Laundry and linen for holiday lets: a practical guide
How cleaning companies handle linen for holiday lets and Airbnbs: washing it yourself or using a laundry, how many sets each bed needs, moving it between properties, stains, and what to charge.
Updated · 7 min read
Ask anyone who cleans holiday lets what goes wrong most often and the answer is rarely the cleaning. It is the linen: not back from the wash, the wrong size, a stain nobody spotted, a set that went to the wrong property. Cleaning takes the time it takes. Laundry is where the day gets lost.
Four ways to handle it
| Method | Works when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Wash and dry at the property | A small property with a long gap before the next guest, and a decent washer-dryer. | A wash and a dry takes longer than most same-day gaps, and one machine can't do three beds in time. |
| Take it away and wash it yourself | You have the machines and the space, and a modest number of beds. | It takes over your home and your evenings long before you expect. Cost your time honestly. |
| A commercial laundry | The host's or your linen goes out dirty and comes back pressed. Good from a dozen or so beds upwards. | Turnaround times, minimum orders, and losses. Count what goes and what comes back. |
| Linen hire | The laundry owns the linen and delivers clean sets. Nothing to buy or replace. | Fixed delivery days and less choice of quality. You need somewhere to store deliveries. |
Most companies start with the second and move to the third or fourth as they grow. Whichever you use, the aim is the same: a clean set is already waiting before the cleaner strips the bed.
How many sets each bed needs
The usual rule of thumb is three sets for each bed: one on the bed, one in the wash and one spare. Two is the bare minimum, and with two a single stain or a late laundry delivery leaves you with nothing to put on the bed.
- Count towels the same way, by the number of guests the property sleeps, not the number of beds.
- Keep the spare set at the property if there is a locked cupboard. It turns a linen problem into a non-event.
- Don't forget mattress and pillow protectors, bath mats and tea towels. They need spares too.
Whose linen is it?
Either the host owns the linen and you look after it, or you supply it and charge for the use. Supplying your own costs more to start, but it lets you standardise: if every property has the same white sets in the same sizes, any clean set fits any bed, and one short delivery no longer stops one particular clean. Decide which it is for each client, and put in writing who pays when something is stained or goes missing.
Moving it without mixing it up
- One labelled bag per property, with the bed sizes written on it.
- Clean and dirty never share a bag, and ideally not the same part of the car.
- Count out and count in. A short note of what went to the laundry saves an argument a fortnight later.
- Bag stained items separately and say what the stain is, so they are treated instead of baked in.
- Pack clean sets by bed: a fitted sheet, duvet cover and pillowcases folded together, so the cleaner picks up one bundle per bed.
Stains and damage
Check every piece as you strip the bed, not when it comes back from the wash. Make-up, fake tan, hair dye and blood are the common ones. Photograph anything that looks permanent before it leaves the property, and tell the host the same day: if they want to claim from the guest, they need to know while the booking is still fresh. Our guide to recording damage for a host's claim covers what to photograph.
What to charge
Price laundry separately from the clean, per bed set and per towel set. A two-bedroom flat with one double made up and the same flat with a double, two singles and a sofa bed are the same clean and very different laundry. If you fold it into one price, the busy properties cost you money. There is more on this in how to price Airbnb and short-let cleaning.
How RoomZoom helps
In RoomZoom, each property's notes travel with the job: the cleaner sees them on their phone in the cleaner app, alongside the address and key-safe code. When a clean needs extra laundry, add the charge to that one clean and it carries through to the client's total for the month.
See how it fits together for holiday-let cleaning companies, or sign up free: RoomZoom is free for up to 5 properties, with no card needed.
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