During peak season, vacation rental property managers need to streamline their operations, especially their cleaning procedures. As soon as a guest checks out, the clock starts. Housekeeping, property managers, and maintenance workers must get in and out as quickly as possible to accommodate the next reservation, only a few hours away. It can be stressful or cause managers to cut corners.
The benefit of a quick vacation rental turnover can be huge, especially in summer. If your team can get in and out of the property quickly, you can offer guests early check-in, a perk that benefits you (more revenue!) and guests (more vacation time!).
So how do you streamline this process without sacrificing the cleaning quality? Expediting your vacation rental cleaning procedure during peak season is less about the tasks during the turnover but more about the procedures involved in a turnover. Here are just a few ways you can cut down on the time.
Keep Up Your Curb Appeal
During a busy summer season, it might be easy to forget to keep the outside spaces of the property looking just as nice as the inside. But when vacation rental guests arrive for their reservation, their very first impression is the outside of the rental. So in addition to a thorough clean and inspection of the inside of the home, ensure you’re also sprucing up the outside of the property. This includes dead-heading, weeding, thinning out garden beds, mowing lawns, sweeping walkways and porches, checking outside lights, and cleaning the outside windows. Make sure to take these tasks into account when structuring your turnovers.
Hire Experts
As a professional in the vacation rental management space, you probably wear a lot of hats. You play property manager, owner relations specialist, front desk clerk, concierge, and housekeeper. And for a property manager with a small portfolio, this setup is probably just fine (in fact, some people love the variety!). But when it comes to streamlining operational procedures and cutting back on time, it pays to outsource your tasks.
Professional vacation rental cleaners understand that this isn’t your typical house cleaning. Their job is to make it feel like no one has ever stayed in this house before, giving each group of guests a clean slate to start their vacation. They also understand that time is of the essence and have systems in place to get a vacation property guest-ready fast.
Nail Down the Task List
One of the easiest ways to expedite a vacation rental cleaning procedure is to create a standard task list every housekeeper uses at every turnover. Team up with your cleaning experts to develop a complete list of items that need to be accomplished at every clean so you can keep your team organized and on task as soon as they walk through the door.
In addition to creating a list, ensure that every new housekeeper you hire is trained on your cleaning methods so that cleans are performed the same way across the board.
Schedule Deep Cleans in Advance
A packed calendar is great for revenue but can be harder on your vacation rentals. With so many guests going in and out, your property may experience more wear and tear than it would during other seasons. It’s a good idea to block off your calendar for deep cleaning and maintenance sessions before your peak season so you can spend the time necessary to make minor repairs and give the rental a thorough scrub.
Use Technology to Speed Up the Process
One task that eats up the most time during a vacation rental cleaning procedure is the communication back and forth between the cleaning staff and the property manager. Why not automate this process with smart home technology? For example, keyless entry solutions can be programmed to notify staff when a guest leaves, when a housekeeper arrives, and when a housekeeper leaves. Then your inspection team can get to work immediately. No need for you to orchestrate anything!
Quick vacation rental turnovers will always be a bit stressful. Still, with a standardized, streamlined cleaning process, some forethought, and some automation, you can ease the stress, speed up the process, and get guests in their rental faster.
