Self-Managing Your Airbnb: How to have your Cleaner Managing your Rental Property (Part 2)

Now that we’ve discussed the sourcing of the cleaner and the linens, it is now time to discuss the management of inventory. You should be providing your cleaner with a checklist of the expectations you have for them. If you don’t have a checklist, how can you blame them for something not being done? As a part of my checklist, I require the cleaner to alert me if any of the supplies we have for the unit are below 25% of capacity.

Depending on your cleaner, they may only charge you an additional fee for stocking the supplies you want or have you send them supplies through Amazon for which they will stock the unit. Which brings the second point that you should have a list of supplies at the ready. Automate your expectations for what will be in your property from a supplies perspective. Be proactive by creating these lists so that you can automate your restocking process.

Another pro tip is that you should not have your cleaner managing your supplies from their office/home. They have multiple other properties that they are working on and the truth is that they are best at their craft; which is cleaning. So make the management of your inventory easy and provide a locked off area for which the cleaner can access the supplies. Most times this will be a closet, to which you can install a latch with a self-coded cable lock. You’ll thank me later on the lock, because the last thing you will want is another key to worry about or someone to lose.

By putting systems in place, you are avoiding the opportunity to make mistakes. When everyone understands the expectation and knows the next steps, you are setting up your business for success. You’re also respecting your cleaner to the greatest extent possible, because you are laying out the parameters for what should be done and allowing them the opportunity to take the reigns. Because you have your cleaner taking pictures after the job has been performed, you are able to manage the project from wherever you are. By having pictures taken, this creates the opportunity for the cleaner to find any mistakes or areas they may have missed. These can be subtle reminders to them to perform at a higher level, because they know they will have to submit the final project to you.