchen.
- Disinfect all the counters and knobs as appropriate for surfaces
- Wipe down the appliances including the door handles
- Clean around all the baseboards and those little spots under the cabinets
- Clean under and behind the refrigerator
- Clean inside and under the oven
- Wipe down the inside of the refrigerator
- Clean all the utensils – run them through the dishwasher if you have one
- If applicable, load and unload the dishwasher
- Clean the sink and sink drain
- Clean windows
- Mop the floors
- Dust/wipe down walls, moldings and window sills
- Polish any silver or brass items if applicable
Bathrooms
As mentioned, a dirty bathroom will turn guests off immediately. Having a fancy, spa-like bathroom is great, but not if guests think it’s unsanitary. Would you want to stay in a place with a dirty bathroom? Cleaning the bathroom should be a top priority in your vacation rental housekeeping checklist.
- Clean and sanitize sinks
- Clear the sink drain
- Clean and sanitize tub and/or shower
- Clear the tub/shower drain
- Clean mirrors
- Clean glass doors
- Clean and sanitize toilet
- Wipe and polish fixtures
- Wipe down baseboards and walls
- Clean tile surfaces and grout
- Clean windows
- Mop and sanitize floors
- Change/launder bathroom linens
- Inspect first aid kit and restock bandages or dispose of expired OTC medications
Note: For the downloadable checklist, print out additional bathroom sheets for each bathroom.
Bedrooms
The kitchen may be the heart of the home where people gather, but bedrooms are where they will spend most of their time. Not only is it important to keep bedrooms clean, but neat and tidy with little clutter.
- Dust all surfaces
- Change/launder all bed linens
- Vacuum under the bed for dust
- Dust window treatments/blinds
- Clean windows
- Dust/clean light fixtures/ceiling fans
- Dust walls
- Polish furniture
Note: For the downloadable checklist, print out additional bedroom sheets for each bedroom.
Living Spaces
Your vacation rental may have several living spaces for guests to enjoy and keeping them all dust free and uncluttered will keep guests happy. Deep cleaning tasks like shampooing carpets don’t necessarily need to be done for every guest but should be scheduled regularly as appropriate.
- Dust all surfaces
- Polish wood furniture
- Dust/clean window treatments/blinds
- Clean windows
- Clean/vacuum floors and rugs
- Mop hard surface floors if applicable
- Clean upholstered furniture (dust/shampoo/sanitize)
- Dust/clean light fixtures/ceiling fans
- Dust walls
- Dust baseboards and moldings
- Clean away all cobwebs
Utility Rooms
Laundry and mud rooms are a frequently used entrance into your vacation rental property. Because this can be a high traffic area it can get nasty. Dirty shoes and clothes are the biggest culprits so getting all the dust and dirt out is important.
- Wipe down washer and dryer
- Dust/clean window treatments/blinds
- Clean windows
- Clean/vacuum floors and rugs
- Mop floors
- Dust/clean light fixtures/ceiling fans
- Dust walls
- Clean sink
- Clear sink drain
- Refill cleaning supplies
- Dust baseboards and moldings
- Clean away all cobwebs
Get Your Vacation Rental Housekeeping Checklist
Housekeeping for your vacation rental can quickly become a big job if you’re keeping your booking calendar full. You may even want to offer a quick clean while you have guests renting your property to keep up with things so it doesn’t become a bigger job than it needs to be. Also, that would allow you to check in and get ahead of any maintenance issues or broken furniture before the guest leaves. Deep cleaning your short-term rental property may not need to be done with each guest but should be scheduled once a month. We put all these in a handy downloadable checklist that you can print off, add items and use for each cleaning to keep you or you housekeeper on track.
