How to Become an Airbnb Cleaner
JG - September 15, 2021
Short term rental property platforms like Airbnb have gained popularity throughout the years such that businesses surrounding those platforms have also boomed. One very profitable business associated with Airbnb is cleaning those properties for those landlords in order to prepare for new guests. Read on to learn some tips and some actionable steps on how to become an Airbnb cleaner.
1. Understand if There’s a Market For Airbnb Cleaners in Your Area
First, you want to make sure there’s even a demand for your cleaning services in your area. A good starting place is to go on Airbnb or VRBO or HomeAway and do a search to see if there are any rentals in the area in which you live. If there are, there may be a place in the market for you.
2. How To Understand the Airbnb Host’s Needs
It’s important to understand the needs of an Airbnb host. As an Airbnb cleaner, you will do more than just clean. The responsibility is very similar to what hotel cleaners do but with some extra stuff. Your expertise should include (but are not limited to):
- Changing the bed linens and washing those sheets
- Organizing the Airbnb so that the furniture setup, placement, and decor match the Airbnb listing pictures. This is important because the host wants to give the guest exactly what was advertised on the listing.
- Restock the supplies that the host gives you. Don’t buy the supplies and bill the host back (unless you want to but it is not recommended). There is usually a closest with a lock on it that you will be able to access for the supplies.
- Check in closets, drawers, nooks, crannies to see if the guest left anything.
- Check if there was any damage done by the guest when you first arrive. Notify the host if there is.
Definitely talk to your clients to understand their needs. An open line of communication is the best way to understand the host’s expectations. Furthermore, be sure to have an email dialogue with the host on exactly what is expected of your services. The email chain will serve as something you can refer back to.
3. How To Find Hosts to Offer Your Services To
There are a few ways to find your clients. Like most things today, one way is through social media. Spend some time on Facebook or forums like Reddit to look for demand or host/cleaner marketplaces. Facebook groups like this one connect house cleaners with Airbnb hosts.
Another option is to search job listing sites like Indeed.com (click the link to checking the job listings) or SimplyHired.com or Housekeeper.com. These websites are generally very easy to navigate but most of them do require a resume so you may want to draft one up if you haven’t already. For some of the websites, all you need to do is create a profile and the hosts will contact you.
There are short term rental specific businesses like TurnoverBnB that help hosts manage their rentals with software. In this case, with TurnoverBnB, they have a marketplace to connect hosts and cleaners as well. Click here to check it out. Some more apps that match hosts with cleaners are: Properly and Evolve Vacation Rentals.
There’s also always the old fashioned way of word of mouth. Ask around your friend circle to see if they or friends of friends need Airbnb cleaning services.
4. Set Up a Credible Business
This isn’t necessarily cleaning specific since it applies to all small businesses nowadays but you should, at the very least, have an email address and a website showcasing your work or services that you provide. Creating a professional looking website is simple nowadays with services like wix.com.
This article won’t go into the details of these logistics but make sure you do and understand all the legal stuff when starting a small business like the following:
- Taxes and how they work in your state
- Licenses and permitting. This may be specific to a cleaning service.
- Insurance and bonding (protecting your business from liability, theft, etc)
- Setting up and registering a business in your state
- Opening up a business bank account
There are limitless resources online for starting a small business that you can leverage.
5. If You Are New To Cleaning, Take Some Courses
It is important that when you are new to becoming an Airbnb cleaner you understand how certain chemicals work. If the chemical that you are using damages a surface, you are liable to the Airbnb host for that damage. To prevent that, you need to know what chemicals are ok to use on surfaces.
Also, there are health dangers to mixing certain chemicals like bleach and certain ammonia-based products.
And now with the Covid pandemic, you want to be able to tell your client that you are using cleaning products that will make it a safe environment for their guests.
These are just a few examples of how having a bit more knowledge will make you a better cleaner.
6. Marketing to Hosts
One tip here: as the world becomes more sustainable and environmentally conscious, it may be good to offer services that are consistent with that concept. This means talking to hosts to give them the option to use environmentally safe chemicals and sustainable cleaning practices. This may give you the edge for them to hire you over another company.
The more traditional way is to advertise through Google Ads. This is a service you pay to have Google show your ad to people on the internet. There are many guides on the internet to help you get started with Google Ads like this one.
7. How To Get Paid
Be flexible with your payment options so that you can accommodate a wide range of hosts. You can choose options like Zelle, Venmo, Paypal, CashApp etc. Just know that some options like Venmo and Paypal may charge a fee for using the platform as a business. If the host sends the money using the “Friends and Family” option, then no fee is charged to you.
A great resource, though quite a long video, is a talk by ZenMaid on YouTube. Check it out if you have the time:
Hopefully, the guide gets you started on becoming an Airbnb cleaner and what can be a very profitable and rewarding business in this heyday of the sharing economy. Thanks for reading.
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