Airbnb turnover cleaning checklist (free PDF)
A room-by-room turnover cleaning checklist for Airbnb and holiday lets, written for cleaning companies. Use it on your phone or download the free printable PDF.
Updated · 6 min read
Download the checklist (PDF)A turnover clean is not a house clean done quickly. You have a fixed gap between one guest leaving and the next arriving, nobody is home to tell you what they care about, and the next guest will judge the whole stay on the first minute through the door. A checklist is what makes the tenth clean of the day as good as the first.
This one is written for cleaning companies and the cleaners who work for them. It follows the order a turnover actually runs in, so laundry and the dishwasher start first and the floors are done last.
How to use it
- Work through it top to bottom. The order saves time: start anything that runs by itself, clean high to low, and finish with floors.
- Treat it as a starting point. Every property has its own quirks, so add the host's own rules to it.
- Print it for the cleaning cupboard, or download the PDF and send it to your team.
The turnover cleaning checklist
When you arrive
- Check the guests have left; note the time you arrived
- Walk every room before touching anything: look for damage, missing items and lost property
- Photograph anything broken, stained or missing before you clean around it
- Open windows; strip beds and gather towels so the laundry starts first
- Empty the fridge and start the dishwasher
Kitchen
- Worktops, splashback and sink wiped; plughole clear
- Hob, oven door and extractor degreased; check inside the oven and grill
- Microwave, kettle and toaster clean inside and out (crumb tray emptied)
- Fridge and freezer empty, wiped and smelling fresh
- Dishwasher emptied; everything put back clean and dry
- Cupboards and drawers checked for dirty items and leftover food
- Bin emptied, wiped and relined
Bathrooms
- Toilet cleaned inside and out, including the base and behind the seat
- Shower, bath and screen free of hair, soap marks and limescale
- Basin, taps and plugholes clean and polished
- Mirror and glass streak-free
- Floor mopped, including behind the door and around the toilet
- Fresh towels and bath mat set out; bin emptied and relined
- Extractor fan and any mould spots checked
Bedrooms
- Mattress and pillow protectors checked for stains before making the bed
- Bed made with fresh linen, smooth and square; pillows plumped
- Under the bed and behind bedside tables checked
- Wardrobes and drawers empty; hangers tidy
- Bedside tables, lamps, switches and headboard dusted
- Mirrors wiped; curtains or blinds set the same way each time
Living and dining areas
- Sofa cushions lifted and vacuumed underneath, then straightened
- All surfaces, shelves, skirting boards and window sills dusted
- Remotes, handles and light switches wiped
- Dining table and chairs wiped; chairs tucked in
- Floors vacuumed and mopped, edges and corners included
- Throws folded, cushions arranged, furniture back in its place
Entrance and outside
- Doormat shaken; hallway floor clean
- Front door glass and handle wiped
- Bins taken out and put back; recycling sorted
- Balcony, patio or garden furniture wiped and straightened
- Hot tub or barbecue cleaned, if the property has one
Restock
- Toilet roll: at least two per bathroom
- Hand soap, shower gel and shampoo topped up
- Washing-up liquid, dishwasher tablets, sponge and tea towel
- Bin bags, plus spares under the liner
- Tea, coffee, sugar and any welcome pack the host provides
Before you leave
- Lights and lamps all working; replace any dead bulbs
- TV and Wi-Fi working; remotes in their place
- Heating or air conditioning set as the host asks
- Windows closed and locked
- Final walk-through as a guest would, from the front door
- Take your after photos, room by room
- Lock up, return the key to the key safe and scramble the code
- Report damage, low stock and lost property the same day
The things that are easiest to miss
Most complaints are not about a room being dirty. They are about one small thing that makes a guest wonder what else was skipped. These are worth a second look on every clean:
- Hair. In the shower, on the bathroom floor, on pillows and on the bed sheet. One hair undoes an hour of work.
- Inside things. The oven, the microwave, the fridge, the kettle and the bin under its liner.
- Under things. Beds and sofas, where the last guest's socks and crisp packets end up.
- Smells. A property should smell of nothing. Air it, empty every bin and check the fridge and the drains.
- The bed. Creased or stained linen is the first thing in a guest's photos.
Make it your own for each property
A general checklist gets you most of the way. The rest is what each host wants: how the bed is dressed, where the welcome pack goes, which cupboard is locked, what the heating is set to. Write those down once, against the property, so a cleaner covering for the first time does it the same way as the regular.
Checking the checklist was followed
A checklist only works if someone checks. With a handful of properties you can look yourself. With fifty you can't. That is what RoomZoom's AI quality checks are for: cleaners are asked for photos of each room as they finish, and the AI scores every room against your own checklist, in plain English. You see what was missed before the guest does.
In the cleaner app, each job carries the property's notes and key-safe code, so the host's rules travel with the job. RoomZoom is free for up to 5 properties, and every new company gets quality checks free for the first 14 days. Sign up free, with no card needed.
More guides
Run your turnovers from one place.
Scheduling, a cleaner app and AI quality checks for short-let cleaning companies. Free for up to 5 properties.
No card needed · Set up in minutes